Doner Kebab Chao is a tiny shop at the edge of Den Den Town in Osaka near Ebisucho Station. Don't let the nondescript "take-out joint" decor fool you. Chao, which seats five, serves some of the most innovative chicken and beef doner kebabs in Osaka, and there are other delightful items on the menu.
Owners Toshiyuki Takeho, 69, and his wife, Asagiku Chao, 71, who is originally from Taiwan, met at a sushi restaurant in Taipei in 1977. He was running a wholesale meat distribution business in Osaka and she was a friend of the wife of his Taiwanese business partner. There was a brief blackout, and Takeho spilled soy sauce on Chao's new white dress.
"He took my number and offered to buy me a new dress, says Chao. "After he returned to Japan, he called me every day for 10 months. Three years later, we got married in Taipei."