Want to try octopus balls that don't suck?

Gindaco's four flavour options, from left: Original, Teritama, Negidako and Cheese Mentaiko. Each ball is filled with eight grammes of octopus, sourced from Mauritania. Photo:The Star/Izzrafiq Alias

In 1935, a Japanese street vendor named Tomekichi Endo began peddling a peculiar offering in Osaka: a grilled wheat flour ball filled with octopus, called takoyaki (which means grilled octopus). Those humble beginnings signalled the rise of takoyaki’s soaring popularity in Japan.

In 1997, takoyaki outlet Gindaco (pronounced kin-da-go) launched in Japan and became so popular that it has now spread its wings to countries like Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Thailand.