Shinsaibashi Ujien Honten 宇治園心齋橋店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

I split up with my team right after our tonkatsu lunch near Kuromon Market (黑門市場). While they decided to spend some shopping time in Namba, I went on to visit a couple of pastry shops on my own.

When I returned to Shinsaibashi, I still had another half an hour to spare before our meeting time. So, to maximize my me time, I stopped by Ujien Honten (宇治園) for a quick look.

Located just across from Daimaru Shinsaibashi Store (大丸心齋橋店), Ujien Honten is best known as a souvenir shop for Uji tea products for tourists. However, they also have a small tea room on top of the souvenir shop.

With my new-found me time, I decided to head up to the tea room for a quick drink to quench my thirst.

Green Tea Float (880 yen) — There it was: a large scoop of matcha ice cream floating on top of cold green tea. It was absolutely thirst-quenching.

Of course, Ujien’s signature item is their Mont Blanc dessert. Chefs pipe fresh matcha, hojicha, or chestnut purée onto a combination of cream, sponge cake, or a crispy tartlet right in front of you. Mom would have loved it but unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to bring her here. Well, I guess there’s always a next time.

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1/F-2/F, 1-4-20 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0085 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6252-7800

Website: http://www.uji-en.co.jp/

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 9:00pm daily

Patisserie Reve de chef at Osaka Takashimaya (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Founded in Kobe back in 1981, Patisserie Rêve de Chef is a confectionery brand active in the Kansai region. It’s best known for its fresh cream puffs, Japanese strawberry shortcakes, fruit cakes, and other sweets that’s more tailored to the local palate.

I happened to stumble upon their outlet at Osaka Takashimaya in Namba this afternoon.

Peach Charlotte (602 yen) — A sponge cake wrapped with milk bavarois, with chunks of in-season white peach. It’s finished with a layer of peach and strawberry jelly on top.

If you happen to like Japanese-style fruit cakes, this may not be a bad choice for you.

Mont Blanc (500 yen) — Of course, I bought a final Mont Blanc for mom on this trip. I didn’t get a report from her, but this looked pretty standard — silky chestnut vermicelli on top of fresh cream, and a crispy tart. I would imagine that she’s happy with it. She's not picky as long as the dessert has chestnut in it.

We didn’t have time to experience as many desserts this trip mainly because of our tight schedule in Shikoku (not that there were tons of options there). I’ll leave that for our next trip to Japan, which should be our Christmas trip to Tokyo.

Food Rating: 5.1/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: B1F Food Hall, Osaka Takashimayai, 5-1-5 Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0076 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Namba

Tel: +81 (0)6 6647-7030

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm daily

Sobayoshi Shinsaibashi そばよし 心齋橋店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

For our last night in Osaka, I was hoping to have something special to end the trip on a high note. It didn’t have to be fancy, perhaps a hearty bowl of ramen would have done the trick for me. But in the end, we had buckwheat soba at Sobayoshi Shinsaibashi (そばよし 心斎橋店).

Anyone who knows me well knows for a fact that I don’t eat buckwheat soba noodles. Yes, I have them from time to time, but I simply don’t enjoy having them. I consider them a waste of stomach space when I could be having something more exciting. (And to be clear, I’m not saying soba noodles aren’t tasty. It’s just not my cup of tea.)

Apparently, little nugget felt the same way too, and he’s having prawn tempura and scrambled eggs at a soba restaurant! Way to go, kid!

As a bit of a protest, I am ordering this small bowl of soba noodles with a thin slice of bean curd. I was also hoping that I could sneak out after this meal for a second meal. That plan was just wishful thinking (which didn't materialize at the end).

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ￥￥

Address: 3-8-11 Minamisenba, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0081 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6251-3933

Website: https://www.sobayoshi.com/shop/shinsaibashi/index.html

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 3:30pm (Mon, Wed - Fri), 5:30pm - 9:30pm (Mon, Wed - Fri), 11:00am - 9:30pm (Sat - Sun)

The Lobby Lounge at The Ritz Carlton Osaka (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

I thought I wasn’t going to make my usual visit to The Lobby Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton Osaka this time, given our super tight schedule. But I managed to negotiate some me time with my boss, and everything was good.

As usual, the lobby was buzzing, and I could only find a seat a bit farther away from the pianist. Still, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the live music.

When I was presented with today’s pastries, I wasn’t particularly impressed — but it happens here sometimes. Occasionally, you just can’t find anything that appeals to you visually. That’s when you go back to their roots.

As a dessert-bakery institution, The Gourmet Shop at The Ritz-Carlton Osaka is generally excellent with its old-school favorites — mille-feuille, Paris-Brest, and more. So I decided to turn back the clock and try some classic French desserts.

Paris-Brest — The choux pastry had the perfect texture.

And there was a delicate, rich hazelnut praline cream in the middle, tying everything together and making the trip worthwhile.

I also got to enjoy a cup of tea. It's been a week since I had my tea fix, so that felt truly priceless.

I’ve always wanted to check out Café Del’immo at Herbis Ent next door, but they’re always full—this time was no exception. I couldn’t help wondering why…

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: ￥￥￥￥

Address: G/F The Ritz Carlton Osaka, 2-5-25 Umeda, Kita Ward, Osaka 530-0001, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Nishi-Umeda 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6343-7020

Website: lounge.ritzcarltonosaka.com

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 9:00pm (Mon - Fri), 11:00am - 9:00pm (Sat - Sun)

 

P.G.donut LUCUA 1100 ルクアイーレ店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

Having visiting six doughnut shops on this trip already, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to add a seventh to the grand total. And this is one of my favorite doughnut shops in Osaka, just around the corner from where we had lunch at Grand Green Osaka.

Located inside LUCUA 1100, PG Donuts is a popular artisanal bakery chain best known for their incredibly light and fluffy nama-cream filled donuts.

While their pistachio donut stole my heart a couple of years ago, I decided to go with their Earl Grey donut this afternoon.

Earl Grey donut (475 yen) — This features an exceptionally soft dough with a rich, melting custard-cream blend.

What sets PG Donuts apart from other competitors is the light and airy custard cream — it feels more like whipped cream than a thick, dense custard. The Earl Grey flavor was also gentler and lighter, closer to a royal milk tea than a bold, intense Earl Grey.

It was sweeter than I remembered, but the crust still remained one of the thinnest in the business.

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 2/F LUCUA 1100, 3-1-3 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0001, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Umeda 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6151-1547

Website: https://pgdonut.jp/

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 8:30pm daily

Nakajima Taishodo Daimaru Shinsaibashi Store 中島大祥堂 大丸心齋橋店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Nakajima Taishodo (中島大祥堂) is a historic and highly regarded Japanese confectionery brand that dates back to 1912. Known for its premium Japanese–Western fusion pastries, cookies, and seasonal gift boxes, it’s a familiar presence in the food halls of major department stores across Osaka.

We first stumbled upon their boutique while heading to Le Pont Du Ciel for dinner. As a fan of the prized Tamba chestnuts (丹波栗), of course mom didn’t hesitate to peek at the shop’s signature offerings made with Tamba chestnuts. 

But surprise surprise, we ended up not grabbing any dessert that day.

This time around, mom was determined to finally cross it off her bucket list. So when she spotted a Nakajima Taishodo counter at the Daimaru Shinsaibashi Store (大丸心齋橋店) this morning, she couldn’t hide her excitement.

Chestnut kayabuki (850 yen) — Nakajima Taishodo’s signature Mont Blanc cake, crafted to resemble the traditional thatched roof of their historic main store in the Tamba region of Hyogo Prefecture. It’s especially touted for the extensive use of rare, premium Tamba chestnuts — highly prized across Japan for their large size and rich, deep flavor.

I didn’t get to try it myself, but according to mom, it was totally worth the stomach space, and we’ve got plenty of it especially after skipping breakfast this morning!

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: B1F Food Hall, Daimaru Shinsaibashi, 1-7-1 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-8501 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi 

Tel: +81 (0)70 2273-1057

Website: https://www.ntdshop.jp/

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm daily

Bills Osaka Station (Osaka JAPAN) ★★★★☆

It was supposed to be our afternoon tea session, but we lost a couple of guys to shopping, and another couple simply decided to grab a seat at LUCUA instead of sitting down for food. I guess we all had too much to eat on this trip.



So rather than finding a table for the whole village, it’ll just be me and little nugget.

Our destination was Bills Osaka, a popular all-day dining restaurant that originated in Sydney, Australia, and now has branches across Japan and Seoul. This location is on the 7th floor of LUCUA 1100, which is directly connected to JR Osaka Station.

I always enjoy dining at Bills, especially their breakfast plates. But their modern, chic decor and friendly service also play a huge part in why I keep coming back.

Black sesame and vanilla shake — Velvety and packed with rich vanilla flavor, but a tad too sweet for me.

This guy didn't think so...

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 7/F LUCUA 1100, 3-1-3 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0001, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Umeda 

Tel: +81 (0)50-3155-1472

Website: https://www.billsjapan.com/jp/locations/osaka-station

Opening Hours: 8:30am - 10:00pm daily

We❤️Donut × Takagi Coffee Umeda Station (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

We were circling around Umeda Station (梅田車站) pondering about our next move when I suddenly spotted We❤️Donut (WeLoveDonut) x Takagi Coffee. While I initially just wanted to take a few photos of their nama donut tower, a few of us decided to sit down to rest our feet.

Conveniently located underground just three minutes from the gate of Umeda station, WeLoveDonut is a nama donut specialty shop that doubles as a coffee shop, but make no mistake about it, their soft, airy nama donuts are the real star.

Little nugget wasted no time grabbing an Oreo chocolate donut.

They have all kinds of flavors here and they kept replenishing the trays. I wish they had a branch in Hong Kong. 

While most of the group went with a sweet donut as an afternoon tea snack, I decided to go a different route. In fact, they offer quite a few savory options including ham and potato salad, egg salad, salmon and broccoli, bacon and Camembert, and spicy curry.

Homemade egg salad donut (350 yen) — The dough was a little thicker than normal, presumably to help hold the egg salad together.

I have to admit, this tasted a little weird with the slightly sweet dough on the outside and savory egg salad inside. 

Salmon and broccoli (520 yen) — If I was not having the egg salad donut, this was the one that I would be getting.

Creme brulee (380 yen) — This was looking good too.

Maybe I’m just a guy with an old man’s palate, but to me, doughnuts are supposed to be sweet.

Food Rating: 6.2/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: Whity Umeda Underground Shopping Mall, 8-5-6 Kakudacho, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0017, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Umeda 

Tel: +81 (0)6 4792-7198

Website: https://welovedonut.com/

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 10:00pm daily

Ben's Cookies Shinsaibashi (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

One of the reasons we kept coming back to Shinsaibashi for during our stay in Osaka was the familiarity of the names — everything from Mugi to Tori (麥×鷄) to Krispy Kreme and the next place, Ben’s Cookies.

The cookie display and that sweet, buttery aroma always made it impossible for me to walk past the shop without going in.

In the end, I treated myself to two cookies for my afternoon snacks.

One important fact about enjoying Ben’s Cookies is that you really have to eat them fresh (pretty much true for any freshly baked cookie).

What set these apart from the competitors was the thick, soft, gooey center, packed with large, melting chunks of chocolate. The Double Chocolate cookie was the best way to experience those massive chocolate pieces — because they basically pool inside the cookie.

My other favorite is the White Chocolate cookie, preferably with macadamia nuts. Unfortunately, only the one without the nuts was available this afternoon.

Again, it came with an incredibly light texture and almost too wobbly to hold up.

I thought I made the right choice to enjoy these before meeting up with the team so this way, I didn't have to hide them from little nugget who's a fan of Ben's Cookies too. 😆😆

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 2-2-21 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0085 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6755-8875

Website: https://www.benscookies-jp.com/

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 9:00pm daily

Krispy Kreme North Shinsaibashi (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

I’m pretty excited to finally stay at a different hotel than Hotel Leben in Osaka this time around. The Gate Hotel Osaka by Hulic has just recently opened in the heart of Shinsaibashi, and I’m curious what it has in store for us during our stay.

One thing I can say right off the bat is that the hotel is in a great location. It's just a short walk from Shinsaibashi’s shopping streets and our favorite Krispy Kreme location is probably less than a minute away.

While little nugget was off with his grandparents for his late lunch, I decided to check out the new creations Krispy Kreme has prepared for the summer, including this Penguin doughnut. 🐧🐧

I ended up getting one doughnut for each team members.

For myself, I got this melon-flavored doughnut. I don't think anyone would mistake it for anything other than a cantaloupe.

Inside, there was this fruity melon cream. It was front and center. So good!

Food Rating: 5.6/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 3-11-8 Minamisenba, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0081 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6484-6936

Website: www.krispykreme.jp

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 9:00pm daily