Octopus Balls: A Lunchtime Anatomy Lesson

"I had octopus balls for lunch" sounds pretty badass--and as it turns out, tastes pretty good. Takoyaki aren't actually octopus balls, of course. (I don't know much about the anatomy of cephalopods but I'm pretty sure they don't have 'em!) Takoyaki are bite-sized Japanese pancake balls, traditionally made with octopus. Maru Global claims to be the only takoyaki restaurant in town and given the special molded grill required to make these little savory balls, I don't doubt it.

I ordered the Seafood Sampler ($9), which included three of each: original octopus, spicy shrimp and crab cake. All three were delicious although two were a bit similar. The original octopus and spicy shrimp were stuffed with savory scallion and aromatic pickled red ginger, the octopus served with a rich Tonkatsu sauce and the shrimp with a spicy mayo. (FYI: Red ginger, beni shoga, is not the same as the gari, the pickled ginger served with sushi.) The crab cake balls were actually made with lump crab meat, not crab stick, and were quite good if not especially Japanese--less the ubiquitous Japanese spicy mayo. The homemade green tea, served unsweetened for lame people like me who like it that way, was perfect for washing it all down...

Although I don't usually judge restaurants of the Philly Bites genre (i.e. cheap) on their decor and presentation, takoyaki strikes me as too delicate and refined, honestly, to be served on paper plates and ordered at the counter. And I mean that as a compliment.

Maru Global

255 S 10th Street

Soup Dumplings: It's What's for Lunch

It remains to be seen whether it'll help me get accepted to medical school, but eating Dim Sum Garden's soup dumplings ($5) for lunch--everyday for a week, I kid you not--sure did help me finish my applications.

"Dumplings are good," replied Baker Boy when I suggested it for our Center City lunch date. He had no idea...

See, it isn't dumplings in soup, it's soup inside dumplings. Don't ask me how they do it. All I know is that it's good--hot, wet and messy like good...yeah. The pork filling is sweet and juicy and the dumpling dough is chewy but thin. Perfection. It comes as no surprise that they're made to order by hand. The scallion pancakes ($4) are simple, savory and also worth trying. And if you're looking for a vegetarian option, The Prodigal Jameson enjoys the steamed vegetable buns ($4).

If the restaurant looks a bit ghetto--neon signs and plastic chairs and all-- the soup dumplings are, well, ghetto delicious.

Dim Sum Garden
59 N. 11th Street

On my recent trip to NYC with The Kosher Kid, I tried the soup dumplings, also called "pork juicy buns," at the midtown location of the well-known Joe's Shanghai restaurants--as did The Kid formerly known as Kosher. (I'm a bad influence, it's true.) Impossible though it seemed, Joe's pork dumpling filling was even juicier than Garden's. Unfortunately, the Philly-to-NYC train fare makes this a decidedly less than cheap lunch option...

Joe's Shanghai
24 W. 56th Street
New York, NY