Takoyaki in Australia is pretty samey, ball shaped batter with octopus in side, cooked in small metal pan. When finished they are topped with Takoyaki and mayo and topped with bonito flakes. Generally seen as street vendor type food in markets. I’ve never had a variation on the flavour – until last night.

Following a day of cycling around Osaka, dinner was at a local bar called 極楽たこ望. Takoyaki was first created in Osaka around 1935 by a street vendor, so it seemed appropriate for us to be enjoying the style of food. As there was five of us, I was impressed there was table inside this small bar we all could squeeze around.

One of the delights in travelling with Japanese people is not having to read the menu with google translate even though we’re always willing to give it a go, and allowing others to choose. This is the added benefit when you are able to eat anything.

The first dish was otoshi, always served as a seat charge in a bar (generally) which was fish and tofu. Next up was fish served carpaccio, european style. The first style was your traditional take on the dish, with the second a curry flavour (amazing!!), the third was garlic and herbs, and the last was in a soup based dish…. the food was really enjoyable, and made more so as it was shared with company.