Fulfilled - Beverly Hills

Late last year, I was invited to a pre-grand opening party for a new shop in Beverly Hills called Fulfilled, owned by Susumu Tsuchihashi. This was not an ordinary shop, but the one who specialized in Japanese pastries, called Imagawa-yakis or "Imas" short. I really had no idea what imas were and going to visit their website to learn more. Basically, an Ima is a pancake like pastries filled with sweet Azuki beans handmade on an aluminum grill. It comes from Tokyo in the 1800s and is sold in all Tokyo shopping districts and during seasonal festivals throughout Japan. Apparently Fulfilleds Imas are an updated version of traditional Japanese Imas. I was definitely intrigued, but unfortunately it could not do so, so the next best was to do a "re-do" of this pre-grand opening party for my dining room group. As part of this tasting event we have 3 savory imas, 4 sweet Imas and also had a taste of their icy Azuki Green Tea Honey Latte. Before I talk about food, I would like to give you a brief description of how the Imas are made. First you need a flat, hot surface and on this surface, place a folding “cupcake-like” holder to heat it up. Then add the dough and your selection of fillings and leave this cook for little. After a little time, you scratch around each of the Imas so that they do not stick so much to the sides. Finally fold the holder in half and again, give it some cooking time before unfolding to serve the golden Imas ready. As you can see, make imas can be time-consuming work. Before we enjoy the Imas, we were served all Fulfilled's icy Azuki Green Tea Honey Latte by an award-winning Barista, Elton Tsuono. It is an interesting drink that is a little grainy due to the sweet red bean and not on any taste due to this texture, but I loved it. I found it very refreshing and liked how the sweetness of red bean and honey balanced the green tea that can sometimes be a bit bitter. There was also a red chili pepper that we could add to the drink to give it a zing that I added and enjoyed even more. Now we will speak imas and we started with 3 of their economical options. The first sample was the green ninja and its ingredients were from spinach, feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Of all the Imas we tried, that was my least favorite. It was too dry. Although I liked how the feta added the correct amount of saltiness to the spinach, it has no very good melting point and I think that is what contributed to this Ima not much moisture. Next was the Sumo Italiano with prosciutto di Parma, smoked ham, aged parmesan and fresh basil. This was an enormous improvement from the Green Ninja, at least melt cheese-wise. What I thought was the taste of basil. I love basil and it just didn't seem like there was enough. One thing to note, but we were served halfway as part of this tasting, so it could have been a situation where the person who had the other half of my Ima got the mass of the basil. Also, while I loved the prosciuto and the smoked ham, this special Ima was a little too salty because of these two ingredients. Our last savory ima and my favorite of the three was the Spicy samurai with chicken apple sausage, pepper jack cheese, cubed chili and fresh cilantro. I love the wort and the fat flavors and I would order this as a snack without question. The only thing I could change is that the chicken apple sausage is a bit too subtle, because its taste is lost, especially when it eats with the other Spicier ingredients. Personally, I would take place with a chorizo sausage because I think it would be good next to the pepper Jack cheese, chili and cilantro. With the sparing Imas behind us, it is time to care for our sweet tooth. At first, the Fuji Sunrise had a crèstard cream filling. It reminded me of a better version of a Custard Donut. The Custard filling was absolutely delicious and I liked the lighter pancake texture of the Ima unlike Custard Donut, which can be a little heavy. Next was the Nutty Buddha with Ghirardelli chocolate, monkey and crispy peanut butter. As a peanut butter fan I had expected to love the Nutty Buddha, but not. I didn't like it, but the filling was too much at the end of the dryer. The mixture of the crispy peanut butter and the chocolate seemed somewhat pasty. I couldn't taste so much either. Maybe instead of the crispy peanut butter a creamy peanut butter could be used? But as a situation could come, where the chocolate and peanut butter could get on the other side and be too casual? I liked the whole taste, but I feel like this special Ima needs a little more work. Our third sweet Ima was the Sweet Geisha, which has a traditional Japanese Azuki bean filling. No need to mix with tradition. I'm a big fan of red beans and I was just like a fan of Sweet Geisha. Fourth was the Harajuku monkey with bananas and musella. It is hard to go wrong with nuts and bananas and fulfilled, but I would like more bananas to better balance the sweetness of the nuts. The last Ima of this tasting was the karaoke kitty with strawberry, cream cheese and ghirardelli white chocolate. It was the perfect spot. The white chocolate would have made this ima extremely sweet, but paired with the cream cheese and the strawberry canned, all flavors were in synch. That was definitely one of my favorites this night. I talked about the fillings, but I wanted to talk about the ima pastry itself. When comparing the economical Imas with the sweet Imas, I was definitely drawn more to the sweet Imas. The softer pancake texture really borrowed to the dessert options of Fulfilled, but for the hearty Imas, that was not the case. It is probably a preference, but I think that the savory fillings go better with more one fluffy pastry crust, almost like an empanada, but then we speak a different kind of food and not Imas. Also, owners, Susumu, himself has said that his Imas are not traditional Japanese Imas and in fact, are Western. If this is an adhesive point, Fulfilled cannot be for you; but if you can accept the Imas at Fulfilled on their own terms, you can find an Ima or two that you will enjoy as much as their traditional cousins. Sure.

Ima(e-ma) is Japanese dessert often found at festivals. American equivalent to funnel cake from dough in a special pan similar to a waffle iron, but without the honeycomb pattern. It is filled with sweet azuki bean paste, although it is becoming increasingly popular to use a wider range of fillings. At Fulfilled they have exactly that: a variety of desserts such as Sweet Geisha, Harajuku Monkey, Nutty Buddha, Karaoke Kitty, Honey yakuza and Fuji Sunrise. On the Savory side they have Sumo Italiano, spicy Samurai and Green Ninja. The best way I can describe an Ima is to call it a filled pancake. The concept is good, but there is something lost in translation. When he spoke to the owner Susumu Tsuchihashi, he said that he could market these hot little things to vest them. Bec ause that was a special event that the owner closed the place so we were served all fresh and hot. Although the mood was beautiful, the flavors for me were a kind of gland and at the time the Ima was not completely boiled and dough. The candy was just too sweet and the taste was missing, as I need a little salt now and then.

Last night, I attended another Pleasure Palate foodie event. This time held at Fulfilled, whose claim to fame are its special spin on Imagawa-Yaki (Ima for short), which are basically Japanese pastries. Ima are traditionally sold in Japan during festivals and fairs. The difference here is Fulfilled decided to do a ‘fusion’ approach to the traditional treat and added non traditional ingredients like spinach and chocolate. For those of you that have never tried Ima, think of a crepe, but shaped like a stuffed donut. Its also prepared similar to a crepe – the batter is similar. The taste testing menu consisted of every savory and sweet Ima on the menu, except the Honey Yakuza one. The cost of most of the Imas are $2.95 each. The taste testing involved trying out all the savory Imas, followed by the sweet ones. The owner had us try the Green Ninja first, which consists of spinach, feta cheese, and sun dried tomato. I thought it was okay for a veggie offering, but nothing I would kill for. Then we tried the second savory Ima called Sumo Italiano. This one is stuffed with prosciutto di parma, smoked ham, aged Parmesan and fresh basil. Again, it was okay, but not to die for. I had had two samples of this one. The first sample, I could barely taste the basil, but the second time, I could taste the basil and I think some of the green chili from the 3rd item got mixed in, because it had spicy kick to it. I actually preferred the 2nd sample over the 1st one, since I found it to be more flavorful between the basil and the spice. The third and last savory Ima was Spicy Samurai. This one has chicken apple sausage, pepper jack cheese, green chili, and fresh cilantro. Here’s the thing, I normally don’t like spicy foods and I detest cilantro, but this was my fave savory Ima out of the 3. The spice level was not scorching – it was just enough to contrast with the taste of the other ingredients. The cilantro wasn’t overpowering either. Then we moved on to the sweet Imas, which is the reason why I came. Our first sweet item to sample was called Fuji Sunrise. Its filled with just custard cream. It reminded me of a custard filled donut or a vanilla flavored Beard Papa’s cream puff. Not bad, but I wanted something a little more memorable. The next item was the Sweet Geisha, which is the traditional one served with red mung bean. If you like mung bean desserts, then you’ll probably like this one. I didn’t find the texture of the mung bean to compliment the dough of the pastry. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. I prefer the Chinese/Filipino snack hopia, which is filled with mung bean paste. I haven’t tried the traditional Ima offered at another place Little Tokyo, so I can’t make any comparisons on which one is better tasting between the two establishments. The next Ima we got to taste was the Nutty Buddha. They told us this was the most popular flavor with kids that aren’t allergic to nuts. Its made with Ghirardeli chocolate, toffee, and crunchy peanut butter. I liked the dark chocolate flavor, but I didn’t like the crunchy bits of almonds and peanuts. I didn’t think the crunchiness complimented the soft dough of the pastry. The next one was the Harajuku Monkey. Mmmm… this one was my second fave flavor. You can’t go wrong with nutella. I thought this flavor reminded me of eating traditional sweet crepes the most. Finally, they served the best for last, the Karaoke Kitty, which is also their most popular flavor. This Ima is filled with strawberry, cream cheese and Ghirardelli white chocolate. Divine! They also served us their house specialty drink called Lil Misa’s Tea. Its served either hot or cold, but we were served the cold version. It consists of mung bean, green tea, honey, cream/milk, and a dash of Japanese peppers that resembled paprika. I didn’t like the gritty after feel of the mung bean paste, which tends to settle at the bottom of the drink. Its a good thing I ate very little that day, because most of the other people in my group were too full to eat the the final items. They were taking them home to eat later instead, which I thought would compromise how the Ima would taste later. Supposedly you can stick it in the microwave for 20 seconds and then place it in a toaster or oven to make it ‘fresh’ again, but I strongly doubt it would taste as good as when its freshly served hot from the aluminum cast grill. So did I find Contentment at Fulfilled? Yes, but I’m withholding 1 star because I think they can actually come up with even better flavors. The place has only been open for 2 months and if they survive and prosper, I expect better offerings from them in the future. The busiest times of this place is during the week, during lunchtime and right after typical office hours. They also only make the item after you order it. So if you don’t want to pay for parking and wait in a long line, visit between 6 PM and 8 PM on Sundays when parking across the street is free.

The street food here includes the delightful "Ima(e-ma)," made from a subtly sweet, soft, and lightly fluffy yellow dough filled with traditional sweet or savory options. They've also crafted an array of creative and tasty fusion fillings. I tried the savory Imas, which have fun names like Green Ninja, Spicy Samurai, and Sumo Italiano. The Green Ninja is vegetarian, filled with spinach, feta, and sun-dried tomatoes. It has the comforting taste of spanakopita but with a softer, waffle-like exterior instead of phyllo dough. It’s quite tasty and would make for a solid lunch. The Sumo Italiano, with prosciutto di Parma, smoked ham, aged parmesan, and fresh basil, was also delicious, though it leaned a bit heavily on the ham flavor. My favorite was the Spicy Samurai, which features chicken apple sausage, pepper jack cheese, fresh cilantro, and green chili—complex, spicy, and utterly delicious. All the sweet Imas were fantastic, but I especially loved the Sweet Geisha with azuki beans; it was sweet, creamy, and gooey, pairing beautifully with the delicate outer dough. The Harajuku Monkey, a mix of bananas and Nutella, was a perfect complement, and the Karaoke Kitty, filled with strawberries, cream cheese, white Ghirardelli chocolate, and a sprinkle of powdered sugar, was a delightful blend of fruity strawberry and chocolate. Unusual yet incredibly tempting! Their Azuki Green Tea Honey Latte was subtle and satisfying, tasting like a mix between a grain drink and green tea, with just the right touch of honey. The restaurant itself is like a small, sparkling jewelry box that complements the fusion style of the Imas. You can admire the beautiful crystal drops on the ceiling, a shimmering chandelier, sleek flooring, and the elegant contemporary Asian fusion decor while indulging in these creamy, artistic treats. The seating is minimalistic, featuring smooth log ends as seats. All Imas are priced at $2.75, except for the Sweet Geisha, which is $1.75.

The concept here is nice, but the dough has been heavily modified for Western tastes. It has a flavor reminiscent of pancake batter, which becomes quite tedious after a few bites of these Westside Imagawayakis. Don’t expect something akin to good pancakes; this is actually very dry. Traditional dough is denser yet maintains a light, chewy, and moist quality that’s hard to describe. The dough is a vital component of Imagawayakis, and the version used here just doesn't measure up for me. This place won't be on my list of destinations, particularly with the challenging parking situation in Beverly Hills. I had to lower my rating from 3 stars to 2. The more I reflected on my experience, the less I enjoyed it. I only gave it an extra star because the concept is appealing, but it feels incomplete.