Looking for a unique dessert to get your sweet fix? Look no further. Taiyaki NYC recently collaborated with Care Bears to create a trio of Taiyaki ice creams inspired by three of the iconic magical bears, Love-A-Lot Bear, Funshine Bear, and Good Luck Bear. Each treat features bright, colorful ice cream garnished with decorations that take after the bears’ belly badges. The store adds its own twist to the Japanese dessert taiyaki by reconstructing the sweet fish-shaped cakes into an ice cream cone.
When the store announced the collaboration, I could bear-ly wait to get my hands on one of the limited edition cones. I have a major sweet tooth and Taiyaki NYC just happens to be one of my favorite dessert places back at home. Along with two friends who were as equally excited as I was about the event, I went over to Taiyaki NYC’s Boston Seaport location to see if the desserts lived up to the hype.
The Love-A-Lot Bear consists of strawberry soft serve ice cream, colorful sprinkles, and an adorable heart-shaped marshmallow served in a red bean taiyaki cone. The vivid pink soft serve pairs well with the taiyaki cone as it had the perfect balance of sweet and sour. The sprinkles also added a nice crunch to the ice cream. Unfortunately, the marshmallow turned out to be not as soft as the clouds in Care-a-Lot and was rather hard to chew.
Credit: Emily Wu
The Funshine Bear boasts vegan mango soft serve ice cream, colorful sprinkles, condensed milk, and sun fondant in a custard-filled taiyaki cone. Not only is it as bright as its namesake, but the mango soft serve also bursts with flavor. One bite of it will make you reminisce about sunny summer days at the beach. If taiyaki cones are not your cup of tea, you can opt for a cup adorned with various Care Bears.
Credit: Emily Wu
Unlike the fruity Love-A-Lot Bear and Funshine Bear, the Good Luck Bear features matcha soft serve ice cream topped off with sprinkles and a green chocolate clover. The creamy matcha soft serve is for any tea fanatic with the earthiness of the matcha and the sweetness of the ice cream melding well together. The chocolate is a cute addition to the ice cream, not to mention very tasty.
Credit: Emily Wu
While the ice creams were fun to eat, I was a bit disappointed by the red bean filling. The sweet paste was clumped down at the bottom of the cone, giving an overwhelmingly sweet aftertaste. I was hoping for the red bean paste to be spread out within the cone so that the red bean can mix in with the ice cream.
Despite the minor hiccups, these Care Bear Taiyaki ice creams are still worth a try. I mean, who could resist these bear-y cute renditions of the beloved magical bears?
Join in on the fun and grab a Care Bear Taiyaki cone for yourself at Taiyaki NYC (119 Seaport Blvd, Suite B, Boston, MA 02210) before the collaboration ends on New Year’s Day!
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