meat bun or steamed meat bun aka bakpao was something that my husband like. and to my surprise, this meat bun stall got recommended by anakjajan and kimdao. so naturally, i would like to try whether it's true. since it was a snack, i didn't put a pin on my google maps, since i thought we would just buy whenever we saw one. they said that horai 551 had many branches, so hopefully we could come across one.
and we were lucky. we were just arrived at JR namba station looking for the exit when i spotted the stall. the staff couldn't speak english, but luckily they understood enough to take our order. they sold the buns in pieces or in sets of 2, 4 and 6. we bought the 2 pieces per box one. for meat buns, it was quite pricey compared to the meat bun price back at home. but the buns were big enough, so hopefully it tasted okay. for horai 551, you could easily spot the stall judging by their red banner and big 551 sign. at first i thought they were just selling meat buns, but when we were at the airport waiting for our flight home, we found a horai 551 stalls selling chinese food as well as the buns.
the buns were quite big and soft and they would warm it up when we ordered them. they also gave a tiny packet of mustard, which was weird for us since we just ate the buns just as is back at home. perhaps even with chili or tomato sauce, but never mustard. the dough was soft and not chewy like the one we had at home, but the filling was the star. almost half the buns was fulled with meat. and it was a densely meat, so no wonder it was pricey. unfortunately, the meat only tasted a bit salty and nothing else. husband like the meat to be a bit sweet. so it was an okay bun, but not our favorite.
then when we walked around namba area, i got lost. i spotted a futami no butaman stall and remembered that that one was recommended by paolo. but i didn't bring any money at that time, and i forgot where it was. but luckily, when we passed the same road to go to matsusaka, we found it again. so we stopped by and bought some. the seller was an old lady and she obviously couldn't speak english, so we communicated with some hand signs and it was okay. at futami, they only sold the buns in pieces, a box of 3, 4 and 6 or 12. so we bought 2 pieces, since husband counted even when we bought more, the price was still the same.
they always had some buns already heated in the back so when we ordered, the lady got the already-steamed bun from the steamer and put it in a box. they also gave tiny packet of mustard as well. compared to horai, the buns size were slightly smaller. but not too much difference. the dough was a bit thinner. but the meat was different. while horai one was dense, the futami one was minced. both tasted a bit salty and umami, but the futami one had more garlic or onion inside. we could hear the crunchiness from the onion when we ate the buns. price wise, it was less expensive than horai.
which one is better? i think it's totally up to your taste. if you like buns with more and dense meat, then obviously go with horai 551. but if you like something with more onion, more like chinese bun (one with onion/garlic with a bit of meat juice inside), then buy futami. for me, both were okay, but we still like the meat buns from our hometown better. plus, they were cheaper here!
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