Pasutakan

***Update 3/29/2019***
Daie/Aeon mall is now closed!!
********************

Rating: OK
Meal:  Lunch
Price:  830 yen
Payment:  Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Gyu Kalbi don
English Menu: Yes

Smoking: Smoking section available

The teppan...was not used for lunch today.

Pasutakan is possibly a combination of a couple of restaurant chains, but the clearest name I could find was Pasutakan.  It specializes in okonomiyaki (Osaka style) and other teppanyaki things (i.e. stuff you cook on a hot griddle).  It's in Daie but I don't often go there, mainly because I'm not overly fond of okonomiyaki (especially Osaka style) and it turns out that cooking your own food and eating it, while fun now and then, tends to make for a long lunch.

English Menu

I had, however, noticed that there were some gyudon (beef bowl) type dishes on a lunch special menu out front lately, and I wondered if I had to cook the food myself or if it would be done for me (what a novel idea!).  Since I needed to review the place anyway for this blog I figured I'd give it a try.  I'm glad I did!  The beef kalbi don was quite good, and I didn't have to cook it!  Oddly, the rice bowl dishes aren't on the menu itself, so I just walked the server outside and pointed.  Sometimes the old ways are best.

Lunch Specials!  Outside only...

I've eaten there a couple of times before, dutifully ordering the okonomiyaki and cooking it.  They will ask if you know what you are doing, and presumably you can request them to cook it at your table for you.  But not only is this awkward, it denies you the pleasure of making many stupid mistakes over and over again, as you eventually learn the fine art of mixing your batter in a bowl, putting your meat down first, pouring the batter over the meat and flattening it out, waiting a time that should be specified by the little egg timers they have at the table, flipping the pancake, finishing the cooking, then topping with your favorites of sweet sauce (yuck), dashi, (yum), seaweed, (yum), and whatever else suits your fancy.  Personally, I'll be ordering the beef bowls from now on.  And they are cheap!

Beef bowl...a cut above.

 My beef bowl was a step above the super cheap Yoshinoya and Sukiya.  The pieces were thick and juicy, and there was an onsentamago (ultra soft boiled egg) on top.  A little bit of kimchi gave it some flavor, and of course all the condiments are there to add more, though there was nothing spicy available.  The salad was quite good, composed of shredded daikon with a sesame cream dressing on some firm lettuce and a sprinkling of onion crunchies on top.  The little bowl of soup was a dashi broth that you could really taste the sea in.  I was asked what size of rice I wanted, so if you want more be sure to ask for the large size.

What the food is supposed to look like.

There is better okonomiyaki in Yokosuka, but it's a bit farther afield.  Unfortunately, I don't think you can get Hiroshima style anywhere here...so that will have to wait for another time.