If you've followed our earlier food adventures, you would have noticed that we like Japanese food. Not only the usual tempura or katsu, but also more Japanese-y foods. Like takoyaki (balls of wheat flour with all sorts of flavorings, fillings and toppings) and okonomiyaki (the heftier pancake version of the takoyaki). We've had a lot of takoyaki, and so far the BEST kind in this country comes from Octoboy. Of course, that's their specialty. Most of their outlets only serve takoyaki, but their main store in Tomas Morato, Quezon City serves all kinds of Japanese food. Even okonomiyaki. We just had to go to the mothership to sample all the goodness.
First up was some takoyaki. They serve 3 flavors - octopus, shrimp and bacon. The service was a bit slow, but after some time we were able to eat. It's really surprising how good this stuff makes you feel. It's got a sweetness from the mayonnaise and the sauce, and some mild seafood flavors from the fillings (except for the bacon). The main restaurant serves theirs kind of overcooked though, we prefer it with a little less charring. But still, good, smooth tasting carbohydrate fun. Oh, and the octopus inside is real, it's got a nice firm texture to it, as opposed to squid which is a bit softer.
We also tried their katsudon (because I was a bit hungry for some pork and rice). Not bad, the meat was nice and thick for the price. It's just not as uplifting anymore, once you've had katsudon from one of those fancy katsu places. Taste was just a tad bit on the overpowering side, perhaps too much kikkoman soy sauce? But it was a good, filling meal.
We also tried their yakiudon - just think pancit canton but Japanese. It had a LOT of stuff in and on it: vegetables, beef slices, loads of sauce. This was surprisingly hard to finish because there was so much of the stuff. There were 3 of us eating already and it almost survived the night without getting finished - almost :). The sauces gave the sweetness to the dish, with the other ingredients giving a strong savory flavor. More carby goodness - I quite enjoyed this.
And last but not least, the okonomiyaki. Our first was ordered from one of the okonomiyaki specialty stores in Little Tokyo along Don Chino Roces Ave. (aka Pasong Tamo) in Makati. It's been a fascination ever since. We sampled Octoboy's okonomiyaki - I think it was bacon (they had several flavors) - and it was a pretty close second to the Little Tokyo one. Imagine a pancake with a savory, wheat based batter, mixed in with noodles, bacon strips, and all sorts of Japanese flavored spices. Top it off with special mayo and okonomiyaki sauce, and you have an okonomiyaki. It took a while to serve but was promptly vaporized by all the people at the table. Yep, we like our Japanese "pancakes" :D.
This set us back about 1050Php. It may take a while to get the food (or maybe that was just how they are on weekend nights), but the authentic Japanese taste you get is quite worth it. Just stick with the okonomiyaki and takoyaki though, and maybe the yakiudon if you want to get stuffed - there's plenty of other places to get katsudon :).
