Walking around East Village as a foodie is like walking around a candy store as a child. This area has the most interesting food in NYC that I've explored. From little unique cafes to hole in a wall restaurants, the food spots here are limitless.
Exploring the area, I found Otafuku. It's a cute, clean, and authentic Japanese owned restaurant.
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| 239 E 9th St, New York, NY, 10003 |
This place is quite small and orders are made quickly (at least for the Takoyaki)
I ordered the Takoyaki.
For those who don't know, takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. It is typically filled with diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled, ginger and onions. It is served with sauce that is similar to Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise. Sometimes it comes with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) which are flakes of dried fish.
It was really hard to get a clear picture of the takoyaki because of all the delicious bonito flakes all over it.
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| Takoyaki - $7 |
I was really excited to have takoyaki in New York because for some reason, it's apparently hard to find good takoyaki in the city. It tasted amazing! It melted in your mouth and the seasoning was perfect. All the ingredients just mix perfectly together with the seaweed flakes, the bonito flakes, the sauces, and the takoyaki itself! Yum!
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| Finally, I all the bonito flakes. Here's a clearer picture of what's underneath. |
Overall, this place was a great discovery. I've only tried the takoyaki here, but I definitely want to come back for more and try all their different food. This place does authentic Japanese food well.
"I buy soy sauce and flavor it five different ways: with sake, mirin, sugar, kombu and bonito flakes. I use them on lots of dishes at home."
-Masahara Morimoto
