What's this!? Well, it's called "Taiyaki" in Japan. If you translate it literally, it means toasted porgy. You must be disappointed to see following this post, it's far different from Macaroon! Let me explain this sweets (reluctantly...no, just kidding ;)). Taiyaki was invented during Maiji-era, and have developed its own way. It originally has "anko", or sweet bean paste inside it. But this one you can see...
Cream cheese in it! Since I don't like anko very much, I chose it. There are a variety of taste, like chocolates, cinnamon apples and such. They even have one that tastes Okonomi-yaki, just like Butatama! (I don't regard it as sweets anymore :))
This sweets is familiar among my country, and you can find it many places like supermarkets and sweets shops.
You probably think "Why porgy?". It's because we consider porgy as a symbol of good luck. Their red bodies, which is a lucky color in my country. Moreover, when the time they invented Taiyaki, most people didn't afford to buy a real porgy so it was yearning fish.
I like dropping in at Taiyaki shop near my home and take some on the way back from working :D
たいやき美味しいね！！たまたま私のブログも今日に載ってます！！！また来週！！！楽しみに！！
ReplyDeleteたいやき美味しいですよね！大好きです＾＾
Delete来週！楽しみに！しています！！！＾＾
Hi,I'm from Mexico and I was looking where I could find any Taiyaki stores, I will be in Tokyo for 6 days and I really want to try eating them, I'll be staying by Shinjuku Station, could you PLEASE tell me where you buy them?
ReplyDeleteHi there! Welcome and thank you for commenting on my blog ;) Although I've never got Taiayki near Shinjuku Station, I checked it out :D I found Taiyaki shop near Shinjuku Station. But it looks now shuttered... Since Shinjuku is business district, it's hard to find Taiyaki shop. Well, I think you can get it in convenient stores, but I recommend to eat it in Taiyaki shop.
DeleteDo you have any plan to visit other city of station in Tokyo? If you will, I will search other shops for Taiyaki! :)
Thanks so much for your reply and for taking the time to google it! Actually I'll be visiting almost all Tokyo's highlights( Asakusa , Tokyo tower, Akihabara, Roppongi, Harajuku, Shibuya…)If you know of any Taiyaki shop near the stations of those places could you tell me please? Thank you very much!!
DeleteHi Tania ;)
DeleteSo you will visit many places in Tokyo! I checked again and found two taiyaki shops :D
The first one is near Harajuku, the name of Taiyaki shop is "Tokyo Hohzuki", which is about 6 minutes walking from Harajuku Station.
Here's google map:
https://maps.google.co.jp/maps?hl=ja&ie=UTF8&q=%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E3%80%80%E3%81%BB%E3%81%8A%E3%81%9A%E3%81%8D&fb=1&gl=jp&hq=%E3%81%BB%E3%81%8A%E3%81%9A%E3%81%8D&hnear=%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%EF%BC%92%EF%BC%93%E5%8C%BA&ei=vuYITIKJCoKGkQWUjVk&ved=0CBwQpQY&view=map&cid=1728346191649904783&ll=35.670004,139.70747&spn=0.006295,0.006295&iwloc=A&brcurrent=3,0x60188ca27cad04a3:0x414970f0d5d04172,0&source=embed
And the web site is here, but they don't have English version:
http://www.tokyo-hozuki.com/
The second one is near Roppongi, it is called "Naniwa-ya Sou-honten"
https://maps.google.co.jp/maps?oe=utf-8&hl=ja&client=firefox-a&q=%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%B8%AF%E5%8C%BA%E9%BA%BB%E5%B8%83%E5%8D%81%E7%95%AA1-8-14&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x60188b9f7275cadb:0xbf75d32f096bc2ac,%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%B8%AF%E5%8C%BA%E9%BA%BB%E5%B8%83%E5%8D%81%E7%95%AA%EF%BC%91%E4%B8%81%E7%9B%AE%EF%BC%98%E2%88%92%EF%BC%91%EF%BC%94&gl=jp&ei=i6WaUbegCInikAXrnoGACQ&ved=0CIQBELYD
They don't have English web site neither :(
http://www.azabujuban.or.jp/shop/food/1403.html
I've been the second one about a half year ago by the way. They start to make Taiyaki when people order it. So you can eat fresh one :) If you have more question about it, feel free to tell me ;)
Oh, I almost forgot to say one thing. If you can't find place to eat Taiyaki, it's a good way to ask police. Big stations such as Shinjuku and Asakusa, you can easily find a police box near the station. If you say "Taiyaki" or show the picture of it, they will understand even if they don't speak English.
Delete(I think they can speak a little)
Sorry I am so late to thank you for the information. I’ve been in exams and I barely have time to breath. Next week I´ll be on my way to Japan, and hopefully I’ll be eating taiyaki c: Thanks again for your time ! P.S . I already have a picture (which I stole from you!) so there is no way I'll get back to Mexico without trying them.
ReplyDeleteTania
Don't need to apologize, I'm glad to hear from you again :)
DeleteDid you get the picture of mine?
Go ahead! that's an honor for me that my picture helps you :D
If you feel a sense of unease to find it, then here's my E-mail address on this blog.
Mail me if you want, and if we find time to see, I'll show you around there ;)
Tank you so much for yur time and help! (:
DeleteYou're welcome and have a nice trip :D
DeleteHey!! I just came back from Japan!! it's an amazing country I loved it!!! I found the taiyakis!! yaaaay and they are delicious!! I found them inside the aquarium of Osaka and in the streets of Nara. In Nara they were like parfait-like taiyakis! They were so yummy!! Thank you so much for your help!!
ReplyDeleteTania, good morning :)
DeleteI'm glad to hear that you're back safely to your country. And you enjoyed Taiyaki? Cool! :D You know, there are many places where you can find it, even in convenience stores! Parfait-like taiyakis?! I didn't know that, I should get one or two. You are welcome :D