12 Foods You Must Try in Nagoya

Nagoya city was constantly voted by Japan as the least popular prefectures to visit. Yet, I must say, Nagoya has exceeded my expectations in this trip. You only have to know where to go and what to eat. Just follow our guide...

1. Deep Fried Pork Cutlet with Red Miso

Nagoya is famous for red miso (hatcho-miso). One of its signature dish is deep fried miso pork cutlet in red miso sauce. Nagoya's Red miso is quite sweet when compared with other types of miso in Japan.

Gomitori is a Japanese bar (Izakaya) with a rustic charm and an English menu. It is conveniently located in Sakae - the district where the night life of Nagoya is most concentrated.

Operating hours: 17:00-24:00
Gomitori Website (伍味酉) 


Deep fried pork cutlet skewers with red miso (どて味噌串かつ) on the house!

2. Deep Fried Spicy Chicken Wings (Tebasaki) 

You cannot leave Nagoya without eating some chicken wings!

Deep fried spicy chicken wings with sesame sprinkled on top. It is cold when you purchased it from one of the accessible chain stores. It is also available in Izakaya.

3. Nagoya-style Breakfast

Nagoya has its own unique breakfast culture, that is, if you order coffee during breakfast hours, you'll get free toast along with a side of freebie. It could be sweet bean paste, hard boiled egg or potato salad, depending on the shop you're visiting.

If are looking for afternoon tea, you should try the signature dessert at Komeda: Shironoir (i.e. warm Danish topped with vanilla ice-cream).

Komeda Website (コメダ珈琲店)


A Nagoya-style breakfast

4. Award Winning "Chick-Shaped Pudding" (Pyorin)

Unleash your inner demon. Look at this cute, fluffy baby chick. Start by devouring it bit by bit, until you can no longer recognize its adorable appearance. The only thing left is the taste of soft sponge cake and pudding melting in your mouth...

Pyorin are all handmade at JR Nagoya Station’s Cafe - Janjyanu Rejie.

5. Shrimp Tempura Rice Balls (Tenmusu) 

A great snack to carry with you. Look for this package near the JR Nagoya Station or in supermarkets. The bag is made from insulated materials. The rice balls are further wrapped in bamboo leaves.

There are 5 pieces of tempura rice balls in each package. Great for sharing with family and friends during a day trip!



You've got to love this snack!

6. Grilled Eel on Rice (Hitsumabushi)

Perhaps this is the most popular dish in Nagoya. Aichi prefecture is the top production area for eel. The eel is slit open in the belly and grilled whole with charcoal to make Hitsumabushi.

The proper way to eat this dish is to mix the eel and rice, and divide it into 4 portions. Enjoy the first portion as it is.

For the second portion, combine the eel and rice with the condiments provided (such as: wasabi, dried laver and green onion).

For the third portion, combine the eel and rice, condiments and pour broth over it in a bowl to make ochazuke (rice with tea). Repeat your favorite method for the final portion.

Many would recommend eating this dish at Atsuta Horaiken, but beware, this shop has a really long queue due to its high popularity!

Website (あつた蓬莱軒)


A complete set of Hitsumabushi

7. HARBS

Harbs opened its first cake shop in Nagoya and has quickly gained popularity over Japan. Cakes are prepared with seasonal fruits and local ingredients. I tried their most popular layered crepe cake: Mille Crepe. Lots of whipped cream and fresh fruit. Worth trying... for once.

Website


Mille Crepe, 780 yen

8. Taiwan Ramen

Nagoya-style super spicy ramen. It is recommended by locals as the "must try" food when you're visiting Nagoya.

Developed by a Taiwanese chef, main ingredients include ground pork, garlic chives, garlic, chilli and spicy sauce.

Credit: Wiki (味仙の台湾ラーメン 麺)

9. Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce (Ankake Spaghetti)

Yes, I know. It gets even more strange. Spaghetti with tomato sauce!

It has an unique sticky sauce with green peppers, onion and red wieners.


Credit: Wiki

10. Flat Noodle (Kishimen)

Broad and flat noodle in a sweet (and salty) miso broth.

Red Miso Udon (味噌煮込みきしめん)

11. Red Bean Toast (Ogura Toast)

In Nagoya, pancakes with red bean paste are available in McDonalds. Red bean paste is a local specialty in Aichi Prefecture.

Credit: Wiki

12. Shrimp Rice Crackers (Ebi Senbei No Sato)

Shrimp crackers are famous in Aichi prefecture. In this shop, there are many varieties to choose from. You can see tourists purchasing boxes (!) of these shrimp rice crackers. They're so addictive.

えびせんべいの里 
Hours: 8:00-21:00

This shop is available at 4F of the Chubu Central Airport. A great way to spend your remaining yen before leaving Japan!


Credit: unsplash