Hiroshima`s Special Stuff

The dishiest dish of Hiroshima is the amazingly versatile okonomiyaki, or savoury pancake. The pancake comprises of cabbage, egg and noodles (soba or udon) and you can add just about anything you like to it: vegies, meat, seafood or cheese. The popular combo here is pork, soba and egg, but as I`m not a fan of the Porco Rosso, I had the vegie version. It is cooked on an iron hotplate. Usually, one is seated around the hotplate so that the cooking of the pancake can be observed; also in some okonomiyaki restaurants, the staff invite you to cook you own as you sit at the bar. The pancake is bloody huge: I requested a half-size and could barely finish it. It is a tad greasy and is rather like the Japanese version of a huge fry-up, where the hot egginess and greasiness washes away one`s hangover. Methinks a most spiffsome plan would be to get absolutely whammed on sake and then, the next day with raging headache in tow, drag oneself to the nearest okonomiyaki bar and stuff myself silly. Have made mental note to this effect.