Gooey, translucent, and bursting at the seams with hundreds of elongated orbs, this dish of raw octopus eggs looks more like alien spawn than a delicacy from Japan, Hokkaido in particular. It’s known as tako tamago (not to be confused with baby octopus skewers, which also go by the same name).

We’ve never seen tako tamago in Singapore - until a rather hair-raising video of it appeared on our Instagram feed recently courtesy of Japanese restaurant Koji Sushi Bar. Its Pickering Street outlet is offering it for a limited time.

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It’s kinda like the inside of a regular large, flattish egg at first glance. But once the membrane melts away, you get…

… this hair-raising sight. While 8days.sg hasn’t tried it, just glancing at these clusters is triggering our trypophobia. The eggs are usually served with soy sauce, and supposedly taste somewhat like a cross between salmon roe and octopus. In a post on their FB page, Koji also notes that it’s “high in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids”. 

Koji Sushi Bar’s PR rep tells us that the dish is a seasonal item that’ll only be available till mid May. They import their octopus from Hokkaido.

What do their customers think of the dish? Koji’s PR rep tells 8days.sg that “after our post on IG, there’s been an increase in the number of people ordering the dish”. She says it’s “surprisingly appealing to most customers who try it,” adding that “they’re pleasantly surprised by the flavour and say it tastes like creamy egg yolk”. 

However, some netizens have taken to the restaurant’s Instagram post to give their two cents worth, saying things like, “it’s even sadder when you think about how a mother octopus will basically starve themselves and die to keep their eggs safe [sic]”. For context, certain species of female octopuses are reported to brood their eggs for up to a whopping four years, slowly starving themselves in the process. They die soon after their eggs are hatched.  

So… will you eat this? 

Koji Sushi Bar (Pickering) is at #01-42 Cross Street Exchange, 3 Pickering St, Nankin Row, S048660. Open Mon - Sat 11.30am - 3pm; 6pm - 10pm. Closed Sun. Tel: 8432 7642. More info via their Instagram and Facebook.

Photos: Koji Sushi Bar

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