Tsuki Yo opened in Darling Square in mid-2022, as a collaboration between the owners of Devon and Hakatamon Ramen, and aims to ‘recreate the nostalgic feeling of walking through the side street food stalls of Ōsaka’s neon-laden Dotonbori district’.
Presently, it offered two quintessentially Japanese street food items: takoyaki and taiyaki.
Red Bean Taiyaki ($6.00). These taiyaki used a waffle batter rather than the more commonly found pancake batter. Eaten fresh, these had a delightful lightness and crispness with a subtle sweetness that paired well with the deep sweetness of the generously portioned red bean filling. The chunky texture of the red bean gave an enjoyable texture, while its thickness held the two waffle halves together with minimal mess.
Vanilla Custard Taiyaki ($6.00). The custard has visible specks of vanilla bean, which delivered a creamy and smooth mouthfeel with a balanced sweetness. While enjoyable, it paled in comparison to the richness and texture of the red bean filling.
Chestnut Taiyaki ($7.90). The generous filling of chestnut paste and three candied chestnut halves made this one of the most enjoyable chestnut flavoured sweets I’ve eaten in a long while. That said, the dough aspect of this taiyaki was quite thick so it didn’t deliver quite the same crunch but it did provide structural integrity for the filling.
With international travel recovering from the pandemic, we’re pleased to find Japanese street food locally. On another visit, we’ll try their takoyaki and their (promised) fruit sandos.
Tsuki Yo is located at 17–19 Little Hay Street, Haymarket NSW 2000.