Takoyaki in Chinatown

When I first walked past this stall in Chinatown, I did a double-take. A few more steps were taken, before I realised I was being foolish and so I hurried back to pick up a snack. A poster advertising takoyaki - balls of batter studded with octopus - was what I was first drawn in by. I was seduced by a pancake being made though and made a last minute decision swap.

Batter is poured onto a hot plate and spread thin to form the base. An egg is cracked on top and then spread over it, before it's then flipped. Chilli sauce and what looked like hoisin sauce was brushed over it, and some spring onions scattered on top. What followed was what drew me in; a frankfurter and a fried dough stick, before it is all wrapped up into a big steaming rectangle. 

Oh happy, glorious filthy snack. I believe this is a type of breakfast pancake, jian bing. Slightly crispy on the outside with soft doughy pancake,  I wanted a little more chilli kick but otherwise it was great. The frankfurter, one of those cheap types you get in jars, added a little porkiness to it, and further crunch came from the dough stick. For £2.50, this was pretty satisfying.

I returned the next day for takoyaki, a Japanese snack. Ever since trying them in New York for the first time, I've been hoping to find them in London. Though not quite up there with Otafaku's, they are made to order so I milled around for 10 minutes, watching the man also make Hong Kong-style egg waffles. Once cooked, the takoyaki are drizzled with mayonnaise and a fruity HP-like sauce, before being topped with bonito flakes. These were delicious; crisp fried exteriors and melting innards, a chewy piece of octopus within flavouring the batter. Again £2.50 and you get 4.

The stall is located outside a Chinese supermarket called Chinatown Market, just off Newport Place. Google Map here.