Kat's 9 Lives

I was so sad to find out that the Genki Living across from IVC closed a while back. They had a great Fruit Tea and decently priced crêpes! =*( Whilst on a girl's night out with my evil twin and PK, we wanted something sweet nearby. Lucky for us that PK always has her iPhone and she found a Genki Living in Garden Grove. We set out for some more dessert after a fattening meal of Korean BBQ. O=) This location is tucked away on the corner of Garden Grove Blvd and Brookhurst behind a bank. I really like the decor here. It was very cutesy and nostalgic. The floor is nicely painted and the walls have cute drawings of classic games. While we were waiting for our food, Kat and I noticed the archaic Street Fighter arcade game. Both of us pulled out a quarter and began the "challenge". =) It was a nice workout! lol
Since we were pretty full to begin with, we decided to share a Shaved Ice. The toppings we chose were Condensed Milk, Pudding, Mochi, Strawberry, and Green Tea Ice Cream. It was a good size for the 3 of us. They were pretty generous with the toppings. I wasn't a big fan of the green tea ice cream. The quality was a bit sub-par and had gooey texture. I felt the flavor of the green tea really fell flat and the tea had a weird after taste. As shaved ice goes, it is just so-so. The flavors and components fell a bit flat for me. I think I have been spoiled/ruined by SinBala and Half & Half Tea House. There really aren't many places that serve shaved ice around where I live and it's even harder to find a good one! =*(
Even though we were pretty full, we were greedy. I saw that they served Taiyakis and if you buy 3 you get a deal of it being $4.79... we have 3 people so why not! lol Of course I had to choose the more expensive ones to make it a better deal. O=) The Red Bean with Mochi and Peanut Butter with Mochi were the most expensive. Our third one was a normal Custard Taiyaki. They were all just okay but I find them super fun to eat. They are really just Japanese Waffle shaped like a fish and stuffed with ingredients. The ones with mochi inside definitely have an intriguing texture. It is both chewy & thick from the mochi and a slight chewy texture but a more airy density from the waffle.
All in all it is a quaint little find. We just enjoyed our time together and satisfied our sweet tooth. I have been back recently to try all new things and new taiyaki. Of course I couldn't resist playing a quick game of Street Fighter. O=9 Since the Genki Living close to me is gone, beggars can't be choosers. I just have to settle for this now. Even though they have the same name and are part of the same chain, they sure don't taste the same. I will have to try the one near SinBala one day. ^_^

Genki Living