I was walking around Umeda (梅田) station in Osaka in search of some food when I came across Soraniwan Dining (空庭) at Hankyu Grand Building. Soraniwan Dining comprises four floors of restaurants with a mix of Japanese and Western cuisine from the 28th to 32nd floor. Curious, I decided to head up for a look. I was accorded with a magnificent view of Osaka upon stepping out of the lift and I walked around all four floors before I decided on Choutsugai for my second lunch. Yes, I had one earlier at 11.30am and by the time I got to Umeda at 2pm I decided I was hungry enough to warrant another round. I know, greedy me!

The meal I chose cost a pretty reasonable ¥1680 inclusive of tax.

The appetisers comprised a small piece of sweet potato which was really very sweet, potato with Japanese mayonnaise, salad mix with citrus dressing and some shiso, tofu on top of a small slice of fish, and fish cakes with small bits of edamame in it.

Tofu-like dish with a thinly sliced radish served with an interesting gravy made of ponzu dressing and possibly some dashi stock (a seaweed and fish-flavoured stock).

I really liked the delicate mix of flavours in these thin slices of suzuki fish (Japanese sea bass) which were lightly grilled and paired with a salty gravy and given added kick with a pinch of wasabi.

This bento box had tempura fish, eggplant and fish cake, zucchini and cucumber salad, and lotus root tempura with mackerel and rice cake. These tasted pretty good but were not exceptional.

Like a piece of artwork, these brown unagi (freshwater eel) slices are accompanied by green kelp and lady’s fingers (okra), and topped with white tororo (Japanese yam) puree. A sprig of the purple shiso flower adds a delicate touch and a red wolfberry adds a sweet-sourish taste plus a pop of colour.

Lastly the meal ends with a delicious bowl of miso soup and a bowl of rice that is cooked with bits of carrot and suzuki fish, making an otherwise plain bowl of rice tastier.

The restaurant seating is very interesting in that all seats face out towards the view and seats are always placed in pairs or are booth seats that are good enough for two people. This place is also a bar at night and with acid jazz piping through the sound system, it does seem like a pretty cool place to hang out with a date!

View from the restaurant

28F, Hankyu Grand Building. 8-47 Kakudacho
Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0017, Japan
Tel: +81 (0)6 6131 2242
Lunch: 11 am – 2.30 pm
Tea: 2.30 pm – 5 pm
Dinner: 5 pm – 11 pm