Gindaco Takoyaki Stall - Shinjuku Station, Tokyo

Tacoyaki

There are tons of healthy food options in Tokyo.  Convenience stores abound with sliced fruit, veggies and dip, sandwiches and onigiri (rice balls).  But if you crave something hot, oily and extremely bad for you, then you should try eating octopus balls, otherwise known as takoyaki.  Takoyaki is a slow-cooked ball of batter with a small, chewy piece of octopus in the centre.  The batter contains tempura scraps, red pickled ginger and pieces of green onion.  The octopus balls are covered with a heavy sweet sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed bits and bonito flakes.  Most izakaya (Japanese-style bars) will serve takoyaki with a soft outer shell but I much prefer Gindaco's crispy outer shell which comes from the attendants adding more oil while cooking.  Takoyaki is a favourite of mine because it tastes similar to okonomiyaki.  I don't usually like octopus, but it's great when eaten this way.


 Gindaco originally only sold the classic tacoyaki (as described above) but has now branched out to offer other toppings for their octopus balls: the picture at the top of the sign is for teritama mayone-zu (teriyaki sauce with egg and mayonnaise) for ¥600; the second row has chi-zu mentaiko (cheese with spicy cod roe) for ¥600, negidako (green onion with a dipping sauce) for ¥600 and the classic takoyaki for ¥500.   Each of these orders come in a paper boat with 8 octopus balls (which is really the perfect number for anything to do with octopus).  The bottom of the menu shows a special where you can save a whole ¥20 by ordering 16 balls of takoyaki (¥980).  If you pay an extra ¥100, 8 of those balls can be covered with the more expensive toppings.  When ordering the food at the cashier, there is a picture menu and you can simply point to what you want.  The staff will usually ask if you want (mochi kaeri) take-out or (koko de taberu) eat-in.   If you do take-out, Gindaco won't add sauce to the balls but instead includes small packets of sauce and mayonnaise in the bag, thereby preventing the balls from getting too soggy on the trip home.  If it's eat-in, then the staff will ask you if you want all the toppings (mayonnaise, bonito flakes, etc).  Be careful when eating the balls straight away, the insides are usually piping hot.  Most people seem to enjoy popping a whole ball into their mouth, then desperately breathe air in and out in a vain attempt to cool it down.   They repeat this process with the entire batch, so I suppose burning your mouth is part of the enjoyment of eating takoyaki.

  

Since Gindaco is a popular chain of food stalls, it's common to see one around stations.  Every branch has the noticeable red sign and you can usually smell the frying oil from afar.  You can also recognize Gindaco by the huge glass windows through which you can watch the staff make the octopus balls.  There is sometimes a sitting or standing area near the cashier.  Shinjuku's branch has an indoor standing area, while Ginza's has a proper sitting area with tables. Gindaco allows smoking, so if you prefer fresh air, simply take your takoyaki to the nearest park and enjoy.  Gindaco's takoyaki is the best way to have octopus and makes for a great, quick snack.

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