Okan

Following my nose while wandering around Brixton’s indoor market, I came across the wonderful little Okan Japanese café/restaurant, offering a set lunch for £6.75. The first of two courses was a delicious miso soup with salad containing edemame (immature soy beans). Next came okonomiyaki, traditional Osaka street-food with an English touch courtesy of Cheddar. It was a combination of cabbage, sweetcorn, noodles and cheese fried on a griddle, topped with a sweet brown sauce and finely chopped green seaweed. It was tasty but as the cheese coagulated it became harder to eat with chopsticks. The owner, from Osaka, and her assistant, from Chiba, were friendly.