What is Fish Ice Cream? The Ice Cream with Fish Cone Trend

Perhaps you’ve seen people eating fish ice cream or what seems to be this, and it confuses you. The viral ice cream with fish cone trend is rare enough that no explanation is offered or intensely sought, but when you see it, you deeply ponder, almost as if you are trying to discover the secret to life in 60 seconds.

The fish-shaped cone holding the ice cream is called Taiyaki ice cream, inspired by a Japanese fish-shaped pastry traditionally filled with sweet bean paste.
Taiyaki ice cream pairs warm, cake-like fish cones with soft serve flavors like matcha and fun toppings, making it a highly photogenic, shareable ice cream trend.
The fish ice cream trend grew in the U.S. through specialty shops and can also be recreated at home with Taiyaki-style cones and your favorite dairy ice cream.

In a world of crazy ice cream flavors and colors, for once, it’s not the ice cream causing confusion. It’s the cone.

The ice cream swirl looks delicious, but not unusual. Your eye is instead immediately drawn to the strange cone. In lieu of the traditional waffle cone is a fishtail. Or what looks like a fishtail. A gingerbread fishtail, perhaps.

Atop this, ice cream swirls high above. Even more confusing, some people share unicorn ice cream or seasonal shapes on this fishtail cone, begging the question of what it represents. Is this unicorn really a unimaid? A mercorn?

No. If you look more closely between the fingers around the cone, you’ll notice it’s not just a fishtail. It’s an entire first, its mouth wide open to hold the ice cream swirled above. So it’s a fish eating a unicorn?

Still no.

What is Fish Ice Cream?

The fish-shaped ice cream is called Taiyaki ice cream, named after a Japanese treat filled with bean paste that resembles a fishtail. Instead of enjoying it on its own, many now deem it necessary to top a Taiyaki and cone combination with ice cream.

The trend comes from Taiyaki NYC, where warm Taiyaki is combined with ice cream flavors like matcha and sweet toppings like mochi. Altogether, it’s an entirely unique ice cream experience that has to be shared.

Once audiences discovered it’s both delicious and sure to get likes, the amateur chefs began experimenting with how to make the treats at home. While Taiyaki creameries have expanded their reach beyond New York City and other shops are beginning to introduce the combination, it’s still not available to everyone. Homemade recipes for the creations are now just a Google search away for those looking to try the fish ice cream themselves.

Q: What is the viral fish ice cream or ice cream with fish cone trend?
A: The ice cream is served in a Taiyaki cone, a fish-shaped pastry that holds soft serve instead of the usual waffle cone.

Q: What is Taiyaki, and where does it come from?
A: Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake, traditionally filled with sweet bean paste, that has been adapted to hold ice cream for a warm-and-cold dessert.

Q: Can I try Taiyaki ice cream if I do not live near a specialty shop?
A: Yes. You can look for Taiyaki-style cones or molds and fill them with your favorite dairy ice cream and toppings to recreate the experience at home.

Next time a fish ice cream or ice cream with fish cone appears on your feed, you can go on about how curious you are about those flavor combinations. Maybe you can even rave about the taste! Unless you are munching on the last bites of the cone, no one needs to know that you once thought Taiyaki ice cream was some strange metaphor. It’s a delicious combination that an ice cream lover like you is eager to try.