Fulfilled - L.A.'s New Japanese Pastry Shop and Imagawa-yaki Specialist!

Note: This business is now Closed.
Note 2: This was for their Pre-Grand Opening Press Event so there was no bill. As a result, there won't be a Rating for this post.

The first time I heard about a "new Imagawa-yaki" shop opening up in Beverly Hills was about a few months ago, and I was looking forward to its opening with curiosity and hope that L.A. could have a new, dedicated shop focused just on various types of this delicious Japanese Pastry. :) The Imagawa-yaki is classic Japanese Street Food, sold centuries ago by street vendors and it still remains a beautifully simplistic, down-to-earth dessert made from a batter similar to a Pancake or Waffle batter, and traditionally stuffed with a sweet Azuki Bean filling.

The new shop was christened "Fulfilled," and this evening I was invited to their Pre-Grand Opening Event to preview their Menu. Fulfilled is the brainchild of Owner Susumu Tsuchihashi, who was inspired to try and bring over the classic Japanese Pastry / Dessert (the Imagawa-yaki), and develop new flavor combinations in addition to the traditional version.


Fulfilled is located near the corner of South Santa Monica Boulevard and Canon Drive in Beverly Hills, just a few blocks up from Spago's and just around the corner from Wolfgang's Steakhouse. The first thing that set off the warm fuzzies was the absolutely adorable Mascot and Sign for this Japanese Pastry Shop! (^_^) (I found out later, she's named Lil' Misa :). I'm not sure if it was intentional, but the illustration was reminiscent of the manga-style during the early-to-mid 20th century in Japan, and I was reminded of a happy Setsuko in the classic Japanese film, Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies). :)


Stepping inside, this was a simple, small space with a generous high ceiling, and their entire Menu posted on a large blackboard against the back wall. While the funky, odd and cute names may raise an eyebrow for some, it's understandable that there's a need to provide accessible names to the clientele in the neighborhood. I found the names rather humorous and catchy. (^_~)



Besides the 8 different types of Imagawa-yaki Pastries, they also serve a variety of popular Japanese soft drinks and their one-and-only Lil Misa's Tea (Hot or Iced).


I began with their signature Lil Misa's Ice Tea, which is a combination of Azuki Red Beans, Organic Green Tea from Japan, Honey, in a Latte-style. In addition, the top was sprinkled with a little Shichimi Togarashi (the Seven Flavor Chili Pepper seen most often in Yakitori restaurants locally)! Susumu-san explains that this little dash of the Shichimi was to give just the faintest hint of a spicy contrast to the rest of the drink.

I found Lil Misa's Ice Tea to be quite tasty, but a touch sweet for my palate (but I normally don't have sweet drinks very often, preferring my teas unsweetened).


Imagawa-yaki Pastries are similar to a Pancake or a Waffle, and are cooked in a special metal grill contraption, sort of like a Waffle Iron, but without the honeycomb pattern (and they are much smaller than the usual huge Waffles found in the U.S.). In the following pictures we see the Imagawa-yaki Cooks preparing the cast aluminum grill, and then pouring the batter and adding the filling, and finally opening up the Imagawa-yaki cooking grill to pop out the finished pastry. It smelled delicious as they were cooking up the first batch. :)




The initial menu at Fulfilled features 8 different flavors for the Imagawa-yaki Pastries, all created by Susumu-san and his Fulfilled staff. I start off with the Karaoke Kitty, their "Ima" Pastry filled with Strawberry, Cream Cheese and Ghirardelli White Chocolate. I wasn't sure what to expect, but taking the first bite removed any worries I had. Despite the list of ingredients, this was surprisingly light and *not* too sweet: The Strawberries and White Chocolate were balanced nicely by the Cream Cheese, and the end result was a creamy Strawberry Pastry with a nice crisped Waffle-like crust and fragrant, soft interior.



The next Ima Pastry was their Nutty Buddha (Ghirardelli Chocolate, Toffee, Crunchy Peanut Butter). It turns out having fresh, piping hot Imagawa-yaki Pastry dough (like a freshly-made Waffle or Pancake) would go well with just about anything (^_~), and here, with the warm, gooey Chocolate, it was a great match as well. I'm glad they used a Dark Chocolate, to prevent this Ima Pastry from turning too sweet. My only complaint about this flavor is that there was almost no Peanut Butter taste at all (mainly the Dark Chocolate and Toffee). But it's their Pre-Grand Opening, so I'm sure they'll have time to adjust their recipes as needed.



Continuing on, their Sweet Geisha is the name of the traditional Imagawa-yaki Pastry still popular in Japan to this day: Filled with the traditional Japanese Azuki Bean. Surprisingly, I found this one to be the sweetest (too sweet, to the point of cloying) Ima Pastry on their menu. I would've thought that the simplest, traditional Imagawa-yaki would be the least sweet. I'm guessing it might be the Powdered Sugar on top, or if not, it may be the Azuki Bean filling; I'm hoping Susumu-san and company will adjust the sugar-levels on this one.



Continuing on, their Honey Yakuza (Goat Cheese, Mission Figs, Honey, Walnut, Cracked Black Pepper) arrives next. This is Susumu-san's favorite flavor, and I'm eager to try it. I was expecting a pungent burst of flavor (in a good way) from the Goat Cheese, but surprisingly this was a really mellow, lightly sweet Pastry! The key flavors were the fresh Mission Figs, and the notes of Honey and Walnuts. I like Goat Cheese, so I was a little disappointed that I couldn't taste any Goat Cheese in this Pastry (it was also served in "halves" so perhaps the Goat Cheese was in the other half of this Pastry?), but overall, this was a very surprisingly enjoyable Imagawa-yaki (not overly sweet and interesting to the taste buds).


The next Ima Pastry began the *savory* Imagawa-yaki portion of the menu. Traditionally in Japan this is a dessert / sweet Pastry, so I was very curious to see how well the Imagawa-yaki could hold up with savory ingredients.

The Green Ninja (Spinach, Feta Cheese, Sundried Tomato) arrived piping hot, and I cautiously took a bite: Wow, this actually worked! It reminded me of a good Calzone, with the bit of Feta Cheese, Sundried Tomato being front-and-center. It was like a little, warm, savory snack that you could enjoy without ruining your appetite. I suppose it's like a Crepe (which can support Savory and Sweet versions). This turned out to be one of my favorites for the evening. :)


Their Sumo Italiano (Prosciutto di Parma, Smoked Ham, Aged Parmesan, Fresh Basil) shocked me even more: The wonderful porky goodness with the Prosciutto di Parma and the Smoked Ham matched perfectly with the Parmesan, and most notably with the Fresh Basil. I *love* Basil and this Sumo Italiano was bursting with Basil herbal aromas with every bite. Excellent.


Their final savory Ima Pastry arrived: Spicy Samurai (Chicken Apple Sausage, Pepper Jack Cheese, Green Chili, Fresh Cilantro). The Chicken Apple Sausage provided some decent meatiness to the Pastry, but it was really about the Cheesy goodness of the Pepper Jack Cheese and the Green Chilis. If you're a fan of those two ingredients then this one would probably be for you. :) I found it to be enjoyable, but I liked the Green Ninja and Sumo Italiano more.


The last Imagawa-yaki Pastry arrived at this point: Harajuku Monkey (Banana and Nutella). I'm not a fan of Nutella, but the fragrant, powerful Banana flavors worked well with the Nutella, and this turned out to be really enjoyable as well (and less sweet than the traditional Azuki Bean Pastry, which is still baffling!).


Currently, the Sweet Geisha (Azuki Bean) Ima Pastry is $1.75 for each one, with all other flavors priced at $2.75 each. Susumu-san is running a Grand Opening special: Buy 6, Get 1 Free. He also mentioned in passing that he has over 50 different flavors he's developed, but chose these first 8 to start off with; he hopes to have new additions from time-to-time.


Fulfilled is shaping up to be a really nice Japanese Pastry Shop focusing on bringing new flavors of Imagawa-yaki to Los Angeles. While ostensibly looking like it might be random, ill-researched "fusion" cuisine, it turns out that all of the new flavors developed by Susumu-san on the menu are very well done and provide interesting flavor combinations that are engaging and tasty. Besides the overly sweet Azuki Bean (which I'm willing to give it another try after some time passes), the other flavors are hits. I can see this being a great morning or afternoon snack while you're in the area, but the question remains of if the general public will appreciate these tiny, toasty, fragrant Japanese Pastries or not? Only time will tell, but I'm pulling for Susumu-san and Fulfilled, especially for the chance to see what other new recipes they might debut later. :)

My Favorite 3 Imagawa-yaki (^_^)
1. Sumo Italiano
2. Green Ninja
3. Karaoke Kitty

Rating: n/a (out of 10.0)
(This was a Pre-Grand Opening Press Event.)

Fulfilled
9405 S. Santa Monica Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 860-0776

(Note: Soft Opening starts tomorrow, Nov. 6, 2008, and their Grand Opening happens this weekend, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008.)

Hours: 7 Days A Week, 10:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

(Note: Free two-hour parking is available across the street in the Parking Garage, with entrances on Beverly Dr. and Canon Dr.)

http://www.fulfilledpastries.com/