I went to renew my Universal Studios annual pass. After finishing the procedure, I planned to have lunch and then enjoy the park. However, I found out that the annual pass was not valid that day due to it being a blackout date. The staff gave me a Minion sticker as a consolation. Since I couldn't dine inside the park, I decided to look for a place to eat in Universal City. I stumbled upon "Ootoya," a Tokyo-based restaurant. The menu was reasonably priced, and I opted for the "Asian set meal" which included pork shabu-shabu and an ethnic salad with ginger rice. The food was served on a tray, and I added cilantro and dressing to my liking. The meal was delicious, and I especially enjoyed the ginger rice. The bill came to 1600 yen, which was a great deal compared to the prices inside the park. Overall, it was a satisfying dining experience at a reasonable price.

This area gets really crowded all at once at the same time! It's to be expected. In the midst of it all, this place offers the reliable taste of a chain restaurant, but what sets it apart is that if you make a reservation, they will notify you via LINE, which is quite a nice service (laughs). You can also browse souvenirs at the shop downstairs while you wait. This kind of perk comes with it. Also, places like Sushiro will also take reservations, but the number of options they give you is astonishing. In any case, you can keep such a restaurant in mind and explore other options as well (laughs).

This time, I came to eat at a restaurant in Universal CityWalk again. I'm determined to conquer all the shops there, haha. Ootoya is located on the 3rd floor, but the road I thought was on the 1st floor is actually on the 2nd floor, so Ootoya is actually on the 2nd floor. This is a popular restaurant in Universal CityWalk, and in the evening it would usually be packed, but due to the influence of the coronavirus, waiting in line has completely disappeared. This time, I ordered the "Homemade Tofu and Chicken Stew Set Meal (930 yen)". I also changed the miso soup to "Plenty of Vegetable Barley Miso Soup (250 yen)" and added an order of "Pumpkin Croquette (160 yen)". A few years ago, when "Hokkai-kun Croquette" was in Konan, I used to order corn cream croquette and pumpkin croquette every time, but since they left, I haven't had the chance to eat them, so I've been wanting to eat them for a long time. Let's dig in. Hmm, as expected, it has a gentle flavor. The ginger is effective and it feels like it will warm up the body. The tofu that melts in your mouth, along with Chinese cabbage, carrots, shimeji mushrooms, and mitsuba are on top. You can choose from five-grain rice, white rice, or hijiki rice, and the large serving is free. I chose the hijiki rice in a large serving. There is a decent amount of hijiki in it, but I didn't really taste it... The "Plenty of Vegetable Barley Miso Soup" that I added on is literally filled with vegetables, and since it has less white miso, the taste is generally mild. Regardless of the taste, it's a soup dish after all. Maybe I should not have ordered this for this meal... The "Pumpkin Croquette" did not have the characteristic sweetness of pumpkin, which was disappointing. It couldn't erase the memories of Hokkai-kun Croquette. Overall, the taste this time was "average". Thank you for the meal~.

I stopped by the Ootoya restaurant in CityWalk near USJ. As I am not very familiar with Kansai cuisine, I often visit this restaurant when I am in the area. They had a seasonal menu featuring fresh oyster fry and horse mackerel fry. As a fan of horse mackerel fry, I immediately ordered it! I changed the rice to five-grain rice for added enjoyment and eagerly waited for my meal. After a while, the piping hot horse mackerel fry and oyster fry were served. Wait, is that grated daikon radish? A combination not commonly seen with fried foods... According to the staff, it is meant to be eaten with the horse mackerel fry. I hesitantly placed some grated daikon radish on the horse mackerel fry and took a bite. Wow! It was surprisingly refreshing and delicious! My companion got hooked on eating it with the grated daikon radish. If you want to try horse mackerel fry with daikon radish, definitely give it a try!

I had pumpkin croquettes and sweet red bean soup parfait. The pumpkin croquettes come with a small salad, so you can at least eat some vegetables! The croquettes are served cut in half. They were so delicious,,, I will definitely eat them again!

In the rain on the way home from work, I went to Universal Studios! Since the rain didn't stop, I went to Ootoya for the first time in a year at 8 p.m. Just my luck, my favorite Ootoya lunch set wasn't on the menu. I ordered the Skewered Cod and Vegetables in Black Vinegar Sauce instead. Last time they were out of multigrain rice, but today they had it! Of course, I got the large serving. It was ready in about 15 minutes. The set meal had been upgraded! It came with miso soup, pickles, and also a salad with potato salad. The black vinegar paired perfectly with the cod and vegetables. Delicious as always! Personally, I was happy to earn Rakuten points. Thank you for the meal! I want to come back again!

Everyone, the staff members were full of smiles and it was nice. The atmosphere was pleasant. There are various types of dishes at Ootoya, so it's hard to decide. The seaweed rice in the set meal was delicious. You can choose the portion size of the rice - large, medium, or small. As a small eater, I was able to finish the medium portion. The miso soup that came with it was also good. The basil chicken salad had a lot of salad but little meat. Green tea is complimentary and you can refill your water yourself. They only had a coffee bar for the drink bar, which was nice.

I visited this restaurant for dinner in June 2019. It is located in Universal Studios Japan. The atmosphere of the restaurant was filled with many foreigners, especially Chinese people. I ordered the Tofu and Meatball Set Meal for 960 yen, with an additional charge of 230 yen to change the miso soup to barley miso soup. The taste was okay. They offer well-balanced set meals at reasonable prices for a place like Universal Studios. Additionally, if you stay at the nearby Kintetsu Universal Hotel, you can receive a limited-time pass case and get one free drink from the drink bar by showing it. I recommend this place if you become a dinner refugee after visiting Universal Studios.

The domestic eel rice bowl can be eaten for 2000 yen (limited to 10,000 servings) on the midsummer day of the ox at GO Universal City Walk. Compared to other restaurants in the area, there were fewer people lining up, and we were quickly guided inside. However, the staff member had a loud voice and was arguing with customers, creating a less-than-pleasant atmosphere. We ordered the fried chicken set and it arrived promptly. The staff's service was very poor, so we were honestly disappointed. Last year, we had delicious limited edition eel rice bowl, so we will try again next year. It seems like the reason why there were fewer people at Ootoya compared to other restaurants with long lines is now understandable (perhaps they make people wait in line even when there are empty seats?). This is just an honest opinion, not a complaint.笑

I stopped by because it was on the way back from USJ. It was quite crowded as everyone seemed to have the same idea, but I managed to get in safely. There were five of us, but they guided us to our seats while maintaining social distance and seating us as close together as possible. It was reassuring to see them taking proper COVID-19 precautions during these times. I'm happy when establishments take safety measures seriously.

I had chicken cutlet rice bowl and pumpkin pudding. Delicious! I will go again.

Pork shabu-shabu with vegetable salad dressing 1070

It was stable but not particularly delicious.

"Ootoya lunch set meal"

Prices went up? But the taste is the same as always.