Kimono Koi Crepes food cart: Pretty in Pink

Kimono Koi Crepes
Georgia and Granville, Vancouver

Parked right outside the Georgia and Granville St. Canada Line skytrain stop is the Pretty in Pink Kimono Koi Crepes food cart. My biggest pet peeve about this cart is that they are never set up at 12 noon; so I’m forced to take a late lunch in order to buy a crepe. I’ve actually visited this cart three times before actually finding them open and ready to take orders. However, except for a few things, it was generally worth the wait.

I was advised to only order the sweet crepes at Kimono Koi and since I do stand by the mandate of always eating dessert first, I opted to order the strawberry cheesecake crepe that came with nutella, fresh strawberries and a generous piping of whipped cream with rainbow sprinkles and a chocolate Pocky. A distinct difference between French crepes and Japanese crepes is presentation. Kimono Koi spends a lot of time “prettying up” their crepes, arranging the slice of cheesecake at a perfect angle and making sure only the ripe red parts of the sliced strawberries are flirtatiously peeking out from the clouds of whipped cream topping the crepe, wrapped tightly in bright pink construction paper. I have to admit, I love the Pocky stick that Kimono Koi pokes into their crepes, I think that adds a whimsical and unique touch. I do not, however, like the stiff, pink construction paper wrapping the crepe.

Whereas the pink construction paper is sturdy and really gives the soft crepe some structure to hold up all the fillings-slice of heavy cheesecake, strawberries, nutella, strawberry syrup and whipped cream, the disconcerting thing is that the pink paper bleeds pink dye onto the crepe. I only discovered this when I got to the bottom of the crepe and peeled away the last of the paper to discover a neon coloured, crumpled corner of crepe in my hand.

The crepe itself, however was soft, fluffy and delicious. The crepe texture was a perfect compliment to the rich, dense cheesecake inside, wrapping light, springy layers around the creamy cheesecake, tangy, juicy strawberries, and nutty sweetness of nutella. I would definitely order this crepe again, if only just for that cute stick of Pocky poking out of the top!

Kimono Koi also offers savoury goodies such as tuna and sausage crepes, a popular ham and cheese and other dessert crepes filled with all different flavours of ice cream.