TOKYO - If Morio Sase has his way, hungry teenagers around the world will soon be snacking on something more exotic than McDonald's hamburgers: takoyaki, or octopus dumplings.

Hand-grilled in iron molds by cooks behind a large display window, the octopus dumplings are made from wheat flour paste mixed with fish stock, spring onions and boiled octopus chunks, and drizzled with a sweet sauce, dried bonito flakes and seaweed.

Sase and his staff at Gindaco say they've struck a winning formula with their octopus balls and don't intend to change a single ingredient for their overseas customers. And if overseas expansion goes as planned, HotLand expects its overseas sales to reach $89 million by 2010, about the same as its current domestic sales.

To woo octopus skeptics, U.S. stores may feature additional entertainment, says Yohei Miki, who heads the company's overseas operations.

"We're thinking of getting our cooks to chop the spring onions using Japanese swords," Miki chuckled. "You know the Americans, they love attractions."