taki taki – Jellybeans in the City

Do you know what a taiyaki is?

It is a Japanese yaki (baked) dessert which follows the shape of the tai (Japanese red seabream). A classic street vendor fare in Japan, it has now reached our shores when the first store of Taki Taki opened a few weeks ago at Century City Mall in Makati.

Walk around the mall’s Hole in the Wall food hall and you will find a quaint little shop decorated with fish images (the servers even wear cute fish hats), and anime-like drawings. The smell of baking taiyaki might even lead you there, hmm?

So how are taiyaki made?

Waffle batter is poured into hot fish-shaped molds (each side poured separately) with the filling placed in one side. Before the batter is cooked through, the molds are closed for up to three minutes until the batter is golden brown and the filling is sealed inside inside the taiyaki.

The taiyaki is a actually quite versatile in the sense that it can suit almost any filling, whether sweet (Php100) such as red bean, Nutelle/Peanutbutter, apple cinnamon and cream cheese with strawberries, or savory (Php120) such as cheese, tuna/corn/mayo, bacon egg and cheese and curry cheese.

Being a sweet tooth, my choices in taiyaki include one with the traditional filling of anko (sweet red bean paste) and another with cream cheese and strawberries. The red bean taiyaki has that sweet and light taste while the cream cheese taiyaki has a nice contrast of saltiness from the cheese and tart sweetness from the berries.

Taiyaki also make for tasty frozen treats. Soft-serve ice cream made with premium Hokkaido milk is twirled into open taiyaki cones then topped with candies, crunchies, fruits and drizzles.

I got myself an I Love Taki (Php200), made with Vanilla Milk ice cream topped with marshmallows and strawberry sprinkles and strawberry syrup syringe, and a Grizzly’s Chocolate Overload (Php200), made with Chocolate Milk ice cream topped with toast crunch, cinnamon, marshmallows and a milk chocolate lollipop.

Well, this is another case of sugar high for me.

These taiyaki treats are a welcome addition to the dessert and snack choices available in the metro. If you want a taste of this popular Japanese street food, head to Taki Taki today!

Taki Taki is located at the Hole in the Wall, Fourth Floor, Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati City, open Mondays to Thursdays from 11am to 9pm, Fridays to Saturdays from 10am to 10pm and Sundays from 10am to 9pm.

Disclosure: I was invited to visit Taki Taki where I was served food items mentioned here for free for me to sample the fare in exchange for an honest review.

Check out my reviews of other dessert places in the metro: