Most of you probably have heard about Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き). Some people call it the Japanese Pancake, others called it the Japanese Pizza. The name came from the word okonomi (to one's liking) and yaki (grill/cook). As the name implies, you could put whatever ingredients you want (cabbage, egg, cheese, meat, shrimp, scallop, pork, kimchi, etc) and cook it on top of an iron griddle called teppan.
Although there are many kinds of toppings and ingredients involved, you could separate okonomiyaki into two types, Osaka (or Kansai) Okonomiyaki and Hiroshima Okonomiyaki. In Osaka, we mix the batter and ingredients first inside a bowl and then cook it on the teppan. In Hiroshima, we layer the ingredients one by one on the teppan and then press it down together while cooking. If the Hiroshima okonomiyaki is served with a layer of noodles (either yakisoba or udon), the dish is called modanyaki (modern yaki).
Most restaurants in Tokyo serve the Osaka style Okonomiyaki. Recently, I had a chance to go to Hiroshima and taste the 'real' Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki.
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