KUALA LUMPUR: Breaking fast with bazaar food has long been a trend with urbanites – but street Japanese food?

Why not, says Hafizzah Ismail, who runs a takoyaki stall at the Sungai Penchala Ramadan bazaar here.

Hafizzah, 28, resigned from her day job in a company three months ago to pursue her passion for cooking Japanese cuisine by opening a stall in night markets.

Going Japanese: Hafizzah and her husband preparing the takoyaki at their stall in Sungai Penchala, Kuala Lumpur.

“I used to sell sushi but a month into the business I decided to include my favourite Japanese dish, takoyaki, in the list,” she said when met at her stall.

Takoyaki is a Japanese street food consisting of tako (octopus) and yaki (flour). Hafizzah had adapted the flavour to Malaysian taste buds by offering chicken, squid, prawn and crab variants in addition to octopus.

“Still, octopus is our best selling variant. I think it is because people are more curious to sample the original recipe,” she said, adding that she could sell up to 400 pieces of takoyaki a day.

Hafizzah runs the business with her husband Adam Ujang, 28, who said although Japanese street food was not widely available here, their customers had never asked them what takoyaki was.

“Our takoyaki comes with a dressing of fish sauce and mayonnaise, topped with bonito (fish flakes). All items are homemade so we can guarantee only the best for our customers,” he added.

The couple’s takoyaki sells for RM4 per box of four pieces, and are usually sold out by the breaking of fast.

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