London, where there are tens of thousands of Japanese people living at any one time, is awash with world cuisine. But most Japanese food available in eateries there would hardly pass muster in its homeland.
That is where Hideyuki Uno scores big, because — as founder-proprietor of the takoyaki (fried octopus) business Juzu — he's wowing passersby with the real fast-food deal from Japan.
Originally an Osaka delicacy, takoyaki are small doughy balls of batter, mixed with tempura scraps, fish or kelp powder, pickled ginger and spring onion. That tasty dollop is then stuffed with a piece of octopus and cooked on a griddle before being served piping hot and topped with a sweet brown sauce, mayonnaise and powdered seaweed or katsuoboshi (fish flakes).