TK North Factory

One of the great things I found on my last trip to Mitsuwa Market was the Obanyaki stand *eyes sparkling, mouth grinning, droool*.
For those who are not familiar with Obanyaki, it is one of the great Japanese delicacies that I can only describe as a hot pancake sandwich filled with all manners of tasty treats like sweet red bean paste, custard, caramel and green tea-​red bean.
I absolutely love these sweet snacks, so I was set to try every filling they offered:
* Custard: scrumptious! My favorite pick out of the bunch — it is creamy and less sweet than the other fillings.
* Green tea cream and red bean: another lovely! The sweet red bean goes great with the slightly bitter taste of green tea cream.
* Caramel: my second favorite! The caramel was hot and gooey with the right consistency; not too sweet! It tasted perfect with the pancake.
* Red bean: I’m not a very keen on red bean but I’m liking this one. It has a thicker consistency and they are also not overwhelmingly sweet.
From the outside, the obanyaki here are rather pale in color compared to the obanyaki I’ve had before. However, the pancake batter inside has the perfect amount of glutinous and chewy texture, which I absolutely loved. Overall, they are incredibly delicious and are completely satisfying as comfort snacks.
Tips:
*They are $ 2 each and cash only!

Picked up some obanyaki to go after I got some Matcha Love. Unfortunately I didn’t get a freshly made one, it looked like they made a bunch ahead and stored them in these tupperware containers. As others have mentioned, $ 2 a piece and they have 4 flavors: Caramel, Red Bean, Custard, and Red Bean w/​Green Tea.
The Obanyaki itself was hefty. It was a hybrid of pancake and mochi and it was hard for me to cut with a plastic knife. As a dessert, it was ok, one was definitely filling. The flavors didn’t wow me, part of me wished they were more bite-​sized. The custard one was my least favorite (which is weird because I usually LOVE custard filled desserts).
I heard another bakery offers these also, I would like to try it freshly made to compare.

Pretty decent product. Heard from a friend that they were at Mitsuwa Marketplace for a weekend, and when I saw them right away upon walking in, I figured I’d give them a try.
The «sweet pumpkin» are basically filled pancake pastries. They were $ 2 a piece when I bought them. Green tea and red bean is the best in my opinion. It’s sweet, and both flavors shine through. Caramel is really sweet, as is red bean. Custard is less sweet than the others, so it’s personally my least favorite. Both the custard and caramel get relatively runny when hot, so you’re best off splitting them with a knife.
They do keep reasonably well in the fridge, but the dough does get drier. Not sure if you can fix them by re-​steaming, but I’ve just been microwaving the leftovers. They are best and softest when they’re fresh from the stall, so make plans to eat/​share them quickly. Otherwise, find yourself some other sweet pastries that you can keep for a few days.

obanyaki and taiyaki are completely different dessert/​snack items. taiyaki is in a fish shape almost like a waffle texture whereas obanyaki has a smooth outside, but chewy. both have azuki fillings with various counterparts (if that’s the word for it) such as custard for both, ice cream for taiyaki, green tea paste etc. the stand that sells obanyaki is only temporary, but will come back again. I think every year in flavors like custard (my favorite), green tea, and caramel. all but custard has azuki inside. I live these for their chewy texture and sweetness of the custard. I have to buy some whenever they come back. I swear they’re calling my name.

This place had a sign that said it was only opened until the 22^nd of June. So glad I got to try it before it closes and goes back to japan. I ordered three red bean green tea and a custard one. In my opinion they should make a plain green tea one for my likings heh, but I did taste good with the red bean. It’s better to eat these fresh because the exterior gets soft after it sits for awhile. Being in this market just made me want to go to japan that much more!

What? This place was only temporary during the Japanese Gourmet Food week? :(
I’ve had fresh obanyaki before at Sweet Breams in San Mateo where they would come in tiny fish shaped pieces. Unfortunately, that place is closed. I know they make them fresh at Japantown in SF too.
Anyways, I heard about this place opening up temporarily at Mitsuwa and decided to try it out if I was ever back during their two weeks. This was a pop up stand located inside Mitsuwa. The line began outside the market and moved extremely slowly. Long lines means good food right? Good thing I had just gotten a Matcha Love matcha green tea black sesame swirl and had something to occupy myself with as I waited.
When I finally gotten to the front of the line, I opted to get 5 matcha green tea and red bean ones. I guess the only way to describe Obanyaki is that it tastes like a fresh pancake sandwich with filling. In this case, matcha green tea with red bean, green tea, custard, or caramel. Strangely enough, pumpkin was not available yet they’re called Sweet Pumpkin. Cost is $ 2 plus tax.
It tasted great freshly made but I didn’t have the stomach room to eat anymore and didn’t want to only buy one with the amount of time I had to wait. I heated the leftovers up in the toaster oven the next day. It was still good but not as good as it was when it fresh. I think this will be a one time visit for me… especially with the wait. I read in other reviews that Sweet Pumpkin is back in September and that there’s a even longer wait then. That’s just crazy!
Note: Cash only.

After waiting in the slowest line ever I finally was able to get a Caramel obanyaki $ 2 — $ 2.14 after tax I think. It was only for the Japanese Gourmet Food Fair 6÷19−22, 2014.
It was still a bit warm, but it tasted like an uncooked pancake w/​super sweet caramel.
I tossed the pancakey tasting top & bottom and ate the caramel the next day.
Waste of money. Skip it.

One of the best place in bay area if your craving for obanyaki. Their GREENtea/​redbean is one of my favorite. Though, I also would recommended their cream custard or just plain redbean. I think their price is very reasonable. Super happy that they decided to make this a daily business.

Tasty obanyaki pastries wtih a Sweet Pumpkin shell and red bean/​green tea/​custard/​caramel fillings. Must eat hot or the pastry gets kind of gummy/​chewy. Custard is certainly the fave but the others will do too. $ 2/​per is a bit pricey but it’s a limited edition product at Mitsuwa

The «sweet pumpkin» obanyaki stand is back at Mitsuwa.
4.5÷5: The caramel filled obanyaki is very good:
I think it’s better than similar pastries at Asian bakeries: the pancake part has a great «chew» to it. I’m not sure it’s worth a trip, but it’s definitely worth trying once. But I don’t recommend the custard filling: both the flavor and texture of the custard were terrible.
They are open 10AM — 7PM, until June 22 only. This is the same stand that operates during Mitsuwa’s Hokkaido festival in September. However, if you go to the Hokkaido festival, you can expect to wait in line for about 90 minutes to get an obanyaki. Right now, there is no wait. The only difference: At the Hoddaido festival, they also have pumpkin filling available.

This stand popped up on my feed and made me glad that I have to be in SJ this weekend! I first had T.K. North Factory’s obanyaki in SoCal at the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Torrance, CA. You can read my review for them here:
Definitely order some if you’re in the area! My favorite is the custard :)

This small vendor is very unique. I have never had this kind of pastry before and I still don’t know what they are called… Maybe «sweet pumpkin?» They make these deliciousness right in front of you and are still hot when you take the first bite. The red bean and green tea fusion is a must try! Too bad this place is only in the Mitsuwa market until 6/​22, otherwise I would be back for more.

Noelle’s Unilocal Notebook 2014
Came here with my mom and sis! This is a new sweet spot located in the Mitsuwa Market. Sweet Pumpkin is a wonderful dessert :) Its similar to mochi. It comes in different flavors — caramel, custard, red bean and red bean with green tea. It had a crêpe like outside and it is generously filled with any of the above flavors. I bought one of each flavor and shared with my family. My favorite is the caramel but all the flavors are all amazing.
Each sweet treat is $ 2 plus tax– and they are good sized portion. Customer service is friendly and fast. Looking forward to coming here again with family and friends!
LOVE in 2014,
Noelle J.
Noelle’s Notes
Sweet Desserts
Caramel is my fave
Good customer service