We delight in some unusual octo-offerings at this Osaka-based takoyaki shop right smack in the middle of our own neighborhood.

Takoyaki: the quintessential soul food of Osaka. You’d be hard-pressed to visit Osaka and not see–or smell–several stalls selling the doughy, fried dumplings filled with slabs of octopus. It makes for a satisfying and comforting snack for all ages.

While not impossible to find in Tokyo by any means, takoyaki is certainly less common in Japan’s capital. That’s why our investigative senses were triggered when we caught wind that a location of the Osaka-based shop Takoyaki Ganso Donaiya is just a stone’s throw away from the SoraNews24 office in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood. Once we knew, we promptly headed over to check it out for ourselves.

Despite its smaller exterior, the shop offers limited indoor seating–six table seats and six counter seats–as well as takeout.

We sat down and began to peruse the menu when something caught our eye.

That thing was suyaki, which refers to plain takoyaki without anything extra on top. Normally takoyaki comes with a soy-based sauce and/or copious amounts of mayonnaise drizzled on top along with other accents such as bonito flakes. It’s unusual to eat it without any topping or sauce, which indicated to us that the shop must be very confident in the taste of its dough.

We promptly ordered the plain okonomiyaki, which came in a batch of eight pieces for 800 yen (US$5.45). The dumplings certainly looked plump, and they had a nice heft to them when we picked them up with chopsticks.

Using a smartphone app to measure their relative size, we found that each piece had a diameter of about 3-4 centimeters (1.18-1.57 inches). If we had been eating them at home, we probably would have cut one open to measure the size of the piece of octopus inside, too, but we refrained from doing so in public.

Instead, we sunk our teeth into a piece and were surprised to feel the slab of octopus practically jump out of the ball–it was a really generous size. Its taste was also anything but “plain” despite having no toppings. The outer dough was springy and the dashi flavor came through strongly, while the inside still had a slightly gooey and soft texture.

At that moment, something else on the menu caught our eye. Ganso Donaiya apparently had its own unique style of takoyaki called protein takoyaki with a special note that it was trending online as a good option for those on diets or weightlifting.

True to its name, each serving of eight Protein Takoyaki has 24.5 grams (0.86 ounces) of protein, and can be ordered either plain or with sauce for 1,200 yen. We promptly ordered a serving with sauce this time despite learning that it would take about 20 minutes to prepare.

Here it was in all of its protein-filled glory when it arrived. The dumplings certainly looked bigger than the previous ones, and the staff assured us that the octopus slices inside were bigger too.

As much protein powder is mixed into the batter as is possible before the takoyaki loses its round shape while cooking. Picking one up, it was also almost too heavy to be held by chopsticks.

We expected it to be a bit dry because of the added powder…but that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, it was pleasantly moist inside, and certain areas almost had the texture of a rolled Japanese omelet. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was the tastiest added-protein dish we had ever tasted.

At this point we were getting pleasantly full, but there was still one last menu item that we wanted to order before leaving. That was the yakisoba takoyaki (Sri Lanka-style) for 1,000 yen. In regards to the Sri Lankan aspect, that was because the shop worker, who was fluent in Japanese, was from Sri Lanka and used a spice blend reminiscent of his home country in the noodle mix.

The finished plate was a work of art, with slices of egg, spring onion, and carrot adding a colorful pop to the rice noodle covering. It also contained a spiciness that slowly crept up on us as we were eating. It would pair unbelievably well with a beer in the summer.

In fact, ALL of the takoyaki would pair well with beer…so we couldn’t help but order a glass to go with them all.

While Takoyaki Ganso Donaiya will help with your craving for Osaka street food, there’s another shopping complex in Tokyo that’s also got you covered for various regional flavors of ice cream from around Japan. Summer doesn’t get much sweeter than this!

Store information
Takoyaki Ganso Donaiya / たこ焼 元祖どないや
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3-9-3, 1st floor
東京都新宿区新宿 3-9-3 1F
Open: 6 p.m.-4 a.m. (last order at 3:30 a.m.)
Website

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