I finally get to try SomiSomi!!! Located in Koreatown, Los Angeles, this place serves ice cream swirls on taiyaki!! Taiyaki is Japanese for a fish-shaped cake that is stuffed with various fillings such as custard and red bean. There is almost always a long line outside SomiSomi and the wait can be up to 15-30 minutes depending on rush hour. Taiyaki is a classic street vendor snack in Japan.

It is very simple to order as you can see from the menu below:

First, choose your ice cream: green tea, ube, milk or black sesame. On alternating weeks, they switch off between a swirl of green tea/milk and ube/black sesame with ube/milk and green tea/black sesame. Whichever week you see the mini-yellow flag highlighting over is the combination of swirls they offer.

Next, choose your filling: custard, nutella, or red bean. You get unlimited free toppings after: strawberry, macaron, oreo sprinkles, fruity pebbles, marshmallow, etc. etc.

My taiyaki is custard-filled with an ube and black sesame swirl and topped with oreo sprinkles and a half-strawberry. The ube ice cream was very sweet while the black sesame was mildly sweet with the strong black sesame taste; both are very cold and smooth in texture. The taiyaki cake was soft, freshly baked and warm. The custard cream was creamy and sweet! This is my NEW favorite ice cream place! I prefer the taiyaki > waffle cone > regular cone > cup. This is so much more enjoyable to eat when you finally get down to your taiyaki cake. Custard with my taiyaki reminds me of my childhood favorite dessert to get at asian supermarkets: the custard-filled wheel pancakes! :O

So delicious that I am definitely going to become a regular here and next I want to try the red bean filling with green tea and milk swirl!