Compared with my previous Japan trip, this time we tried so many halal Japanese foods. We clearly spent below budget after the first week stay, so in the second week after my family went back, we hunted for as many halal restaurants we could cover. I wanted to taste the original Japanese ramen, sukiyaki, udon, soba, syabu-syabu, mochi, and takoyaki. So we did!
I dreaded to write this post, because I had to do my research on the location & find images from my phone =.= I am so lazy...
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Places we ate in Osaka :
1. Bulls - Sukiyaki & Syabu-syabu
- Type of foods : Sukiyaki, syabu-syabu & steak
- Rating : 4/5
- Location : OCAT building, Naniwa-ku, Osaka
We went here with Ishijima Sensei, so she ordered all the foods, several sets of syabu-syabu and sukiyaki (it was my first sukiyaki). I've never tasted meat so nice, all cut in really thin slices, put inside the syabu-syabu for several minutes and dipped in raw egg before eating. It was the best syabu-syabu experience - we've done so many syabu-syabu at home, but it never tasted this nice. It was a different kind of taste. Note : It's near the JR Namba Station
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2. Halal Ramen Osaka Honolu
- Type of foods : Ramen
- Rating : 5/5
- Location : Motomachi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka
This is a 'must-go' place for a ramen lover. All the energy spent on walking so far away from Namba City in windy coldness was worth it. I ordered spicy ramen from the machine, waited at the ramen bar (there's only around 8 seats so first come first serve) and got the best halal spicy ramen Osaka had to offer to me T^T I felt like crying, because it was so spicy like how the Malaysian likes it and it was so delicious! I don't mind coming here again for a hot spicy ramen during winter.
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3. Cafe Bintang
- Type of foods : Indonesian Food
- Rating : 1/5
- Location : Chuo-ku, Osaka
Oh my god, it was such a waste of money.
Af spent around 1,000 yen for Ayam Penyet set that didn't taste anything like what we have here or the one I eat in Indonesia. The set was just white rice, small skinny fried chicken, salad and tasteless spicy sambal (?) - it was expensive even if I compare to all the other Japanese food restaurants we tried there. While I ordered a tasteless Bakso for 850 yen - there was 4 beef balls, glass noodle and plain soup (I think he forgot salt?). Isk isk isk. I hope the owner will improve their foods, or lower down the price for food sets. It doesn't resemble Indonesian food at all.
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4. Mithilia
- Type of foods : Indian Food
- Rating : 3/5
- Location : Chuo-ku, Osaka
Oh, we went here secretly without Ma & Aja, the night we went to Dotonbori for a nightwalk with my little sister. We tried to find halal takoyaki in the area, but I couldn't speak that much Japanese to converse in a food stall. So we just tried to find any halal restaurants near us using Google and we found Mithilia. After some consideration and discussion, we finally settled in a cozy packed Indian restaurant. We ordered some rice set, cheese naan and matcha lassi. The food was nice, sure it wasn't Japanese food, but it was still nice :) I loved the environment and the matcha lassi !
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5. The Soba Dining
- Type of foods : Udon, soba, Japanese food
- Rating : 4/5
- Location : Expo City, Bampaku-kinen Park
Oh, we found the place by accident ! We were at a shopping mall called Expo City after spending one whole day in Expo 70' Park, didn't even thought we would find any halal restaurant because it was quite far from the main city. But there it was, right next to the escalator, the 'halal' sign on the glass door. I was so excited. I ordered a Clam soba set, and it was so good T^T I shall remember each moment I found a great Japanese restaurant.
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6. The U-don
- Type of foods : Udon, soba, Japanese food
- Rating : 4/5
- Location : KIX Airport
On our final day we slept over at the airport for the second time.
There were several restaurants in KIX that offer halal foods, and after several discussion on which one to choose, we decided to go to The U-don. For 920 yen, I ordered Niku Soba (beef) at the counter, waited for my order and tasted another nice Japanese food T^T Well, I love anything with good soup so the Niku Soba was really good (for me) ; just a simple hot soup, udon, slices of beef and leek.
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Places we ate in Kyoto :
7. Naritaya Ramen
- Type of foods : Ramen Japanese food
- Rating : 3/5
- Location : Gion, Kyoto
It was one of our first meal in Japan and we didn't quite like it. We tried different meals so that we could exchange and taste everything. Unfortunately we didn't like any of it. For me, the miso ramen was too salty - too salty, and I just can't. I personally think because of our bad first experience, we spent our lunch money on onigiris everyday afterwards. None of my family suggested dining out after this restaurant :F Note : The friend chicken was nice though.
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Places we ate in Nara :
Places we ate in Nara :
8. Jinnayyah Ramen
- Type of foods : Ramen, Japanese food
- Rating : 3/5
- Location : Nara
We found the place after we got lost in the maze of buildings. It was so cold and we were so hungry. We walked several km before finding it T^T We were the only customer during that time, maybe because it was one hour before their closing time. I asked whether the ramen would be spicy - 'spicy' and he nodded yes, passing me an Indonesian chilies powder for extra spiciness.
Unfortunately I didn't like the taste. It was between curry and spicy soup, not sure how to write this down, but I just didn't quite like the taste :(
Pictures of us :D
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Ways you do to find halal foods in Japan :
- You can refer to Halal Japan
- You can download and use app : Okashi Checker for a list of halal foods that you can buy in kombini. They will probably update the list from time to time.
- Or try Kansai Muslim Friendly guide app on Android or iOS
- Ask people to read the ingredients (preferably vegan/all plant based to be safe) - if you can speak Japanese, or simple English + visual from smartphones (be creative, they are very helpful, don't worry)
- Note : Even some drinks like instant coffee got non-halal animal fats/emulsifiers so it isn't that hard to check before you buy. There was this one coffee we really liked when we went to Tokyo, and after consuming almost daily, we found out that it got pig-based emulsifier. That was after we got back from the trip (because I did random checking). I didn't feel good about it later, so I learned from my mistake.
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Yeay for writing these post!
Hopefully it will help you find great halal authentic Japanese foods in Japan ❤
Note :
We usually cook our breakfast and dinner at home.
You can find affordable raw foods in market (like eggs, tofu, veggies, fruits, rice, mushroom) and do bring instant cooking ingredient from home.
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