Bakabon Osaka: Dandan Noodles & Sichuan Cuisine

Near Tenjinbashisuji Rokuchome in Osaka, there is a Sichuan-style ramen shop called “Bakabon” that has been selected as a Tabelog Ramen Hyakumeiten multiple times (including the 2025 Osaka Ramen Hyakumeiten). What makes this shop special is its dual role: serving ramen during the day and transforming into a Sichuan cuisine restaurant at night! Located about a 5-minute walk from Tenjinbashisuji Rokuchome Station on the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line, you can find this distinctive little restaurant. Bakabon has captured the hearts of many gourmets with its rich Sichuan-style “rich dandan mazesoba”; with one bite, you can feel the depth of four thousand years of Chinese history.

The owner, Mr. Liu Baojun, comes from Liaoning, China, and having worked in restaurants since childhood, he had already mastered the fundamentals of cooking. Later, he went to Chongqing to study authentic Sichuan culinary techniques in depth, while also developing a great interest in ramen. The most popular ramen is the “Tori Soba” (chicken-based, available in soy sauce or salt flavor), but if you ask the staff, they will mostly recommend the “rich dandan mazesoba”—a spicy mixed noodle dish that has deeply captivated many people.

This mazesoba uses the specialty “Umaaka eggs” from Kagoshima as a finishing touch, allowing the reddish yolk to combine perfectly with the rich broth. In addition, the noodles are topped with a little cilantro and a special French-style terrine; these ingredients are rarely seen in typical ramen shops, yet they complement the noodles perfectly. It is especially worth mentioning that at night, this small shop opens its second floor, allowing more guests to enjoy delicious Sichuan cuisine.

The “rich dandan mazesoba” at Bakabon is definitely a star dish you must order. This noodle dish carries a faint aroma of Sichuan peppercorns, and the spicy fragrance hits the nose, making you feel the power of the numbing spice from the very first bite. Thick-cut seared chashu is served with the noodles, paired with green onions covered in chili oil, making it impossible to stop after just one bite. The sauce for the mazesoba is thick and carries the aroma of sesame; the extra-thick noodles are fully integrated with this sauce, and every bite is full of chewy texture. The spiciness gradually spreads in the mouth, but it doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable; rather, it is a very refreshing level of heat that makes you break into a sweat.