I have never had okonomiyaki お好み焼き in my life before!! I have seen it mentioned so many times in manga and anime… And the one anime / manga that mentioned it the most was Ranma 1/2. That was one of my favourite mangas! Towards the end of the series it mentioned a lot about okonomiyaki, and it is one Japanese dish that I have wanted to try out for a very long, long time.
If you have never heard of okonomiyaki before, it’s a savoury pancake made with white cabbage, pancake mixture and other ingredients like squid or tofu – and obviously it was originated in Japan!
Well, obviously I am a bit of a late blogger, and this place Okan おかん has been opened for quite a while. Plus, I think it’s been blogged about so many times! But nonetheless I am going to blog about it! I don’t think there are many places in London where you can find okonomiyaki, however I found this one whilst trying to look for Japanese / Sushi restaurants in South East London (further south of the Thames) which isn’t part of a chain! There are not that many I would say, but there are quite a few in Brixton! Okan is slightly hard to find because there isn’t a shop sign. The top sign was blank. Miss Pinky saw it first. And I thought, is it this place?? Yes it was… The lanterns has its name in Japanese!
 |
| Okan – Look closely at the door for the sign… |
 |
| Japanese ornaments / signs at the door |
 |
| Kitchenware |
 |
| Chef hard at work… Look how many they are making at the same time! Amazing!! ^^ |
 |
| Okonomiyaki being prepared |
So there are a few choices of okonomiyaki, soba (Japanese fried noodles) and a small set of starters that you can choose from… After looking at the menu for a bit, I wanted either the tofu or the cheese and sweetcorn… I chose the cheese and sweetcorn, only because it sounded peculiar to have as a pancake (although I have had a bacon pancake in Amsterdam before!!). I had mine with an elderflower and ginger juice. The drink was sweet at first but it became watery afterwards (I took all the sweetness away).
 |
| Cheese and Sweetcorn Okonomiyaki – it didn’t taste bad at all |
 |
| Ginger and Elderflower drink |
 |
| Inside my Cheese and Sweetcorn Okonomiyaki |
Miss Pinky chose the squid one… (unfortunately she’s allergic to prawns, and received a tingling itchy sensation after eating some of her pancake, because all the pancakes are cooked on two hotplates and the same cooking spatulas are used – so be aware if you are allergic to shellfish peeps!). She also had a Japanese beer Sapporo.
 |
| Squid Okonomiyaki – I liked the squid but slightly overcooked for me… |
 |
| Sapporo Japanese Beer |
 |
| Okonomiyaki!!! ^^ |
Well to be honest, this is what I expected. I have tasted okonomiyaki brown sauce before, and I just love the way they add the mayonnaise on top! It beats the savoury pancake I ate in Amsterdam last year too. 😀 I think I will have a try at making okonomiyaki myself – it doesn’t look hard!
Here’s also a few pics I took of Brixton Village Market too… I will need to come here again to try out the other cuisines! ^^
 |
| Brixton Village ceiling |
 |
| Brixton Village Entrance |
 |
| It’s very multicultural!! |
 |
| I saw this sign and laughed 😀 – ‘Fish Wings and Tings’ – very Jamaican! |
My geeky rating: 4.8/5 (just the signage that let me down – but yes, I will come again!!!!)
Good points:
– Got to sit at the front where the cooks were preparing all the food!
– Good and friendly service
– Excellent experience in a non-chain Japanese restaurant
Bad points:
– Bad signage – I would have gone around in circles still looking for it if Miss Pinky didn’t point it out!
– Miss Pinky got a small allergy reaction (I think it took a day to wear off)
Address: Unit 39, Brixton Village Market SW9 8PS
Website: www.okanbrixtonvillage.com
Update 11/08/2013…So many months later, 10 months to be exact I went back to Brixton Village to meet up with Miss Pinky, her new boyfriend Mr Picky with my mum, and this is what I saw! Okan have a painted sign above their door!! Yay!!
 |
| Okan sign ^_^ |
 |
| Improved |
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
A Simple Geeky Life 