Something fishy in the east
Taiyaki, the popular Japanese fish-shaped croissant, finds a new home at Mega Bangna
IT’S BEEN a few months since the popular Japanese fish-shaped cake known as Taiyaki made its way to Bangkok and now folk living in the city’s eastern suburbs can enjoy it too with the opening of Croissant Taiyaki at Mega Bangna.
The brand itself was formed last year by Hotland group and the delicious offerings did so well that the bakery now has more than 100 outlets around Japan and South Korea. In Bangkok, it is run by Proposal, which paid Bt20 million for the franchise.
The shop, which opened last month, is modest with a long counter bar on one side and open kitchen on the other, where customers can observe the chefs baking this original fish-shaped cake.
“We set up Proposal last year to import Japanese food and patisserie items that we know will go down well with Thai customers,” says managing director Kornkrit Jurangkool .
“While we were in Tokyo researching the market, we discovered Croissant Taiyaki in Shinjuku and were amazed by the long queues in front of the bakery. This kind of fish-shaped croissant is developed from traditional Kurokawa flour to create a new texture and while in Japan, each branch offers only red bean and seasonal fillings, Hotland has allowed us to create new flavours to match local tastes.”
Altogether 20 new flavours are available in Thailand and they vary from branch to branch. All offer red bean, green tea and custard croissants plus one with a savoury filling that chefs are invited to come up with themselves. At Mega Bangna, the team has come up with a stuffing of warm tuna and corn. CentralWorld offers pizza blended with sausage and ham and Emquartier has ham and cheese. The prices range from Bt60 to Bt70.
“We also present seasonal flavours like chocolate to celebrate Valentine’s Day and pumpkin at Halloween. We plan to open a cafe that will serve refreshing drinks and ice cream too,” Kornkrit says.
SWEET TREATS
Croissant Taiyaki is on the ground floor of Mega Bangna in front of the entrance to Big C Extra. It’s open daily from 10am to 9.30pm. For more information, visit Croissant Taiyaki TH on Facebook.
