And while we're on the subject of exotic headgear...
Here we are in Shibuya's Centergai, where nobody blinks an eyelid at anything anyone wears on any part of their anatomy — even a foam tai-yaki hat.
This is not just a gimmick — well, of course it's a gimmick — but it could well be a NEW BIG THING, or at least a boom in the making. Tai-yaki is a traditional sweet made from a batter casing baked in moulds the shape of a sea bream (tai in Japanese) with a filling of sweet azuki bean jam. Usually made in small batches at quaint little corner shops, this simple treat has seen a major revival in the last few years fueled by retro nostalgia.
But this shop in Shibuya, which modestly calls itself The Taiyaki, offers a radical range of flavours way beyond the long-established Japanese spectrum. There are six varieties in all, each given a national 'identity', none of them Japanese. Out goes azuki bean jam: in comes Chocolate & Custard and Caramel Almond (both 'French'), along with Sweet Potato, which is deemed 'American' (Japanese sweet potatoes obviously aren't sexy enough).
Even more radical than this, The Taiyaki is also making savoury versions, an idea that would have been totally beyond the pale in the past. The 'Italian' has a filling of tomato sauce flavoured with basil and cheese. Cheese Currydog is apparently 'Indian', though what visitors from the Subcontinent will make of it is anyone's guess.
The only one we have tried to date was the German Potato. And actually we have to report it was pretty good — if you like the idea of fried potatoes with ham inside a batter casing that looks like a fat fish, that is.
