Find out where to eat ‘taiyaki’, a fish-shaped Japanese sweet that has become fashionable in SP

A fish-shaped candy has been causing queues in front of the Hi Keki ice cream parlor since it opened, in December last year, on the fourth floor of the Sogo gallery, in the Liberdade district.

Despite the shape, “taiyaki” is not salty at all. The typical Japanese delicacy is made with the same recipe as a pancake or waffle: it takes sugar, milk, wheat flour and egg. The mixture is baked in an appliance similar to a waffle iron with a fish mold.

At Hi Keki, the little fish serves as a cone to accommodate the ice cream, prepared in the “soft” style, creamy. There are seven combinations. The kanna kan baptism is assembled with vanilla dough, confectionery, “taiyaki” filled with strawberry jam and unicorn decoration, with horn and ears made of condensed milk and Ninho milk.

The ichigô is made with chocolate dough, confectionery, “taiyaki” with strawberry jam and fruit-flavoured sticks. Each option costs R$ 23 and it is possible to exchange items. A cup with just ice cream costs R$8.

Dumbo Finest Ice Cream also became a sensation on social networks because of that little fish. The ice cream parlor opened a year ago in a kiosk on Oscar Freire Street, in Jardins, inspired by the stores in New York that sell “taiyaki”.

Over there, the candy also serves as a cone. Customers build their own ice cream for R$25. There are four flavors of dough: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry with condensed milk and dulce de leche. Next, the syrup and toppings are chosen, which include items such as chestnuts, caramelized popcorn and pistachios.

Finally, the “taiyaki” is smeared with Nutella filling or dulce de leche. It is also possible to add it as a topping, for an additional R$10. The address gained a second unit, in Pinheiros, in January of this year. A third kiosk will open in May, at the JK Iguatemi mall.

One of the pioneers in preparing fish in São Paulo is Hachi Crepe Café, a house dedicated to crepes in Liberdade. Confectioner Miriam Ishikava started selling Japanese sweets at Asian culture events four years ago.

In 2020, it includes the delicacy in the menu of its cafe and, since then, it has become one of the flagships. The candy costs R$15 and comes with a scoop of ice cream and filling of your choice.

There are flavors like flakes, chocolate and yogurt with red fruits. For filling, you can choose between vanilla cream, hazelnut cream, dulce de leche or anko (sweet bean paste), the most traditional. The stuffed fish alone costs R$8.

Ishikava says “taiyaki” started to become popular outside Japan when it appeared in anime like “Naturo” and dramas. Countries like the United States opened specialized stores, the recipe gained adaptations and went viral — on TikTok, the word accumulates 190 million views.

“Before, people thought it was fish and were in doubt about eating it. Now it has become something instagrammable and is arriving in Brazil with everything”, he says.

Dumbo Finest Ice Cream
R. Oscar Freire, 978, Jardins, and r. dos Pinheiros, 516, west region, @dumboicecream

Hachi Crepe Cafe
R. Galvão Bueno, 586, Liberdade, central region, @hachicrepecafe

hi keki
Sogo Gallery – av. Liberdade, 363, 4th floor, central region, @hi_keki_sp