Restaurant Sparks Controversy for Serving Alien-Looking Raw Octopus Eggs

A Japanese food restaurant in Singapore recently attracted criticism online for serving a bizarre-looking dish consisting of a raw octopus egg sack.

Known as tako tamago, the strange dish that landed Singapore restaurant Koji in hot water with social media users isn’t the most appetizing food we’ve ever featured on Oddity Central. It’s basically a large white sack with a very flexible membrane that conceals hundreds of oblong octopus eggs swimming in a viscous fluid. The sack is served raw and melted with a blow torch to release the eggs inside onto the plate. The eggs are usually served with soy sauce and have a taste similar to that of salmon roe.

Koji claims that photos of its seasonal item, which is only available until mid-May, only made it more popular with Singaporean diners looking to try something different. The restaurant’s PR rep. told 8 Days Magazine that those who try tako tamago are “ pleasantly surprised by the flavor and say it tastes like creamy egg yolk”, adding that the dish is “rich in protein, omega 3 and vitamin B12, contributing to a balanced and nutritious diet”.

However, the feedback on Koji’s latest offering hasn’t all been positive. Some outraged social media users claimed that serving raw octopus eggs was wrong and that not everything has to be eaten.

Raw octopus eggs are apparently a common delicacy in Japan, particularly in regions like Hokkaido, where they are available all year long.