Seoul Cheap Eats: 타꼬방 (Takkobang)

Takoyaki is an amazing snack for those in the mood for a little pick-me-up. For those who don’t know, takoyaki (타꼬야끼/たこ焼き) is actually a Japanese snack consisting of small pancake balls stuffed with octopus pieces topped with sauce and other toppings to make for one very flavor-packed experience. You can grab them fairly quickly as long as there’s no line. One of my favorite spots for takoyaki is 타꼬방(Takkobang) as they have the best prices I’ve seen and they give you plenty of toppings. You can find the Hongdae location which is very close to Bonjour. You can use the Bonjour address to get closer to this place as it is pretty hard to get to: 서울특별시 마포구 서교동 327-10 지하1층

You can order them in different quantities and can choose between original, cheese, or spicy. The cheese and spicy flavor are basically the original flavor with a dab of cheese or spicy sauce on the top. My favorite is cheese, but I usually mix it with half spicy for some variety. The spicy sauce is actually fairly spicy and the cheese adds a nice creamy taste to it. The original is pretty boring compared to these two in my opinion.

The takoyaki has a nice substantial piece of octopus inside each ball which makes for a very chewy texture blended well with the soft, delicate pancake ball. The pancake balls are have a nice crisp on the outside as well! There are also bits of cooked down corn and veggies that are somewhat indiscernible.

They then top off the balls with a mayo-based sauce and katsu/terriyaki mix sauce, along with loads of dried bonito flakes! Delicious!

Needless to say, as far as street food, takoyaki is one of my favorites. It is a bit hard to get full off of them, but 10 of them is a decent amount to hold yourself over until dinner! These typically are more popular during cooler days, but I enjoy them regardless of weather. I hope you get to enjoy these amazing little snacks and don’t forget to check out other foods I’ve come across in Korea here!