Tucked away in the bowels of an office building on Price of Wales Drive is a new Japanese restaurant serving up delicious home-style food.

Like several restaurants featured on Eat the Strip, Takedon Ottawa, a takeout joint that opened in 2021, is easy to miss. It’s located on the ground floor of an office building offering several healthcare services.

We decided to visit after a promising email from Ottawa Morning listener Nikki. “Takedon Ottawa is this amazing Japanese little place off of Prince of Wales that we found and was amazing,” she wrote.

“Try it, you won't be disappointed.”

Well, no surprise there, but Nikki was right.

We were greeted by restaurant owner Jenny, who moved to Ottawa from Japan during the pandemic. The Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef also worked in the food business in Paris. Her aim with Takedon was to serve warm, home-style food that she was used to eating at home in Japan.

I decided to order the Japanese chicken curry based on a Google review of someone who was raving about the dish, which reminded him of his mom’s cooking. Danielle ordered the pork yakisoba stir-fried noodles. And we ordered a five-piece takoyaki to boot.

The chicken curry shared the consistency of a warm stew, cooked well and the boneless pieces of meat were not stringy at all. It was served with thick chunks of carrot and jasmine rice.

Fall is the perfect time to order the chicken curry, which warmed us up and reminded us of stews best had this time of year.

The noodles were simple yet satisfying, very much meeting the expectation of a home-cooked meal. The sesame-sprinkled strips of pork were cooked well and the noodles were not too oily.

We enjoyed the chicken curry more and the noodles, but the takoyaki might be Takedon’s best kept secret.

Jenny was kind enough to top the takoyaki with extra katsuobushi, or dried tuna flakes. This was our first time trying the delicious, battered balls of octopus. The interior was like nothing we’ve had before; it was popping with flavour. It was doughy, creamy and tangy. I must admit, I didn’t quite know what the umami flavour profile tasted like until we tried Takedon’s takoyaki, which is when I had the “aha” moment.

We’ve been dreaming of the takoyaki since.

Go and try some yourself, you won’t be disappointed.