Somi Somi is a soft serve and taiyaki shop in Cupertino, part of a chain throughout California, with ambitions to expand more.
I know, I know. But I don't care if you think these things are made for Instagram, and aren't otherwise worthy. Because Somi Somi has legit good soft serve ice cream. And as a lover of soft serve ice cream, that is the part I care about.
Somi Somi makes 11 base flavors, although each shop only carries a few at a time. They pre-announce the next week's upcoming swirls though, so you know what is coming up next. The range includes a few basics ("milk", chocolate, coffee), a few fruity (strawberry, banana), a few interesting (Oreo, horchata) and a few Asian inspired (matcha, milk tea, black sesame, ube).
I sought out Somi Somi specifically for the ube soft serve, but I hoped that black sesame would be an option too (even better if swirled!). I called ahead to make sure ube was on offer, and, I was told that this location (Cupertino) always has ube. YES. On my visit, the other options were matcha and Oreo (or swirled), and milk (which could swirl with the ube). I sampled both the ube and milk on their own, and decided to get the swirl. I'll cut right to the chase: this is the best ube soft serve I've ever had.
Soft serve is available on its own in a cup, or, as nearly everyone opted to do, with a taiyaki cone. They don't even carry regular cones. One other interesting thing to note - if you get the taiyaki cone, you have the option of having it served "rightside up", e.g. in the cone, with the taiyaki as your cone, or "upside down", in a bowl, with the cone upside down on top. I haven't seen other places so explicitly make this an option, but, I think I quickly saw why they do. More on this soon. And yes, this was also the best taiyaki cone I've ever had.
Like most places, Somi Somi has the taiyaki molds right in front of you at the store, and the aroma of freshly waffling cones fills the air. It really does draw you in.
The taiyaki options at Somi Somi were the most extensive I've seen at places like this. For filling, for the cone style, you could pick from fairly common custard, red bean, or Nutella, but they also had taro filling as an option, which made me quite pleased. These are not made to order, but seemed fairly fresh.
"Somisomi can be found all over the U.S., offering irresistible Korean-inspired soft serve in ornate fish-shaped cones. We were founded by two dessert enthusiasts whose love for ice cream led to SomiSomi. Our company delivers unforgettable, personalized ice cream experiences with a Korean flare."Yes, another trendy ice cream shop featuring taiyaki cones. Another place with ridiculously long lines. Another place with everyone stopping to take photos before eating their creations.
I know, I know. But I don't care if you think these things are made for Instagram, and aren't otherwise worthy. Because Somi Somi has legit good soft serve ice cream. And as a lover of soft serve ice cream, that is the part I care about.
Somi Somi makes 11 base flavors, although each shop only carries a few at a time. They pre-announce the next week's upcoming swirls though, so you know what is coming up next. The range includes a few basics ("milk", chocolate, coffee), a few fruity (strawberry, banana), a few interesting (Oreo, horchata) and a few Asian inspired (matcha, milk tea, black sesame, ube).
I sought out Somi Somi specifically for the ube soft serve, but I hoped that black sesame would be an option too (even better if swirled!). I called ahead to make sure ube was on offer, and, I was told that this location (Cupertino) always has ube. YES. On my visit, the other options were matcha and Oreo (or swirled), and milk (which could swirl with the ube). I sampled both the ube and milk on their own, and decided to get the swirl. I'll cut right to the chase: this is the best ube soft serve I've ever had.
Soft serve is available on its own in a cup, or, as nearly everyone opted to do, with a taiyaki cone. They don't even carry regular cones. One other interesting thing to note - if you get the taiyaki cone, you have the option of having it served "rightside up", e.g. in the cone, with the taiyaki as your cone, or "upside down", in a bowl, with the cone upside down on top. I haven't seen other places so explicitly make this an option, but, I think I quickly saw why they do. More on this soon. And yes, this was also the best taiyaki cone I've ever had.
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| Taiyaki Making. |
The taiyaki options at Somi Somi were the most extensive I've seen at places like this. For filling, for the cone style, you could pick from fairly common custard, red bean, or Nutella, but they also had taro filling as an option, which made me quite pleased. These are not made to order, but seemed fairly fresh.
For regular taiyaki, as in, just taiyaki, not the cone style, they also have a cheese version, which sounds pretty fascinating. Unlike the cones, those are made to order, so the cheese would be melty, and I think would be great to try. The little filled taiyaki are available in singles or trios, and seemed fairly popular too. I'd love to try these next time, maybe split a ice cream version, and get at least one on the side?
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| Toppings. |
The only negative I have to say is that ordering is a bit chaotic, as the place is just packed, and no one seems to really know where they should be. The line went out the front, and down the sidewalk, but inside was filled entirely with people waiting for their turn to customize. This is because when you get to the front of the line, all they want to know is your base flavor, and style. Then, you pay, and shuffle off to the side, try to stay out of the way, until your name gets called to specify your toppings. People seemed generally confused, and, in each other's way.
Finally, our names were called to pick our toppings. The topping lineup is one area that Somi Somi did let me down.
There was not much exciting here. Just a few cereals (cocoa pebbles, captain crunch, and fruity pebbles), a few crunchy things (graham cracker, coconut flakes, oreos), and rainbow sprinkles. No drizzles (I was expecting condensed milk drizzle!). No mochi.
But, toppings are included for free, although most people seem to just pick one, plus they add an option random mini macaron if you please.
So, for my creation, I opted for the milk and ube swirl, even though I really did love the ube on its own too. I was worried that it would get old after a while on its own, and thus, the swirl.
Both flavors were perfectly rich and creamy, very textbook high quality soft serve. The "milk" flavor was simple, but not too sweet, and I think it was nice to have mixed with the ube. The ube was very good, and a stunning purple color. No complaints on this ice cream, at all.
For my toppings, I just went for the rainbow sprinkles, since I don't really like any of the other options. I found this to be pretty boring quickly though, and really wanted some drizzle, some other crunch, some mochi ... or even, um, more sprinkles? Because these ran out fast. Luckily, I had more in my purse ...
The macaron was fine, but, I still just found it random, and I can't say it added to my experience in any way.
And finally, the taiyaki. I haven't had that many taiyaki cones, because I haven't really liked the others I have had. But this one was much, much better. The cone was softer, and more mochi like. I really liked the texture and the flavor to it. No eggy quality to it, which was what I didn't care for at Taiyaki NYC in Boston. I opted for taro filling, which was good, standard taro paste, and it was more generously stuffed than other places have been. A good item, which again, made me interested in trying just the regular freshly made taiyaki.
I opted for the upside down version, so I could make my own cone, and add to it as I wanted. Plus, I knew it wouldn't get soggy too fast that way. My peers however went right-side up, traditional cone style. And ... let's just say, their cones didn't hold their integrity very well, and they quickly became major messes. It was a bit humorous to watch adults struggle so badly with ice cream cones, their shirts covered, their shoes covered, and the sidewalk quickly a puddle of purple. As much as I think the taiyaki at Somi Somi were far better than other places, in taste and texture, they really did fail as cones fairly spectacularly. I'd still pick taste over function though!
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| Ube and Milk Swirl / Rainbow Sprinkles / Macaron / Taro Filled Taiyaki Cone. Upside Down. |
Both flavors were perfectly rich and creamy, very textbook high quality soft serve. The "milk" flavor was simple, but not too sweet, and I think it was nice to have mixed with the ube. The ube was very good, and a stunning purple color. No complaints on this ice cream, at all.
For my toppings, I just went for the rainbow sprinkles, since I don't really like any of the other options. I found this to be pretty boring quickly though, and really wanted some drizzle, some other crunch, some mochi ... or even, um, more sprinkles? Because these ran out fast. Luckily, I had more in my purse ...
The macaron was fine, but, I still just found it random, and I can't say it added to my experience in any way.
And finally, the taiyaki. I haven't had that many taiyaki cones, because I haven't really liked the others I have had. But this one was much, much better. The cone was softer, and more mochi like. I really liked the texture and the flavor to it. No eggy quality to it, which was what I didn't care for at Taiyaki NYC in Boston. I opted for taro filling, which was good, standard taro paste, and it was more generously stuffed than other places have been. A good item, which again, made me interested in trying just the regular freshly made taiyaki.
I opted for the upside down version, so I could make my own cone, and add to it as I wanted. Plus, I knew it wouldn't get soggy too fast that way. My peers however went right-side up, traditional cone style. And ... let's just say, their cones didn't hold their integrity very well, and they quickly became major messes. It was a bit humorous to watch adults struggle so badly with ice cream cones, their shirts covered, their shoes covered, and the sidewalk quickly a puddle of purple. As much as I think the taiyaki at Somi Somi were far better than other places, in taste and texture, they really did fail as cones fairly spectacularly. I'd still pick taste over function though!
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