After traveling a short distance to Curtis Park, I walk into SomiSomi — taste buds tingling with anticipation — ready for a cold and creamy treat. 

My eyes meet with a clean white and yellow fish-themed decor. I can see the cooks, hard at work behind glass panes, and the room smells like fried dough.

 As I walk up to the counter, the cashier flashes me a smile, ready for my order.

SomiSomi is best known for its taiyaki ice cream, also known as ah-boong, a Korean-inspired dessert. I stumbled across this restaurant chain about a year ago while visiting my grandparents in Irvine, and I rejoiced to hear its opening in Sacramento. 

But before we continue, what is taiyaki exactly? 

Taiyaki is a fish-shaped fried dough, commonly filled with red bean paste, custard, Nutella, or taro. 

Ah-boong is soft-serve ice cream inside of a taiyaki cone, SomiSomi’s specialty. Their flavors include milk, matcha, strawberry, cookies and cream, chocolate and ube,  a Philippine dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam.

The first thing I noticed about SomiSomi’s ice cream was its high density. The ice crystals are incredibly minute, making it smooth and luxurious.

Topping options include cereal or sprinkles, as well as the choice of a strawberry or a macaron.

It has a dominant milky flavor followed by a fainter oreo aftertaste. It paired well with a crunchy topping, but it didn’t go well with taiyaki. Although the flavor was delicious, I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it again.

It has a distinctively strong and rich taste, quite the opposite of the cookies and cream. It pairs with and without taiyaki, so it’s up to you! I would definitely recommend this to all chocolate lovers out there. You can never go wrong with a classic.

Now, this flavor is  lighter, and it matches nicely with a custard taiyaki. Usually, I’m not a fan of faint flavors, but this one was an exception. The subtle fruitiness of the ice cream mixed with its thick texture almost reminded me of strawberries and cream.

This ice cream has the perfect bittersweet flavor. It tasted exactly like matcha, and it went well with a red bean taiyaki.

The taiyaki served at Somisomi are out of this world. They were slightly sweet with a light crunch and a chewy inside, cooked to absolute perfection. My favorite fillings are custard and red bean. If I could, I would give them a 6/5.

SomiSomi is a great place to grab a treat with friends, family or by yourself! The creamy ice cream mixed with crunchy and chewy taiyaki makes it a memorable experience. I am so glad SomiSomi came to Sacramento, and I can’t wait to go back again!

[letsreview]

— By William Holz