Eight legs, no fears

Octopus salad - fresh cooked octopus with potatoes, egg, avocado, grapefruit, olive and peppers at Casa Talia in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Obviously, he didn't grow up in the US state of Texas like I did. There, the usual place to see octopus was in cartoons. The one time I did eat it as a teenager, my suspicions that it was weird, rubbery and tasteless were quickly confirmed.

Much later, however, I had the chance to spend a holiday in Greece, where cooks at seaside restaurants lightly grill fresh octopus, and simply brush it with olive oil, fresh lemon and maybe some herbs right at hand.

The taste was sensational, and I've been a fan ever since.

Rubbery? Most chefs say the first defense is getting fresh seafood. Beating the flesh is not everyone's way to make it tender - Max Levy at Okra in Beijing and Hong Kong never does that. He likes to slowly freeze octopus to soften it.

"This helps break down the tissues," he says. "The answer is never black and white. Some people just don't like a chewy consistency, but if octopus is cooked too much it becomes mushy."

Even chefs who give octopus a beating really handle the deep-sea creature with care.