Besides steak, don’t forget the egg-scented Tamagoyaki (Moshiko-yaki) when you visit Kobe

Text/Photos byAh Mon

Restaurant Name: Kyochiku
Phone: 078-360-1888
Address: 1-6-1 Higashikawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 8 (2F-11, Mosaic Plaza)
Business Hours: Lunch 11:30–14:30 / Dinner 17:00–22:30
Price: ¥600 and up
Dining Date: April 2014

On the second day of our trip to Japan, we had dinner at Mosaic Plaza near Kobe Harbor. After the meal, we could stroll around the Kobe Harbor night view or explore the two large Umie malls nearby before walking back to the Hotel Okura Kobe. The itinerary was quite smooth. This Kyochiku Moshiko-yaki restaurant was one we had already decided on. Some of the most famous dishes in Kobe include Kobe beef, Moshiko-yaki, and desserts, so the reason we chose this place was that they serve Moshiko-yaki, which you can’t get in Taiwan. Kyochiku is located on the second floor of the plaza, in a somewhat out-of-the-way corner, so you might need to check the floor map to find it. The entrance looks just like in the photo—kind of like a small eatery in a food court in a Taiwanese department store.

Although I don’t understand Japanese, I can still read simple kanji, or else I just guess from the photos. The above is a ¥950 set meal, which seems to be newly launched, as I didn’t see it online.

Kobe Beef Set Meal
It’s weighed, the price isn’t cheap, and I’m not sure what grade of Kobe beef it is.

À la carte and N<饭，选项大概就这些，就直接入内用餐拉。

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The most important thing is this—one, foreigners get a 10% discount, how friendly is that!?

A very rare all-Chinese explanation, but honestly I don’t really understand why they put this up—most of the ingredients here are probably local anyway? Didn’t expect them to emphasize it specifically.

The space inside the restaurant isn’t big, with only about 4–5 tables, so it’s really a bit cramped. But Japan is a place where every inch counts, so don’t worry too much about that when coming here for delicious food. The most important thing is that the food is tasty. After telling the waiter how many people are dining, they’ll show you to your seat. The waiters here don’t speak Chinese, their English isn’t great either, and there’s no Chinese menu. It’s best to come with a friend who knows a little Japanese.

Kobe Full Course Feast
After communicating with the waiter using my not-so-fluent Japanese and some hand gestures, I roughly understood that this set meal includes many of Kobe’s local delicacies. If you want to try a variety of Kobe dishes in one go, then this is the one to get.

Moshiko-yaki, rice dishes

Individual items, drinks
For drink names, I really couldn’t understand most of them, except that I know they have oolong tea, cola, and Japanese sake. As for the specific names, I’m not sure.

Uniform price ¥950 set meal

After ordering, the waiter will bring free tea. The cold barley tea is really delicious. After walking around Himeji Castle all day, I could finally sit down, rest, and have a proper meal. This barley tea is quite good, but I didn’t know how to ask if I could get a refill, so I only got one cup.<。

The ¥1980 Kobe combo meal comes with a drink. Since I didn’t know what the other drinks were, I played it safe and chose oolong tea. Later I also found out that oolong tea is pretty much available in every restaurant, while black tea is rare. The teas here are all unsweetened, and they taste pretty OK.

The restaurant’s signature Moshiko-yaki is made with seven-fortune eggs, which seem to use higher-quality feed or something.

Yakiniku (grilled meat) set meal ¥950
My friend spent a long time picking on the menu and finally chose this one with yakiniku N<和明石烧的组合定食，比较特别的是他的明石烧是已经加到汤面内了，有点类似台湾的汤饺感觉，另外还有一小碟的酱菜，但这酱菜真的吃不出来是什么做的。

Yakiniku N<
To be honest, I felt the yakitori portion was a bit small, but considering there were also seaweed shreds, chopped scallions, and some mysterious red vegetables that helped fill up this bowl of rice, I didn’t mind too much. If I’m still hungry, I can always order more. It seems the yakitori is stir-fried with onions and sauce, more like stir-fried meat slices rather than just grilled. The meat slices were quite tender and juicy.

As for this soup-dumpling-like dish, watching my friend enjoy it eagerly, clearing the whole bowl like a typhoon had swept through, it must’ve been pretty good. Aside from the taiyaki balls, there were also two fish cake slices for garnish. The noodles were quite long and thin, resembling Taiwan’s pig intestine vermicelli snack. The broth tasted more like a bonito-based dashi—light and not greasy.

Kobe Full Course ¥1980
When this arrived, the portion size kind of shocked me, but at this price, it felt worth it. It included taiyaki balls, octopus rice, miso soup, pickles, steak, and even a drink—pretty lavish. The plate was a large round tray; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to fit everything on a regular plate.

Taiyaki Balls
The star of the show is this one. Many people come to Kobe and only eat desserts, forgetting about these delicious taiyaki balls. Taiyaki actually came before takoyaki. They look similar—both are ball-shaped—but the preparation is different. Takoyaki has a flour-based exterior, while taiyaki balls are made with egg whites, giving off a strong eggy aroma. The texture is somewhere between night market roasted quail eggs and Japanese tamagoyaki. They can be filled with octopus tentacles or other ingredients. Usually, they’re served as-is and dipped into broth when eaten, but this place already pre-soaked them, so you have to eat them right away. Otherwise, they’ll get too soft and watery. Mine was the octopus flavor—chewy octopus, soft taiyaki body, and sweet-savory broth. Damn, amazing!! Best thing I ate today (100% certified). Why hasn’t anyone brought this to Taiwan? This is better than Taiwanese takoyaki.

Golden appearance, looks like eating tamagoyaki or fried eggs, but way tastier than both. A must-eat in Kobe.

Kobe Steak
At this price, it’s probably regular beef, but since it was my first time trying Japanese beef, the texture was quite tender. The sauce drizzled on top was unique—slightly sweet and tangy—but I think pairing it with rock salt is the real way to go. The sauce didn’t really enhance the flavor much. There was also mashed potatoes and some lettuce on the side. The lettuce seemed like it was meant to be a salad, but without dressing, it wasn’t very appealing. Next time, I’ll try to get A5-grade Kobe beef. Missed out on it during this trip—so disappointing.

Octopus Rice
The rice grains were moist and soft, somewhat like Taiwan’s oily rice, with a slightly salty soy sauce flavor. It had shrimp and octopus tentacles mixed in—you could taste seafood in every bite. It paired nicely with the steak.

The miso soup was packed with ingredients—black fungus, meat slices, etc.—felt quite generous, not just tofu XD. The taste was moderate, with layered flavors, not too salty. Tasty.

Might’ve come a bit late and stayed too long, because by the end, we were the only customers left in the shop. When leaving, I got to snap a photo of the empty place XD

Overall, the food was quite good. Maybe it’s because it was my first time eating abroad, so everything tasted great. But I really have to recommend the taiyaki balls. If I hadn’t been so full that day, I definitely would’ve ordered more. The octopus rice and steak were great too. Just my personal opinion, for reference only.

Ah-mon Traveling Around Taiwan~Food, Travel, Photography, Outdoor Shoots
Traveling with a camera~ snapping shots casually~ unexpected moods