Japanese Okonomiyaki - Brixton Village !

For a second just stare at the picture below, take a minute before you scroll down. Look at those Bonita flakes, that brown sauce...take another minute.  

The last few weeks have been very busy and I had long delayed going south of the river to Brixton, but I finally made it. 

Brixton is jam packed with a vibrant, diverse and ever changing culture. The range of food reflects that. There are endless options to explore and so multiple trips are required in order to truely appreciate the area's complexity. 

I was taken down to 'Brixton Village', which is sort of like an indoor market with little lanes. It’s similar looking to night markets in East Asia. There are lots of restaurants dotted around in these lanes with seats pouring out of the restaurants into the lanes. The atmosphere is electric, with live music filling the hallways.

We chose to go to 'Okan', its one of the first places in London to do the infamous Japanese Streetfood Omelette 'Okonomiyaki'. The place has a small menu but the service is quick, the staff very cool (some very quirky rings were spotted). 

I am not a fan of omelettes, but PLEASE do not compare this omelette to any other you have had before. There are two types of these omelettes, Hiroshima style and Osaka style. This one  serves the latter. 

The Okonomiyaki

So this beautiful omelette is kind of like a frittata with lots of vegetables including potatoes, onions and many many others.

(Two okomoniyaki's & a udon stir fry) 

It is then topped with a special Brown sauce (not like your supermarket HP), Japanese Mayo , Powdered seafood and my favourite Bonita flakes (dried tuna).BUT that is not it. Underneath this omelette you can also have a stuffing of your choice.

So surprise surprise I chose noodles and tofu. Which unfortunately I couldn't capture because once I broke into the omelette I wanted to do nothing but devour it. 

The dish may look messy but its extremely intricate with many different layers and contrasting textures, & I promise you its nothing like you've had before! 

If you are lucky enough to get a seat inside, you can see the chefs making it in front of you!

It’s weird how excited I get when I try new food. Hey ho.

Oh, we ordered some tofu Gyoza too, which were super soft & packed with filling but after the Okonomiyaki everything is after thought. 

- Shanzé -