I heart octopus balls

Let’s talk about some Japanese soul food now, and forget about all health concerns for a lil’ while. TAKOYAKI (aka ‘octopus balls’)! No, they are not octopus testicles of any sort, but savory bite-size spheres made with egg/flour batter, with an octopus piece inserted inside each one, and then topped off with bonito flakes, seaweed seasoning, mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce. Makes for a really great sharing snack, as they usually come in a set of 8.

The 2 places I’ve tried them in Manhattan are:
1. OTAFUKU (236 East 9th Street, near 2nd Ave.)
This hole-in-the-wall take-out place specializes in takoyaki and okonomiyaki. (The latter is a pan-fried batter pancake, kind of like takoyaki but in pancake form … it’s also filled with a large component of shredded cabbage. I am not a fan of cabbage, so I stick with the takoyaki.) Anyhoo, the takoyaki here is gooood! They’re larger than the ones at Yokocho and are filled with a decently sized piece of octopus. The ever so slightly crispy exterior gives way to delectable gooeyness once you bite into it ... mmm.

2. VILLAGE YOKOCHO (8 Stuyvesant Street)
The inside of this popular restaurant is made to look like the courtyard of a little Japanese villa of some sort, really cute. The takoyaki here isn’t as good as the ones at Otafuku. That’s ok though, since there are so many top-notch authentic Japanese tapas to try. (I even had ground raw yam once; the dish looks almost identical to snot and has the exact same consistency too … yum?). All the dishes are reasonably priced. Among the ones that I’ve tried, I recommend the tofu (both the uncooked seasoned kind and the tempura one), the beef bowl (comes with a raw egg to crack over your rice), and the various ‘fatty’ fish.
Sidenote 1: We saw the one and only, perfectionist, and dessert-extraordinaire Chika (from CHIKALICIOUS) here. If this place is good enough for her, really then, it must be something.
Sidenote 2: I kept on calling this place ANGEL SHARE for the longest time due to the fact that the restaurant houses a bar by that name; which can be accessed by a ‘hidden’ side door upon first entering. They make delicious drinks, but also abide by a set of rules, one of which they do not seat parties more than 4.

Now, back to the takoyaki. In Hong Kong I have been doing some food-research and concluded that THE place to get them is at GINDACO, which is a chain across HK with some shops closing as late as 1 AM.