Ever since its opening in the spring, the Taiyaki NYC’s pop up shop in Flushing has gained popularity from students and media alike. With over 30 media mentions from sites such as HYPEBEAST, the Food Network, and The Huffington Post, Taiyaki NYC continues to flourish. This dessert store’s new pop-up location in the food court of Queens Crossing in Flushing, is available for your after-school cravings until October 21.
Traditionally, taiyaki is a fish-shaped pastry filled with azuki red bean filling. However, Taiyaki NYC takes a spin on the traditional Japanese vendor snack, experimenting and creating Taiyaki ice cream that satisfies their customers’ sweet palates.
The location currently offers 5 different signature Taiyakis, a build your own ice cream station, and 2 different flavors of slushes, each no more than $10.
Senior Emily Tan expressed her liking for the “Straight Outta Japan Taiyaki” which consists of a matcha (green tea) and hojicha (roasted matcha) ice cream mix, a red bean taiyaki cone, mochi, and a wafer stick. She commented, “It’s eight dollars, which is a bit pricey, but it’s good to treat yourself once in a while. Also, the location is super convenient.”
Taiyaki NYC also has two other stores in the city, located in Williamsburg and Chinatown. In comparison to the Flushing location, however, some students found that these two stores had more to offer. Senior Jacqueline Cho mentions how the Flushing location only offers a red bean filling for the Taiyaki, whereas the stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan offer both a red bean filling and a custard filling. She also adds that these two locations “both offer the soufflé pancakes from Friday-Sunday but Flushing doesn’t. Recently, the [Manhattan] location has been offering mango and strawberry as new flavors for the summer, which I definitely recommend.”
Overall, with Flushing being home to Townsend Harris High School and now a sweet new ice creamery, Harrisites can definitely satiate their sweet tooth at Taiyaki NYC’s Flushing Pop-Up until its closure in October.
