Ujitime Dessert — Restaurant in Palm Desert

It's high time the desert has a dessert shop that offers Asian treats — and Uji Time is well worth indulging.

The shop is small, but the staff is always inviting and friendly. From the moment you walk in the door, there's the irrestibly sweet aroma of the adorable taiyaki cones which they are churning out right before your eyes. The decor is minimalist but cute and bright!

I've tried all the flavors of soft serve ice cream and they are all delicious! The matcha flavor is perfect, it's not too sweet and you can add a sprinkling of matcha powder as a topping to give it a delicious bitter contrast and extra matcha flavor. It's clear to see why ube is their most popular flavor, because it's a crowd pleaser with it's vibrant purple color and rich and unique vanilla-like flavor. The black sesame might be an acquired taste to some, but I found it to be delicious with a subtle savory roasted/nutty flavor (if you enjoy tahini you'll love this!!). Adding red bean inside the taiyaki cone is the perfect finish!

My only complaint is I live nearby, so it will be HARD not to stop in a couple times a week for a treat when I crave matcha and red bean — it's really that good!

(Pictured: Matcha and black sesame soft serve swirl in a taiyaki cone with matcha pocky and...

I had no idea this place even existed until my cousins told me that this was coming to the desert. And to our surprise, this establishment just opened. We headed over excited and we weren't disappointed.

We came during their first week for their soft opening. I got the Black Sesame Taiyaki cone with a Red Bean filling. And it was absolutely delicious. Whenever I get taiyaki ice cream/soft serve, I always get the Black Sesame flavor when I can. For my toppings I had Pocky and Oreo Crumbles. I loved it all, my ice cream was creamy, delicious, and not too sweet. Also the Red Bean filling? Wow. I'm sure the Nutella filling is good, but the Red Bean filling was the perfect end to my cone.

The inside was pretty small so we ate our ice cream on the way to the car. Service was incredible. Both the workers were so sweet and attentive. They put a lot of care and intention towards each of our orders, ensuring that we were satisfied and that it was done right. Also I found it cute how excited the cashier was, telling us about the discounts when they first opened.

It's really nice to have Asian desserts like this in the desert. I told my family about this place and I wish them success for this...

I was so excited to try this place because I would drive all the way to Ontario to Somi Somi JUST for taiyaki. The place is nicely decorated, it was hot inside, but the service…. First thing I noticed, they do not make the taiyaki fresh, like SomiSomi does with EVERY order. We patiently waited for the man helping the two ladies that were in front of us, and I noticed they kept going back and forth on her order of what she was inquiring about. I then noticed she had to walk him through her order, again, as he was making it. Then it was our turn to order. The FIRST thing I stated was that I wanted a cup with the taiyaki on top, he said ok. He was about to hand me the taiyaki, not in a cup, and I said, I ordered it in the cup and this man said “you should have said that to begin with. I almost started laughing because I know I did. Anyways. The Ube was good. The fillings are also not fresh and come out of a tube, whereas, AGAIN, somisomi’s is fresh. I much rather just take the drive and enjoy my freshly made taiyaki, without the hassle. Not to mention, SomiSomi is...