Cat pudding is the new viral food trend Toronto is obsessing over
Neko milk pudding is all the rage at this Japanese dessert cafe in Markham.
And with reason: the pudding from Oyatsumi Cafe, is a cute, jiggly pudding that's shaped like a cat (Neko is Japanese for "cat."). A video of the dessert recently went viral on social media.
The cafe's owner, Lucia Yang, says that she never planned on making cat pudding when she first opened back in May 2023. It wasn't until recently when she saw how the dessert was trending in Asia that she decided to move ahead with it.
"I made them mostly for my own cat-loving satisfaction," she says. "Who knew so many others would enjoy them too?"
Now, Yang says she enjoys hearing "Wow! So cute!" and "Wow! So jiggly!" all day at the cafe. She calls the attention a "happy coincidence."
"Before [Oyatsumi,] I was ready to hang up my apron and move on to another career," she says. "I guess the universe wanted me to do something else, and I guess that thing was to make delicious, cat-shaped milk pudding."
Besides Neko pudding, Oyatsumi (a wordplay of the Japanese words "snacks" and "good night") offers desserts like coffee jelly, mousse, cakes, ice cream and mochi.
There are also coffee and tea based drinks available and floats that are available in the warmer weather.
