Tokusa

Tessa is often thought of as paper-thin, but diners at Tokusa describe slices cut thicker than usual, with a satisfying chew. Fugu skin and yubiki—lightly blanched fugu—can be enjoyed with ponzu, too. One diner singled out the sweet, gelatinous texture of the skin against the sauce’s tartness, while another remembered the pleasing texture of the yubiki.

For a meal centred on hot pot, one course follows a pleasing progression: yubiki, fugu hot pot, rice porridge and pickles. In one diner’s account, the hot pot came with Chinese cabbage, enoki mushrooms, tofu and harusame noodles, followed by porridge infused with the flavour of the fugu and vegetables. It makes for a meal that carries the taste of fugu through to the final spoonful. One visitor also recalled watching the fugu being prepared after ordering and was struck by the firmness of the flesh. Grilled fugu has its own advocates, and the menu lists both salt-grilled and garlic-ponzu-grilled options. It offers a change from hot pot and can be ordered for two or more people.

For shirako, or fugu milt, options include additions for the hot pot, salt-grilled shirako and shirako sake. Add it to the pot to enjoy alongside the fugu, or choose a grilled or sake preparation instead. It is a way to round out a meal focused on fugu with another dish to suit your appetite.

Drinks include hire-zake, sake warmed with a grilled fugu fin, as well as sake and beer. One diner enjoyed hire-zake with the fugu hot pot and finishing porridge, making it an option for adding a drink to the meal. Tokusa, in Hirano Ward, Osaka City, serves dinner and accepts reservations.