On the same night we had dinner at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, I joined the queue for the much-hyped takoyaki from Tsukiji Gindaco at ION Orchard’s B4 food hall.
Verdict: Miles better than Takopachi over at Takashimaya! There’s a nice-sized chunk of octopus in each ball, and the beni shoga (red pickled ginger), tenkasu (crunchy flour bits), leeks, and katsuobushi (fish shavings) are of much better quality.
The best part was the crispy, browned exterior. They achieved this by pouring a final round of oil onto the hot iron pans to further brown and crisp up the cooked flour balls. Sweet…!
While it was delectable, it wasn’t quite as mindblowing as I’d expected. Hmm, maybe my expectations were too high? But a friend who’s tried the real deal in Japan told me that while it’s better than what’s currently available elsewhere in Singapore, it still falls short of the original ones in Japan.
Oh well, I guess we can’t eat chicken rice in Russia and expect it to be as authentic as in Singapore. At least we now have something closer to the real deal.
Tsukiji Gindaco
#B4-64/65, ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801
Open: 10am – 10pm daily
Julia,
When I was in college my former roommate from Osaka told Takoyaki came from Osaka and show me how to Osaka sushi which is made in a mold and slice. Filling were cooked fillings She does not like raw fish sushi and she from Japan too.
Hi Betty, yes, takoyaki is originally from Osaka. I also prefer cooked fillings over raw fish in sushi. π
I tried this in July and that at point of time the chefs from Japan are teaching the new staff. Not sure if the batch you are having now is prepared by local staff or the Japanese chefs but the Takoyaki is not crispy for a few minutes…
Have you tried the Taiyaki? Something different too… They have savoury flavours…
P.S. I dropped a few comments while at work here and there but they are always not published, neither do I get any error messages, now I am sending at home, hope this is ok =)
Hi Fen! π
When I was there, I didn’t see any Japanese chefs. There were about 5 “chefs” making the takoyaki, all locals. In fact, a couple were still having on-the-job training. That’s partly why there’s a queue. The new trainees were very slow…
Savoury taiyaki? Sounds interesting! I must check it out next time I’m there.
Hmm…it’s strange your comments from work didn’t get published. Maybe your work server can detect non work-related surfing?? π
We always wanted to try this out at ION but the queue was always so long!! Wonder how does it differs from takopachi at ngee ann city.
Fen: We’ve tried the Taiyaki at ion. Mr Obanyaki at ngee ann city was better.:)
Nice to see you again, my dear sistas from SistaFood! π
I’d say the takoyaki here is more authentic than takopachi, although secretly I still yearn for takopachi’s bacon and cheese. Heh, not so secret anymore! π
Is Mr Obanyaki a new taiyaki stall? Another new place to check out!
haha! My Obanyaki is not a new store. At Ngee Ann city basement right behind Tori-Q where takopachi is located there too. Their fish taiyaki taste much better than the Taiyaki at ION. We love their azuki red bean fish taiyaki! The pancake was so crispy outside and piping hot azuki red bean inside. We always wait for the freshly made ones so that we can eat it hot! π
Oh, I’d no idea it’s called Mr Obanyaki! Yeah, tried their red bean taiyaki before. It’s indeed lovely. π
wow they look quite generous with the ingredients in the takoballs!
speaking of taiyaki, i think Ooki taiyaki at Raffles City is pretty worth a try .. they’ve got some local-inclined flavours like pumpkin kaya, D24 durian, apple custard etc. found them pretty alike the ones i had in Japan. I like the blueberry+ cheese taiyaki at Mr Obanyaki as well(:
Hi elaine, Ooki Taiyaki sounds interesting, with more localized flavors. Thanks for the recommendation! π
the octopus chunks were so big , it seems alive!
I was elated when I saw that Gindaco was finally in our sunny island. I have not tried the Japanese outlets before but I always have them when I was in Hong Kong. Comparing the takos from Gindaco HK and SG, SG ones really lose out. I think need to give it some time before I ‘waste’ my money on soggy in the insides takos.
Hi koshiru, yeah, the ones I had also had soggy insides. When I was there, most of the staff making the tako balls were trainees. Maybe they need more time to perfect their skills. But I must say the takoyaki here is still better than other places I’ve tried in SG.
i believe their standard are slowly improving…
as what u all said they are learning from the japanese chef earlier so give them sometime time…no matter wad i believe it is still beta than takopachi at least the takoyaki they serve is piping hot..