Oden KELP, an oden pub in Shijo Old Alley, Kyoto, Japan

When I was staying at the Royal Park Hotel in Shijo, I accidentally saw a somewhat trendy izakaya in the alley opposite the hotel. When I looked through the mud-walled glass door, I found that it was an oden izakaya! There are 2 chefs and 3 waitresses, all busy and lively. Seeing that the place was packed, I quickly checked Google Map. It had good ratings and required reservations, so I plucked up the courage to go into the store and make a reservation. Anyway, I was staying in Kyoto for ten nights, so I would accommodate any day when there was a vacancy. After a brief conversation with the girl, she actually booked a spot for my birthday, the weekend night! Oden KELP is a restaurant that only has a Japanese menu. Even with Google Translate, it’s hard to understand. At first, I used single words to communicate with the waitress unsmoothly, but later I got the hang of it. I used photos of dishes reviewed by netizens and watched the chef serve the dishes while sitting at the bar. If I saw a dish that caught my eye, I would tell the waitress that I wanted a portion too! The menu includes boiled, grilled and fried food, as well as alcoholic soft drinks such as sake. Before I knew it, I had ordered a total of 10 dishes: boiled radish, braised beef tendon, potato and egg salad, tuna sashimi, beef and tomatoes cooked in broth, fried shrimp balls, fried shiitake mushrooms, fried mentaiko spring rolls, half-cooked chicken sashimi, and matcha lemon cocktail. The oden soup is lighter, which is a flavor that Taiwanese people would like. The soup is sweet and mellow, and is served with mashed sansho dipping sauce. Every dish is delicious, and the portion is just right, so you can order it blindly! I saw the skewers of meat on the grill and asked the chef. He said three of the dishes were chicken, but he talked to the waitress for a long time about one of them and even used Google Translate, but I still didn’t know what it was? The three of them laughed and ordered it to try. What was finally served was half-cooked chicken sashimi, which tasted like Toro, love it! The advantage of sitting at the bar is that, besides being able to watch the chef serve the dishes up close, you can also interact with the guests next to you. The two boys next to me asked me where I was from. When they heard that I came from Taiwan for a trip and stayed in Kyoto for 10 nights and Tokyo for 10 nights, they were so envious! Take the opportunity to practice national diplomacy and invite them to come to Taiwan to play and eat snacks. I really enjoyed this birthday dinner. The food was delicious and the staff were friendly. The best thing was that the store accepted Paypay, which solved my dilemma of running out of cash! (Many places in Kyoto still only accept cash, such as transportation card top-ups, attraction tickets, local food, etc.) Oden KELP Opening hours: 1700-2300 Location: Japan 600-8099 Kyoto, Shimogyo Ward, Kamiyanagicho, ３１５ ４ #日本探店 #京都美食 #关东煮 #酒屋 #odenkelp #四条