Located across the street from the entrance to Tanaka Farms, in the Parkview Center, first level. Plenty of parking in the shared lot for the shopping center. This shopping center has been here for some time as the parking aisles are nice and wide.
Kiyoraka Kokigori is a unique Japanese shaved ice experience that is more than a dessert shop, more than a frozen dessert treat. It cannot be compared to ordinary shaved ice that we have all had in our pasts. Kiyoraka staff are artisans and each dish is a culinary masterpiece that they are creating for the experience. There are only SIX choices on the menu on any given day and there may be seasonal ones only offered for a short period of time depending upon the availability of the fresh ingredients.
Daily hours are 12:00PM - 10:00PM because each morning, the staff is making the sauces, creams, chopping nuts and fruit for the shop's offerings. Once they run out of the ingredients, that item is removed from the available choices on the menu. The daily available choices is also monitored in their digital system for the kiosk and the register manned by the manager. Kiyoraka is a cashless shop for efficiency too.
The shopping center has shared patio tables and Kiyoraka has a dining area as well as bar seating. The décor along one dark "galaxy" wall with colorful twinkling lights/"stars" and "shooting stars" every few seconds. This is paneled along the length of the shop. The bar area, the counter is a lit "marbled" surface that servers will place final orders on and customers will use as eating surfaces. It is a wide counter. The seats are very cool, they are blue in the shape of waves or blue "leaves" and there is a spring when you sit down. Very comfortable and unique.
I chose a seat at the bar because I wanted to watch the artisans design the dishes. Food scales are used in every preparation. Each dish has a specific list of ingredients that is crafted in a specific order. The Japanese shaved ice requires a special machine and what appears to be special blocks of ice that are packaged as blocks in sealed plastic. In other words, do not try this at home. The empty dish is placed on the food scale and as each ingredient is added, it is done on the scale as well, making each creation exactly the same. Some of the shaved ice needs to be molded and lightly pat down to create the rounded shape. It was fascinating to observe but all of this takes time. Each dish takes 5-6 minutes to make and nothing in done in mass production nor are any of the dishes "pre-made" in any way.
I visited Kiyoraka after hearing about it from Purelux Scalp Spa that I visited earlier in the day. Go read my reviews there - love that service! My Kiyoraka visit was around 4:15 PM, but the place was pretty full. The manager let me know that Strawberry Pistache was the number one favorite, followed by Golden Crunch and that Yogurt Kiwi was a seasonal offering that could be leaving at any time. I chose the Tiramisu Hikari and the manager said "that is the last one for the day." I felt like I was just awarded the golden ticket. As of 19 Jul, dishes range in price from $14.98 to $17.98. While this may seem like steep pricing, once you see the work that goes into each dish, you understand the value of the cost.
Each order comes with a card with a drawing of the creation and the ingredients. Tiramisu Hikari contained lemon curd, mascarpone cream, caramel hazelnut, coffee cookie, coffee milk syrup, Japanese shaved ice (2 applications) and brown sugar that is heated with a blow torch right in front of your eyes!! Holy Moly! Each dish is about 5" tall AND YOU CAN'T TAKE THE LEFTOVERS HOME - PERIOD!
Staff is very nice, accommodating and one artisan actually told me "they are super fun to make!" There you have it!
While enjoying my delicious treat, I saw many Strawberry Pistache and Golden Crunch being ordered. Dishes are made to be shared, but I don't think younger children would like the flavor combinations. This is just my opinion. And why would you want to waste these yummy treats on the kids? Save this wonderful place for a teen to adult outing and make it special for "adults only!"
Don't bawk about the price nor the wait time, just indulge yourself. You only live once.
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