ところで
ところで · tokorode · JLPT N3 · conjunction
by the way
ところ (place, point) + で (at): at this point in the talk, by the way
ところ means place or point, and で marks where something happens. Together they mean that we have reached a point in the conversation where a new topic starts. After a verb in the past tense, the same pattern means even if: even if you get to that point.