Tenku Bakudanyaki is Supersized Takoyaki
Posted by Stephanie Co & Todd Smith on Thursday, June 18th, 2009Tags for this Article: Japanese, review, Richmond, takoyaki, Tenku
My sister invited me out this afternoon for this so-called giant takoyaki ball. Not only was the idea of eating interesting, but the mention of these Japanese-style fritters being served out of a van in Richmond certainly got my attention. After a few U-turns, we managed to find this inconspicuous van, (it was actually a little trailer) parked on a empty lot across RONA.
Immediately, we were both were delighted by the simplicity of the operation. Tenku Bakudanyaki has no seating, just a little tent to eat under.
Each bakudanyaki costs 500 cents (yes, it says 500 cents on the menu) and is baked with seven main ingredients: cabbage, shrimp, octopus, squid, quail egg, rice cake, and sausage. The difference between these tasty morsels is the sauce and toppings. After ordering an original for myself and a pizza for my sister, we waited roughly three minutes and were presented with a fist-sized bakudanyaki in a little cute Chinese take-out box. It was beautifully sprinkled with bonito flakes, seaweed, and drizzled with our chosen sauces. Napkin and chopsticks tucked in on the side.
Though everything tasted great, I found that mine had too much mayo and it was overpowering the other ingredients. Still, we ended up leaving with smiles on our faces and our jeans stretched.
Open 7 days a week from 12:00pm – 9:30pm, this relatively unknown set up is located on a parking lot between Gilbert Road and Elmbridge Way. It’s perfect for anyone wanting something a little different.
Ooh, now THAT sounds incredibly good! Like Japadog only…suburban! Thanks for the deets and visual commentary Stephtodd!
Oh, this makes me want to trek out to Richmond. Giant takoyaki, yum!