Trader Joe's Yuzu Ripple Coconut Frozen Dessert: This vegan coconut-based "ice cream" is one of the best things I've ever had from Trader Joe's. The coconut base is more neutral than other vegan frozen desserts I've had, making the acidic yuzu ripples the dominant flavor. It seems to be flavored with both yuzu zest as well as marmalade-like yuzu "ripples" that add a satisfying chewy texture. Perfect for hot summer days. 4.5/5.0
exceptional vegan desserts icecream traderjoes yuzu ripple coconut frozen dessert 4.5
Happy Lemon Bubble waffle: There are several Happy Lemon shops in Seattle and one right in the middle of Amazon’s campus. It’s central location to downtown always gives it a sizable line, mostly because of the popularity of their bubble waffles, a snack I hadn’t yet seen at other locations I’ve been to (the last one I went to was in Shinjuku Tokyo about a year ago). They come in a few flavors including original, chocolate, Oreo, and matcha and are sized for sharing, though I have to admit I ate this one by myself over... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended dessert happylemon bubble waffle 4.0
Marunaga 焼きおいももなか Roasted Sweet Potato Ice Cream Sandwich: This ice cream sandwich is shaped like a roasted sweet potato using potatoes from the Kagoshima prefecture. It is impressively textured to mimic the wrinkly skin of a sweet potato using monaka, a thin rice-based wafer used in many Japanese treats. The monaka doesn't have any flavor on its own, but inside the two halves of the potato are a white sweet potato ice cream and a yellow paste, almost like a cross between a jam and a mash. Overall, I found the dessert to be too sweet, especially ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese santouka dessert sweetpotato marunaga 焼きおいももなか 3.0
今川焼千駄木 Imagawayaki red been wheel cake : I took a detour on my daily walk and came across this small shop with a decently sized line. Since there are no tourists in Japan right now, lines are for sure signs of a local favorite. The little stand only sells imagawayaki, which are enclosed wheel-shaped pancakes filled with red bean. They have three flavors on the menu: red bean, custard, and one other that I couldn't figure out through direct translation (しるあん), and all of them are made to order using a traditional Japanese mold. They... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional sendagi japanese dessert tokyo imagawayaki red been wheel cake 4.5
Uchi Cafe Sakura Dacquoise ice cream sandwich: I am going to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow so I got an ice cream sandwich from the Lawson convenience store to celebrate. This is a Sakura ice cream sandwich that's meant to resemble a French pastry (Dacquoise); it consists of sakura-flavored ice cream with a thin layer of strawberry jam sandwiched between two flaky biscuits that have a crumbly costing almost like a glazed sugar cookie. I had the dessert about 10 minutes after getting it from the freezer, which seemed like the pe... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended icecream japanese lawson icecreamsandwich dessert ichicafe sakura dacquoise ice cream sandwich 4.0
Meiji Ujikintoki Ice Bars: I've been very slowly working through this box of popsicles for about a month now. Having previously tried a Lotte version of packaged kakigori ice bars, I decided to try this matcha version not realizing it was from a different brand (Meiji). These ice cream bars are really quite bad; the green tea ice is very hard and crunchy and lacks flavor, whole red bean throughout the ice have a very dry texture, the viscous condensed milk that sits on top of it is far too sweet, and the outer coati... (read more) 1.5/5.0
popsicles japanese dessert avoid maretsu icecream popsicle meiji ujikintoki ice bars 1.5