A two-generation night market legacy: Osaka pancakes made to order, freshly grilled

Information:Kaohsiung Food Map

Photography: Ah Xiong / Writing: Xiao Gao

The Osaka pancake uncle’s night market commitment—selling only the original flavor for 15 years; insisting on freshly cracking eggs, mixing, and grilling each order to achieve the most fragrant, tender, and delicious taste. Located at Guanghua Night Market / Kawashima Osaka Pancake, now managed by the second generation, preserving the unchanged classic flavors.

The “Osaka pancake uncle” (pictured far right in the image below), who started out in various night markets in Kaohsiung over 30 years ago, initially wasn’t selling food but ran the “night market carousel” from Xiao Gao’s childhood memories. Remember those electric carousels that cost 10 or 20 dollars per ride back then? They were the favorite spot for adults to leave their kids while strolling the night market and a paradise for children.

But as times changed, the uncle discussed transitioning with his wife. Still, he couldn’t bear to leave behind this night market life filled with local charm. It was truly exhausting, but seeing his loyal customers still coming, 15 years ago, he switched to selling these boxes of “night market Osaka pancakes.”

Fifteen years ago, this was still a very novel specialty snack—boxes of freshly grilled Japanese-style Osaka pancakes, and all along, they’ve only stuck to the ‘original flavor’ !

Xiao Gao: “Uncle, after all these years, why do you only sell the original flavor?”
(Original flavor refers to: one whole egg, shrimp, squid, corn, and juicy alpine cabbage as the basic fillings)

Osaka pancake uncle: “Making these Osaka pancakes, you have to mix and cook them fresh to make them delicious. Too many flavors, and we’re afraid we can’t maintain the quality.”
(Freshly mixing and cooking means the homemade batter, eggs, seafood, and vegetable fillings all have to wait until the customer orders before the eggs are cracked, seafood and vegetables are added, and then each portion is mixed individually. The benefit is that every bite of the Osaka pancake is full of the sweet, delicate egg aroma and is super fresh. The downside is that it’s slow and can’t be ‘mass-produced’—each customer has to wait over 5 minutes.)

The uncle continued: “It’s okay, our regulars say our texture is great, fresh and delicious—that’s enough for us.”

Finally, the uncle said: “Our child went out to work and traveled around, but now they’re back to take over the stall. They grew up helping me at the stall, knowing our persistence and dedication. I’m very at ease handing it over to them now. New flavors can be handled by the next generation (laughs~).”

And so, the Osaka pancake uncle and his wife have stuck to their original intention of giving customers something simple and delicious. This ‘Kawashima Osaka Pancake’ shop may already be somewhat familiar to many—it’s the night market Osaka pancake flavor we’ve grown up eating. It can now be found in various night markets in Kaohsiung. The Guanghua Night Market branch is run by the second generation (the daughter specifically quit her engineer job and, together with her brother, opened the Guanghua Night Market branch).

They still stick to the original flavor, made to order, freshly cracked, and grilled. There are just three types of toppings: original teriyaki bonito mayonnaise, mustard teriyaki bonito mayonnaise, and spicy teriyaki bonito mayonnaise. Each is originally priced at 40 NT, or three for 110 NT. Because each one uses a whole egg and a variety of fresh fillings, grilled until the outside is golden and crispy and the inside is tender, smooth, and fluffy, dipped in the teriyaki bonito mayonnaise topping, it’s a local snack loved by both adults and kids. (Ah Xiong likes to ask the boss to grill it a bit more charred and crispy to enjoy the layered smoky aroma, but you’ll have to wait a little longer for that!)

%The batter is hand-whisked on the spot, ensuring maximum fluffiness and richness.（※This paragraph is garbled and untranslated.）

%This is precisely why it feels like an “independent” and stylish modern izakaya, though the portions aren’t particularly large.

%Every single order is a complete meal: eggs, shrimp, squid, cabbage, and other rich ingredients.

%The color is just as vibrant as when we were kids.

%The colors range from golden yellow, beige, to light brown.

%The golden yellow ones are especially appealing.

%The beige ones look warm and hearty.

%The light brown ones are equally inviting.

%They’re so delicious you’ll want to keep ordering round after round, unable to resist their charm.

Orders of three or more can be delivered; please call to inquire about quantity and distance.

Guanghua Night Market Branch: Kawashima Osaka Pancake
Address: No. 452, Guanghua 2nd Road, Lingya District, Kaohsiung City (near the Sanduo intersection)
Phone: 0989-002-538
Time: Every Tuesday to Sunday from 16:30–23:30 (Closed on Mondays)

Headquarters operating information:
Monday) Laogong Night Market Address: Next to the Yide Road Water Company (near R7 MRT Station)
Wednesday) RuiBei Night Market Address: Behind Ruifeng Junior High School on RuiBei Road
Friday) ErLing Night Market Address: Next to Dengyuan Braised Snacks on Yongyi Street
Sunday) Nanjie Night Market Address: Next to 7-11 on Gangshan Nanjie

Kaohsiung Food Map

Author introduction: Kaohsiung Food Map is shared by A-Xiong and Xiao-Gao, featuring local southern Taiwanese cuisine and cultural flavors. They also frequently introduce various tourist attractions, try out signature dishes from all over, capture beautiful scenery, and share Taiwan’s food and unique human warmth with everyone.

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