Kagunomi-dou カグノミ堂 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

I thought I was done exploring the dining scene of Osaka following my highly anticipated lunch at Harijyu Dotonbori Honten (はり重 道頓堀本店) but deep down, I knew there was still enough left in the tank (and enough time) for one more adventure. So, rather than heading back to the hotel and wait for our ride to Kansai International Airport, I decided to ask mom to go back on her own.

And I headed straight down the tunnel to the subway station.

The good news was, my final destination wasn’t too far off. Situated just two stations from Nagahoribashi (長崛橋), Kagunomi-dou  (カグノミ堂) would be a fitting end to a wonderful journey spanning Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. It would also be a nice way to cap off the trip on a sweet note.

Once I emerged from Nishi-Ohashi station (西大橋駅), I took a couple of turns before finally arriving at the front of the little dessert café. Didn't even break a sweat.

I found this quiet little place while having lunch with mom a couple of hours ago. It's a modern French patisserie serving bite-sized sweet treats in the mold of UN GRAIN, a bona fide favorite of mine in Aoyama.

A cup of coffee to start things off.

I ended up picking six of these migrandise-style mini-tarts.

Grapefruit jelly – Nice crispy tartlet topped by a wobbly grapefruit jelly. I was hoping for a little more "explosiveness" coming from the jelly. 

Fig – Fresh fig with fig purée, very sweet and refreshing. Pretty nice.

 
Pistachio – Shaved pistachio with rich pistachio cream. The base was a sponge cake with a dab of raspberry compote hidden inside for a nice balance of sweetness and acidity.

By far the best of the bunch.

Mandarin – Nice zesty flavors from the mandarin-flavored "cloud" on top. The melon compote centre did a nice job to offset the citrusy flavors of the mandarin with its natural sweetness. Not bad.

Chocolate – Mini chocolate tart with a chocolate biscuit base, 72% dark chocolate cream and cocoa nibs. Not much surprise there.

 
Cassis – Not surprisingly, this came with a burst of rich fruity (berry) flavor. The base was kind of a sponge cake which I thought was made with pistachio.

I am a happy camper now! Much of this trip has been about little nugget getting his time at Disneyland (Tokyo), USJ (Osaka) and Pokemon Center (everywhere), while the old folks embarked on a journey of unchartered waters (Fujikawaguchiko, Arashiyama etc.) with their beloved grandson. Did I do anything special on this trip? As a foodie, other than the meal at L'Osier, I didn't really do much. But I was happy to see others happy and this sweet ending sent me home on a positive note. That's all it matters.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1-27-17 Shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Osaka, 550-0013 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Nishi-Ohashi

Tel: +81 (0)6 7506-8706

Website: www.instagram.com/kagunomidou/?hl=ja

Opening Hours: 2:00pm - 10:00pm (Mon - Wed, Fri), 12:00pm - 8:00pm (Sat - Sun)