Kanigen Shinsaibashi Honten 蟹源 心齋橋本店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

After visiting Kani Doraku (蟹道樂) two trips in a roll, I decided to turn elsewhere for our fix on Japanese crabs this time around. There were a number of options being thrown around but at the end of the day, we all agreed to check out Kanigen (蟹源), an all-you-can-eat crab restaurant near vibrant Shinsaibashi. I think nobody will say no to all-you-can-eat Japanese crabs!

There are two branches of Kanigen in Shinsaibashi alone so be very careful with which one you make your reservation with (Otherwise, you end up going to the wrong one like me!). Their Dotonbori outpost is the busier one based on their prime location in a hot tourist spot and from my personal experience, they will always try to convince you to go to the other branch which is about two blocks to the east of Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street (心齋橋筋商店街). And that's the one I've booked for our trip.



We were escorted to the second floor dining area as soon as they located our booking record (which took 10+ minutes). After looking at the space (or lack of it), we knew the four of us had to squeeze a little as their table looked like it's better suited for two.

Soon after, we were presented with the buffet menu. There were different prices available depending on the origin of crabs you're looking for. Canadian and Russian ones were a lot cheaper (starting at 3,980 yen) but who would want anything other than Japanese crabs anyways? So, we wounded up dropping a few extra thousand yens in order to get ourselves some local crabs.

The normal practice is to start things off with the grill first, and then follow that up with the hot pot but since our little one was already feeling a little tired, we went straight to the hot pot instead.

While they get the broth ready, we were offered some sushi.....



.....and tempura.



There were takoyaki (squid balls), fried dumplings, miso soup and rice at the back, until supplies lasted.



Then, the "real deal" with some prawns, clams and sea bream; followed by assorted vegetables.



And scallops. These can be refilled anytime. Simply let your server know.



I was trying to look behind to see if the crabs were coming and lo and behold, they were. Check this out, it's a beautiful sight. It really is!



While I watched all our neighbors (It was a full house tonight!) working diligently like workers at a factory, we were struggling to keep up the pace. This ain't easy especially when we have two people cooking and removing shells to feed four.




The price is for 90 minutes so manage your time wisely. Most of the guys here tried to do 45 minutes grill and 45 minutes hot pot. It seemed to work out well for them.



I thought the crabs were reasonably good tonight. You could tell they were very fresh judging from the sweetness and it really didn't take a lot to make them tasty (maybe just a decent broth).

If there's a thing to complain about, it's probably the setting. The dining room is pretty small and you have a lot of people running around (to toilets, buffet bar etc.). And then you have those tiny tables which you could barely put enough plates on. It's not the comfort level we were all accustomed to. But I guess we could all deal with this once in a while if we get unlimited supply of fresh Japanese crabs.

Food Rating: 5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 2/F 1-4-3 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0085 Japan
Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi 
Tel: +81 (0)6 6243-4277
Website: kanigen.owst.jp