Osaka Takoyaki is one of the newest Japanese restaurant chains in the Philippines. Having only started in January 2015, Osaka Takoyaki now has more than 40 branches nationwide. What makes their menu different from other Japanese restaurants is that their food offerings are specifically served in Osaka prefecture. Osaka is known to be a place where sumptuous dishes are made, thus it is a well-known location to enjoy street food.

Trying Osaka Takoyaki for the first time, I visited their newly-opened branch at SM City Cabanatuan last month. Together with my husband and mother-in-law, we tried some of their dishes, including the famous Takoyaki.

Ichiran is a popular Japanese ramen shop which originated from Fukuoka in 1960. What started as a small stall flourished into a ramen chain with 65 locations in Japan and branches found in Taipei, Hong Kong, as well as in Brooklyn, New York. In Dotonbori, the Ichiran branch is open for 24 hours.

Ichiran serves tonkotsu ramen, a pork bone based soup broth. Tonkotsu ramen is made by boiling pork bone and other ingredients for several hours to get its rich taste. It was initially prepared as an affordable food served to fish market workers in Fukuoka. In Japan, Ichiran and Ippudo (yes, the one in Manila) are the most popular ramen chains that serve this type of ramen.

Since it was my first time to visit Ichiran, I'll give you my honest, first impression on their well-loved ramen.