Wait times averaged fifteen minutes: five minutes to reach the cashier and ten to receive our custom Soft Serve Signature Taiyaki. Our entire visit spanned twenty five minutes.
The two fish-shaped specimens came to a grand total of sixteen dollars. At this point, it would be worthy to mention Taiyaki's exclusivity towards cashless payment. I greatly appreciated the seamless inclusion of Square as a primary payment method.
Ultimately, we declared the fish delicious but unworthy of the eight-dollar price tag. Our hands were also left in a sticky, unpleasant state, a situation that prompted us to take to the single stall bathroom to amend. The washroom was spacious, but abnormally dusty and grimy for the first day of operations.
It should be noted that such efforts would not have been exerted had I not been in the area already.
Unlike most establishments, there were no combo pack deals present. Each piece retailed at $2.65 - or three dollars after tax. A quartet of two Custard and two Red Bean taiyaki were puchased to go.
Re-toasting the taiyaki did not yield better results either. The custard remained disappointing, and the exterior persisted in dampness.
Tasting the fresh rendition proved no different.
I took to a Matcha Latte for the afternoon, and was asked whether I preferred soy, almond, or whole milk. The third option was the recommended choice, and thus I followed suit. One could also opt to have the latte sweetened or unsweetened - or lightly sweetened upon request.
A floral but faint grassiness was present, but far more subdued than what I was accustomed to. Comprising of an approximate 1:1 matcha-to-milk ratio, the resulting product was passable given that the establishment did not specialize in such a feature.
For those that are less keen on strong, bitter flavours, Taiyaki may be your exact cup of tea. Matcha fiends can continue to source their green utopia at Tsujiri across the intersection.