It’s never too cold for ice cream right? But why eat ice cream in a plain waffle cone when you can have it in the insta-worthy taiyaki or chimney cone!
Taiyaki NYC
- Straight Outta Japan $8.00 | Rating ★★★★★
- Mangonificent $8.00 | Rating ★★★★★
Downtown Toronto’s Taiyaki NYC is a newly opened specialty ice cream shop from New York that serves ice cream inside a Japanese taiyaki cone. Taiyaki is a fish-shaped traditional Japanese dessert that comes in red bean or custard flavour, tastes kind of like a spongy pancake or waffle. There are 7 signature ice cream and toppings combinations, but you can also personalize your own for the same price too. I tried out the 2 most popular flavours which are the matcha-hojicha mix, and the mango-vanilla mix ice cream in the custard taiyaki cones. Hojicha is like a roasted Japanese green tea flavour that is uniquely offered at this location! As well, the mango ice cream is vegan, tastes kind of like a sorbet + dole-whip. You might think it’s a little bit pricey to get ice cream for $8, but they give generous amount of ice cream, and the Taiyaki cone is also super filling as well.
Taiyaki NYC is definitely a place to check out since it’s only a 5 min walk from the Ryerson Campus! Conveniently located right across from the Eaton Centre, beside Chatime and Pablo.
Eva’s Original Chimney
- Matcha Crunch $11.95 | Rating ★★★★★
Eva’s Original Chimney is a little farther from downtown Toronto, located in Koreatown on Bloor Street, but definitely worth the transit!
Their chimney cones in 2 sizes, mini and regular, with 5 different options of flavours if you choose to build-your-own. I definitely recommend ordering the regular size, because the mini actually pretty small and doesn’t hold much ice cream. I got the matcha crunch which had crunchy white chocolate filling and matcha drizzle served inside the graham chimney. The crunchy texture of the graham chimney really surprised me, because the crunch added perfectly to the creamy vanilla soft serve.
It was actually my first time trying chimney cone, and if I were to describe it, it kind of tasted like “churros like bread.” Another thing that I loved about their chimney cone is that you get to see the really cool cones getting baked from the pastry dough right in front of your eyes! Since it’s getting kind of cold for ice cream, you can also try out a warm savoury “chimney hot dog” option on your next visit too!
After trying both of these special ice cream shops, I found that the main difference (other than the cones) between Eva’s and Taiyaki NYC would have to be the ice cream flavours. Eva’s only have 1 vanilla ice cream while Taiyaki NYC has 7 different flavours available to choose from. Also, both of these ice cream cones are baked freshly, and warm compare to the traditional waffle cone, so it’s better to eat the ice cream fast before the heat from the cones melts away the ice cream!
Taiyaki NYC
Address: 128 Dundas Street, Toronto, ON
Transit: Dundas Station
Hours:
Sun – Thurs: 12:00pm – 10:00pm
Fri – Sat: 12:00pm – 11:00pm
Telephone: (647) 347 5957
Website: https://taiyakinyc.com/
Eva’s Original Chimney
Address: 454 Bloor St. W Toronto, ON
Transit: Bathurst Station
Hours:
Mon – Thurs: 1:00pm – 11:00pm
Fri : 1:00pm -12:00am
Sat 12:00pm -12:00am
Sun: 12:00pm -11:00pm
Telephone: (416) 697-8884
Website: originalchimneys.com
Hey Toronto and Ryerson foodies~ I’m always hungry and looking for new food places to try! Collabs, tastings, and share your food recommendations with me! DM me @my.eatz
