Chibo (Main Shop)
Chibo is a chain of okonomiyaki shops that originate from Kansai. Chibo is one of my favourite okonomiyaki shops and they offer a great variety of okonomiyaki. They have their classic “Dotonburi Okonomiyaki” as well as other types of okonomiyaki such as the Modern-yaki and the Hiroshima-yaki. I try to go to Chibo every time I am in Kansai, although it is a little difficult in Kobe as they don’t have a branch in the central city area. It can be an adventure to find time to go to one but the quality is always great. I have been to Chibo about 4 times in my 3 visits to Osaka. Each time I order similar dishes. There are a couple of dishes that are a must when I go to Chibo. The first is the Tonpeiyaki. It is similar to an egg omelette and very delicious. It is a lot of fun to eat and perfect for 3-4 people depending on how they cut it. The other dish I get is a typical okonomiyaki. I prefer to have an egg on top but it isn’t always necessary. Yakisoba is good too but when going to an okonomiyaki shop I feel it is more important to get okonomiyaki.
Chibo’s Okonomiyaki
Chibo is mainly concentrated in Osaka with a few branches in Tokyo as well. The main branch of Chibo is in the Namba district. Located near the Yoshimoto Theatre, the main branch is actually very small. There aren’t too many seats and the restaurant doesn’t smell too bad either. There are the typical counters and tables and if you are lucky you can get a table. The most popular branch is the Dotonbori branch. Located just at the eastern edge of Dotonbori, this multi-story building is full of Chibo. You basically walk in, say how many people and they tell you which floor to go to. If you want a higher class experience, you can even go to their President Chibo chain. The food is almost the same but the class and quality of ingredients is a little higher. For this blogger, the ingredients are not as important when it comes to Chibo and I am very happy to enjoy going there for the regular fare. When in Osaka, make sure you take the time to enjoy dinner, or lunch if you must, at Chibo and you won’t be disappointed.
Information:
- Chibo (Official Site – Japanese)
- Chibo (Official Site – English)
- Chibo Hawaii
Heh, guess who’s back and can spam your blog with comments again? 😀
I love both okonomiyaki and monjayaki (never mind what it looks like). I assume you’ve eaten both in Tsukishima?
PS: Today I ate my first rice in two weeks. I still prefer bread. Sigh.
Yay! It isn’t spam unless it goes there, and it only did it once. Now it is fine. 🙂 Hope you can spam my other posts when you get time to catch up. Maybe all the jet lag will help you catch up.
Yes I have eaten both in Tsukishima. I honestly like Okonomiyaki in Osaka more, but actually Hiroshima is the best. I went to a monja shop in Tsukishima in December. I was the chef cooking up a storm’s worth of monja and teppanyaki. Did a good job, I think. Lots of compliments from my table.
It is good to have bread, but I grew up on bread for breakfast, maybe lunch, and rice for dinner. I think I’m quite balanced. 😀
Oh, you’re very balanced, indeed: beer for breakfast and lunch, and sake for dinner. :p
Sometimes it’s whiskey for breakfast. Still part of the bread group unless I’m mistaken. Vodka for dinner works too. Sometimes I have tequila for dessert.
Ooooo yumm!
I’ve been to Chibo perhaps at least 20 times including my favourite, President Chibo at least 6 times and I also recommend it. I’ve never been to the original main branch that you’ve been to though.
I’ve been to a couple of Tokyo locations and they both seemed quite upscale compared to the “typical” chibo location but the decor may be on par with President Chibo, there is a definite difference in quality of ingredients at the slightly higher-priced President Chibo.
In the end, it’s all pretty delicious.
For visitors to Hawai’i, you may want to check out Chibo at the Royal Hawai’ian centre in Waikiki, Honolulu.
Considering many of the other okonmiyaki shops are not as good, I’ll stick with what I know. Thanks for introducing me to Chibo too. However, I do enjoy Botejyu. Maybe we should go someday and compare it. Chibo is better for me now.