Do you like takoyaki (octopus dumplings) ? Takoyaki seems to change depending on where you live. One of the most common differences between Osaka takoyaki and Tokyo takoyaki is the texture. For example, the texture of takoyaki in Tokyo is generally “crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside,” while Osaka’s takoyaki is generally “fluffy and thick”. In addition, while some restaurants in Tokyo add cabbage or Chinese cabbage as an ingredient, Osaka’s takoyaki do not.
Therefore, if you want to eat authentic Osaka takoyaki in Tokyo, you will have to find a restaurant and go to that restaurant to get the authentic Osaka takoyaki. The Odaiba Takoyaki Museum is the place where five authentic Osaka takoyaki restaurants are gathered in one place.
The Odaiba Takoyaki Museum is a hands-on food theme park where you can enjoy takoyaki from famous Osaka restaurants while in Tokyo. Each restaurant offers takoyaki made with the utmost care and attention to detail, including the batter, cooking method, and sauce. This is a rare spot where all of the famous takoyaki restaurants are gathered together to make even the best Osaka people gasp in delight. Takoyaki is Osaka’s soul food, but the taste and style of takoyaki varies greatly depending on the restaurant, from crunchy to melty and fluffy. At the Odaiba Takoyaki Museum, visitors can enjoy takoyaki from five famous restaurants, each with its own unique flavor. Let’s compare the takoyaki of these famous restaurants, which are well-known to all Osaka people.
Imodako
The dashi (soup) dough material taken from chicken is soft and large with octopus! Aomori’s less sticky yams are diced and quickly boiled, then soaked in broth and left to soak for a day before being used as ingredients for takoyaki. The octopus is thick enough to release the broth when grilled, and the broth is a blend of three kinds of flour, chicken stock, dried bonito flakes, green onions, ginger, and other ingredients slowly simmered in a broth. The crunchy texture of the yamaimo, the moderate flavor of the broth, and the tasty octopus are in perfect balance. Be sure to try the takoyaki with a Japanese flair!
Yamachan
It features a secret broth made by simmering a chicken broth base with bananas, apples, and other fruits, onions, cabbage, and more than 10 other seasonal vegetables for four hours every day.
When the soup is slowly grilled on a custom-made thick griddle, the ingredients hidden in the soup release their aroma and flavor all at once.
Enjoy the flavorful dough material, in which both fruits and vegetables are seasonal.
Akaoni
Baked from raw octopus, Akoni’s octopus dumplings are boiled in the dough, and the taste is exquisite! The taste, aroma, and texture are exceptional. Please enjoy the unique taste of Akaoni, which spares no time!
Aizuya
Pick up a small bite-sized takoyaki with your hand and pop it in.
After the crispy puff pastry texture, the dough overflows with a delicious flavor like Japanese soup stock.
The perfect balance of crispiness and tenderness is a technique inherited from the previous generation, which takes 10 minutes to bake.
To take advantage of the deep dough made from bonito broth and soy sauce, the only ingredients are octopus and “Tenkasu” (crunchy bits of deep-fried dough produced as a byproduct of cooking tempura), a very simple filling.
Be sure to start your takoyaki tour at this long-established restaurant.
Kukuru
Kukuru’s specialties are the ingredients and texture.
The large takoyaki is filled with fresh large octopus and crunchy green onions.
The spicy red ginger and sweetened “Tenkasu” are added to accentuate the flavor of the ingredients.
The way the takoyaki is rhythmically returned with a long blade is just like a performance!
The softly baked takoyaki is finished off with a splash of white wine like a flambé.
Topped with a fruity sauce and mayonnaise, or if you want to be even more particular, top with top-quality dried bonito flakes from Makurazaki, Kagoshima Prefecture.
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