A wildly popular local specialty takes Japanese convenience store food to a hot new level. You never know what wonders await you when you pop into a Japanese convenience store, but this month you’ll w

A wildly popular local specialty takes Japanese convenience store food to a hot new level.

You never know what wonders await you when you pop into a Japanese convenience store, but this month you’ll want to make a pit stop at 7-Eleven, because that’s where a new find awaits: takoyaki!

Set to tempt you from the hot food display on the counter, these takoyaki are fried in-store and served fresh, ensuring a delightful, gooey texture. Made with a rich bonito-based broth, for a tasty burst of seafood umami, the 7-Eleven takoyaki also contain large pieces of octopus for a luxurious and satisfying eating experience.

The fried, battered octopus balls come with two beloved toppings, takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise, which are served separately in a handy squeeze-pack, ensuring you can enjoy the best flavours every time.

According to 7-Eleven, the new product was devised in response to the recent expansion of the takoyaki market. With more and more people falling in love with Japan’s fried octopus balls, they wanted to offer them to local and international customers, which led to the development of their very own signature variety.

▼ The 7-Eleven takoyaki will be sold in packs of three for 213 yen (US$1.34) or packs of six for 427 yen.

With none of the other top convenience store chains, namely Lawson and Family Mart, selling hot takoyaki, this new addition to 7-Eleven’s lineup is an exciting release that has the chain edging out the competition yet again. After wowing us with a viral chocolate sprinkle sakura bread sandwich earlier this month, 7-Eleven really knows how to please its customers, and we can’t wait to try its octopus balls when they’re released nationwide from 21 April.