Strawberry Cones and Pa Pa Walk, San Gabriel, CA

A few weeks ago, the LA Times Food Section's article "In LA, pizza goes global," mentioned Strawberry Cones, a new Japanese pizza place in San Gabriel. Immediately emailed JustJenn and said we need to go. They have Mochi Pizza. And if it has mochi, I'm there.

Strawberry Cones, a chain in Japan, has unique pizzas. They have 200 outlets in Japan and one in Canada. This San Gabriel restaurant is the first franchise in the United States. A different franchise owner just opened one in Little Tokyo. They sell pizza and pasta; we had the pizza.

While waiting for our pizza, Jenn's son colored Red Tornado. Recently, he kicked my butt in an intense game of Disney Memory. I've been practicing at home getting ready for a rematch.

The most popular one is the Teriyaki Mochi Chicken Pizza. The crust is made with rice flour and the pizza is topped with chicken pieces, small pieces of mochi that melt into the crust, onion, teriyaki, cheese, mayo (the Japanese put mayo on everything...you really don't notice it), and topped with nori (seaweed). This was definitely my favorite pizza. ($11 for a small)

Is that crust gray? Yes, it is a Ninja Pizza. It uses powdered chikutan, Japanese bamboo charcoal that is supposed to be mineral rich. We got a 1/2 and 1/2 pizza: Avocado Salmon (above) and Mochi Mentai (below). I wish the avocado salmon was double avocado instead. I didn't care for the salmon - it was a little like lox on your pizza. ($12.80 for a small)

This is the Mochi Mentai pizza. I saw the mochi, and didn't even think about the Mentai. Mentaiko is marinated roe of the pollock fish. It is salted and gives it a seafood flavor. I love seafood, but I probably wouldn't get this one again because roe isn't top on my list of favs. However, I do love the nori on all the pizzas. Life is better with nori.

After our trip to Strawberry Cones, we walked through the entire little complex...including visiting the Hilton Hotel (you know, hotel bathrooms are always the nicest). We stopped at Pa Pa Walk for this awesome Brown Sugar Milk Snowy.

They have two types of yummy frozen desserts: Shave Ice and Snowy. Shave ice is the usual - finely shaved blocks of frozen water. But the Snowy is super finely shaved blocks of milk, coffee, green tea flavor. We got the milk snowy with "toppings" - that are actually served UNDER the mound of snowy ice! We got mochi balls (of course!), almond tofu jello, red beans, pudding and condensed milk. I love, love all things shave ice - more than ice cream! I know that is crazy to some people, but I think shave ice is much more refreshing on a hot day. Sweet and cool.

If you are in San Gabriel, check out these two places. And see JustJenn's post about our trip.

Strawberry Cones (Suite 118-B): (626) 293-1852
Pa Pa Walk (Suite 148-B): 626-281-3889
227 W. Valley Blvd. San Gabriel 91776