No Need to go to a Festival for Great Grilled Octopus Balls (Takoyaki)

Takoyaki has made its way to cities in the West, so you may be familiar with them. They are said to have originated in Osaka which is why you'll see so many takoyaki stands in that city. At these shops you'll often see batter being poured into special grills which are made up of several half-sphere concave molds. A small piece of tako or octopus is put in each mold full of batter, then when it starts to brown on one side it is flipped with a single skewer so that the batter runs back into the circular mold to form a full sphere. The balls are taken out and usually placed into a paper container, then topped with a sweet and savory takoyaki sauce and perhaps some mayonnaise. They are so enjoyable to bite into because they are soft and pillowy, and in contrast the octopus gives you something juicy to chew on. The sauce too adds so much umami and flavour.

Another place you will see takoyaki is at festivals around the country. Many festivals have food stalls where typical festival food such as kara-age (fried chicken), okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake), chocolate covered bananas, crushed ice drinks, skewered and grilled meats, and bite-sized castella cakes. Takoyaki is another one of those foods that can be found at festivals since it is easy to hold and eat while walking.

Apparently every family in Osaka owns a smaller version of these special takoyaki grills, and they have been known to hold takoyaki parties with friends or family. But here in Nagoya it may not be so popular to own a takoyaki grill, and so we need to go out to get our takoyaki fix. I recently found a great stand right by Kurokawa Station that makes excellent takoyaki.  It's called Koyama No Kinsan, and I think it's the owner working there all the time because the hand drawn picture of a man looks like him!

Takoyaki stand by Kurokawa station

For just 500 yen, you can get a box of 6 balls, larger than a standard home takoyaki grill. If your lucky the employee may throw an extra one or two! There are a variety of sauces you may choose from including the regular takoyaki sauce, soy sauce, salt flavoured and you can also have it dipped in a cup of dashi (a style called akashiyaki). I tried the takoyaki sauce on one occasion, and the salt flavour on the other. Both were very good but I think I prefer the more subtle salt flavour since it brings out the flavour of the ball itself. Either way, I do recommend a topping of mayonnaise, ao nori (dried crumbled seaweed) and katsuo bushi (shaved dried bonito flakes). Biting into the soft ball gives such a big burst of umami flavour. It practically melts in your mouth until you get to the piece of octopus which adds to the overall flavour with its natural umami. 

'Shio' or salt flavoured with mayonnaise, aonori and katsuo flakes

Area: about 100m away from Kurokawa Station 黒川駅
Shop: Koyama No Kinsan こうやまの金さん
Map: https://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230110/23063933/dtlmap/