Another KONA-MON story

AIZU-YA serves TAKOYAKI without any toppings; no sauce, no KATSUO-BUSHI (dried bonito), no AO-NORI (green laver). The dumplings themselves have SHOYU taste instead. According to a legend, AKASHI-YAKI, which is made at AKASHI in HYOGO Prefecture, is older than TAKO-YAKI. In 1933, ENDO TATSUKICHI, a founder of AIZU-YA, started cooking baked dumplings with meat and KONNYAKU in them. They were called RAJIO-YAKI as their shap looked lika a button of old radios. One day, a customer told the owner that he had found AKASHI-YSKI dumplings with small pieces of octopus in them taste better. Mr. ENDO renovated his dumplings with octopus in 1935. That was the start of TAKO-YAKI history. AIZU-YA's dumplings had been seasoned with SHOYU as Western sauce was expensive at the time. So the new dumplings were seasoned with SHOYU, too. Today you can find various types of TAKO-YAKI, or TAKO-YAKI-like dumplings, even sweet ones. Those with sauce on them are, of course, the most popular TAKO-YAKI today. Now I and my daughters find small brown baked dumplings in front of us on a plate. They look rather like small sweet cakes sold under the name of BEBI KASUTERA (baby sponge cakes). Their SHOYU frangrance gives us, or at least gives me, nostalgic feelings, and reminds me of the days when Western foods were still expencive. Do you ask how they taste? Give them a try yourself! On our way back from AIZU-YA, we found the Royal Hotel selling small cream puffs with the toppings of chocolate and coloured sugar on them, under the name of TAKO-YAKI chou a la creme. The TAKO-YAKI history seems to be renewing itself.