Taiyaki NYC Japanese Ice Cream

"You can’t talk about pancakes in NYC without talking about the impossibly jiggly, fluffy, magical soufflé pancakes at Taiyaki. They practically disappear the moment you take a bite and come drenched in matcha sauce and topped with a cute little mini taiyaki. They’re only available on weekends, which is our only complaint about these pancakes. " - carina finn koeppicus, kenny yang, molly fitzpatrick, sonal shah

"There’s something about a hot pastry-type thing paired with cold ice cream that gives us an instant hit of serotonin, which is why we love Taiyaki. There are a few locations around the city, but the one in Chinatown is our favorite. You can either build your own combination or get a signature taiyaki, like “Straight Outta Japan”, which comes with a matcha-hojicha soft serve twist, served in a red bean taiyaki cone and garnished with rainbow mochi and a wafer cookie." - bryan kim, willa moore, sonal shah, molly fitzpatrick, kenny yang

"Cones are cool and all, but soft serve in a fish-shaped cake is better. This Japanese bakery in Chinatown is pretty famous online, and for good reason. We especially like the black sesame soft serve with red beans, but the matcha is great, too. Taiyaki also has a second location in Williamsburg." - hannah albertine, willa moore, arden shore, molly fitzpatrick

"Taiyaki in Chinatown is a Japanese bakery that makes fish-shaped cakes full of soft serve. It's pretty famous online, which is not so surprising considering everyone on planet earth likes to hold small things shaped like small animals. Are you saying you don’t want to eat a colorful dessert that looks like a fish but isn’t actually a fish? Taiyaki even has their own TikTok account–presumably run by a sophomore at Gallatin who designed their major around the psychology of viral content. More importantly, the soft serve at Taiyaki has a real, developed flavor that isn’t just “cold.” We especially like the black sesame soft serve with red beans. You could also just get some ice cream by itself in a cup. Similarly, you could also get an apartment with no windows or a car without a speaker system. The choice is yours." - Hannah Albertine

"Chinatown Japanese dessert shop Taiyaki is drawing wildly long lines with a new menu item: fluffy souffle pancakes. People waited in a two-hour line to grab the pancakes last weekend, which come topped with sugar, butter, whipped cream, and syrup, or with matcha cream. The Chinatown restaurant at 119 Baxter St., between Canal and Hester Streets, is selling a stack for $7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays." - Carla Vianna