Tokushima ramen, udon noodles, and okonomiyaki… Tokushima is a treasure house of foods made from flour that doesn’t lose out even to Osaka!

And among the numerous okonomiyaki restaurants here, this one is recommended by yours truly, photo-writer Daisuke Chiba.

The name of the shop is Hayashi no Okonomiyaki and it’s located in the Minamiuchimachi town area of Tokushima city. It’s a popular shop known by all the locals. And with the excuse of creating this article, I went there to stuff myself… No, I mean, I visited the shop in order to share its delicious flavors with all our dear readers! 😉

As is usual in okonomiyaki shops, the seats are all placed around tables with hotplates in the middle. However, at Hayashi the dishes are not fried on the hotplates, which is unusual. They are only there to keep food warm.

Every order is immediately fried at the enormous hot plate by the counter. On the left is Mr. Hayashi, the shop manager, and on the right is his mother. Creating over 150 okonomiyaki dishes per day, he is an “okonomiyaki artisan” who has fried an innumerable number of okonomiyaki during his career!

The first dish we order is this:

“Mametama” (JPY710).

I hear you ask, ”What is mametama?” Well, Mametama is a local Tokushima gourmet dish. It’s okonomiyaki with sweet red kidney beans (‘mame’ = ‘bean’), an ingredient you don’t really see used in okonomiyaki outside Tokushima prefecture.

While still being fried, you can see how it’s filled with red kidney beans. The sweetness of the beans goes surprisingly well with the sauce! The restaurant also offers “Mametentama” with various tempura toppings, but the dish I love is:

“Negiyaki” (JPY590).

Although there are so many okonomiyaki dishes on the menu, I always order “Negiyaki when I visit here.

The batter is poured on the pile of negi (green onions).

After creating the right shape…

It’s folded in half, and soy sauce is sprinkled on top with a sizzle. The fragrance of the soy sauce, the chewy surface and the sticky, melty insides… As always, the dish is fried to perfection! I’m in love!

Right now, writing this article, I feel like eating it again…

Last off, the shop manager told us his personal recommendation for a side dish to have with okonomiyaki.

Tokoroten (JPY250) (gelidium jelly strips made from agar-agar). Making it refreshing, our tokoroten is served with a sour seasoning. It’s perfect for cleansing your palate between enjoying different okonomiyaki flavors!”

If you come for a visit, do have some tokoroten with your okonomiyaki! My No.1 recommendation is the “Negiyaki“, but all the other dishes are delicious, too!

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Hayashi no Okonomiyaki
Location: 1-30 Minamiuchimachi, Tokushima city, Tokushima prefecture
Tel: 088-623-7120
Open: 11:00-20:00
Closed: Sundays
Seating capacity: 36
Parking: 8 vehicles
HP: http://www.hayashinookonomiyaki.com/ (Japanese)

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer Daisuke Chiba