A sweet Danish that tastes like octopus balls.
There are a lot of exciting, innovative things happening in the Kansai region in and around Osaka right now, thanks to the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo currently being held in the city.
Kyoto-based Grand Marble is the latest company flexing its creative muscles to commemorate the Expo, adding a surprising limited-edition flavour to its famous “Marble Danish” bread range.
The surprising flavour is sold under the “Osaka Lover” brand name, as it celebrates a local specialty of Osaka.
Reading the label, you’ll discover why this flavour has been surprising Osaka lovers around the nation. On the left, you’ll find the words “マーブルデニッシュ” (“Marble Danish”) and on the right, “たこやき” which translates as “takoyaki”.
That’s right — this sweet Danish bread is filled with the taste of takoyaki, or fried octopus balls, a famous Osaka specialty. It’s one of two special breads created for the occasion of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, with the other being a slightly more conventional “Strawberry Milky” (pictured below).
Having previously tried the strawberry-flavoured Danish bread, we can confirm it was super tasty and well worth the hype surrounding it.
▼ The “Gion Tsujiri Matcha Red Bean” is another fantastic offering.
As good as Grand Marble’s sweet offerings are, we had our doubts about a takoyaki-flavored variety, so we purchased one from the official online shop for 1,404 yen (US$9.67) to see how it would fare.
Looking at the ingredients list, we noticed some surprises you wouldn’t usually see in a sweet pastry, namely “powdered sauce”, “red pickled ginger”, and “octopus powder.”
▼ So… how would a takoyaki flavoured Danish turn out? Nervously, we took it out of its packaging.
At first glance, the outside didn’t look too different from the Marble Danish breads we’ve had before, with a beautifully browned exterior, and it even had a toasty, croissant-like aroma.
▼ But then… a faint scent of sauce drifted in.
Clearly different from the usual Marble Danish, the aroma made us nervous. However, when we cut it open, the cross-section showed a brown marbled pattern that looked deceptively like chocolate or cinnamon.
As we lifted it up from the plate for a taste, though, the savoury, saucy aroma became more pronounced, and then, when we took a bite…
▼ …it tasted just like takoyaki!!
While there was no fried batter present, the salty taste of the distinctive BBQ-esque style takoyaki sauce was definitely there. The moist, sweet bread helped to carry the salty flavour of the sauce throughout the palette, with a hint of margarine adding even more flavour.
Surprisingly, we could also taste aonori (green seaweed) and bonito flakes, two distinctive takoyaki toppings, which really helped to recreate the familiar flavour. Instead of clashing, the seemingly disparate flavours of takoyaki and Marble Danish were in perfect balance, coming together beautifully. If we had to compare it to anything, we’d say it was like takoyaki with a slightly sweeter dough.
After being initially surprised by the new flavours, we quickly warmed to them and found ourselves craving another slice. It’s a testament to Grand Marble’s expertise in the world of Marble Danishes, and we highly recommend trying it while it’s available, as it’s only being sold at the online store until 15 September.
Now’s the time to try it too, as the online store is running a free shipping campaign in Japan on all its products until 15 July, except for addresses in Hokkaido and Okinawa, where delivery is half the usual price. With the money saved on postage costs, we’ll be able to splurge on some of the other flavours too!
Related: Grand Marble online store
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