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May 03, 2024
 

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DESSERT WATCH

Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Nov 11, 2014
Donuts and ice cream united at last at Krispy Kreme
Two of life's greatest comfort foods — donuts and ice cream — come together at Krispy Kreme stores across the country, where you can top your warm honey-glazed donut with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and extra toppings, adding more calories to an already overly decadent dessert.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Oct 21, 2014
Cinnabon joins the popcorn bandwagon
While popcorn may be one of the hottest snack trends in Japan right now, it's still unexpected that Cinnabon, of all places, started selling its own gourmet version this month. The popcorn comes packaged in small (¥380) and medium (¥750) sizes and can be found at the chain's Roppongi branch (Roppongi Center Bldg., 6-5-18 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo; 03-3470-4780; www.cinnabon-jp.com) and some others. The popcorn is coated with a generous amount of cinnamon and brown sugar and, strangely enough, tastes quite a bit like a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Oct 7, 2014
The popcorn craze continues at Clap Your Hands
Continuing Japan's craze for popcorn (of all things!), Hiroshima-based popcorn maker Clap Your Hands has opened its first Tokyo branch in trendy shopping district Shimokitazawa, far from Omotesando, where people currently line up for hours at KuKuRuZa and Garrett. Prices range from ¥300 to ¥350 for a small cup of cheddar, caramel or coffee- flavored popcorn, or you can pay ¥3,000 for a large tin. The best thing on the menu: tiramisu, which is salty cheddar popcorn and sweet coffee popcorn mixed together. 2-12-15 Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; 03-3413-0670; cyhpopcorn.com.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Sep 23, 2014
A waffly nice taste of Belgium
MR.waffle offers freshly made Belgian-style waffles in flavors such as almond (¥180), cinnamon (¥170) and Earl Grey tea (¥170), in addition to plain (¥160). You can enjoy your waffle with a side of Belgian chocolate soft serve (additional ¥280/medium, ¥390/regular), but with cold weather approaching it's best to take them home and eat them with a fresh pot of coffee or hot chocolate. You can find MR.waffle locations throughout Tokyo and Yokohama, including a small stand outside Lumine 2 in Shinjuku (3-38-2 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; 03-3345-5737; www.mr-waffle.com).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Sep 9, 2014
Pancake sandwiches for sweet and savory tongues
It may take several wrong turns to find the eight turn crepe stand in the confusing maze of Ginza subway station, but if you go down the C2 Exit and take a left, it's not that difficult to find. The stand sells wrapped palm-sized "pancake sandwiches" stuffed with plenty of whipped cream and convenient enough to slip into your pocket or bag before you rush off to your next appointment. Sweet flavors come in strawberry vanilla custard (¥430), banana caramelisee (¥380), orange dark chocolate (¥410) and apple cinnamon (¥400), and there are savory options too. www.tables.jp.net/eightturncrepe (Angela Erika Kubo)
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Aug 26, 2014
Magnolia Bakery opens early for weekend breakfast muffins
Magnolia Bakery, which opened in Omotesando in June, will now open an hour earlier on weekends (10 a.m.) to serve freshly baked, moist muffins. The selection will include two or three out of six flavors, such as raisin bran (pictured), banana, and poppy-seed with lemon glaze (¥280 each), all baked to the same recipes used at Magnolia's New York branches. Be prepared to wake up early: The store attracts a long line on weekends, and once the muffins are gone, they're gone. B1F Gyre, 5-10-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03-6450-5800; www.magnoliabakery.co.jp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Aug 12, 2014
Why you should never judge a cupcake by its frosting
While the heavy dollop of bright frosting hints at an overwhelmingly sugary dessert reminiscent of those back in the United States, Ciappuccino New York's cupcakes are not too sweet. Flavors include Cookie Cream — which is topped with a mini Oreo-like cookie — Berry Go Round and S'More (¥324 each). The cupcakes can be found at Ciappuccino branches all over the Kanto area and in Dean & DeLuca shops, but if you're feeling lazy you can order them in bulk and have them delivered to your home. The shop also sells Whoopie Pies, a New England treat of cream sandwiched between two cookie-shaped pieces of cake. www.ciapshop.jp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 29, 2014
A Cronut copy that's better than most
With all the convenience stores and bakeries coming up with their own variations on the famous Cronut from New York, there are too many to choose from, but the Croissant Donuts from the Heart Bread Antique stand outside of Seibu Shibuya department store in Tokyo, and indeed the chain's other branches nationwide, are worth trying. Each Croissant Donut is made with layers of crunchy pastry that you can peel away and is topped with green tea, strawberry, chocolate or lemon frosting. And they're a bargain, too: only ¥280 a piece. 21-1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; www.heart-bread.com.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 22, 2014
Harajuku ice-cream shop adds a scoop of science with liquid nitrogen
Newly opened (and tiny) dessert counter 196° Ice Cream in Harajuku isn't making an empty boast when it says that it serves the freshest ice cream in the world. The staff blend raw mixture with cups of liquid nitrogen, and after a minute of whisking the two together, out from the billows of fog comes made-to-order ice cream that's so smooth it melts the moment it hits your tongue. You can choose between premium milk (¥480), sweet chocolate (¥530), creamy mango (¥580) or a seasonal limited-edition flavor, all of which are as fun to watch being made as they are to eat. You'll think twice about regular ice cream forever after. 1-13-21 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03-6447-4950; www.drepocke.com. (Angela Erika Kubo)
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 8, 2014
Maple syrup goes with anything — even fried chicken
The staff at Soul Snacks in Ginza will politely recommend that you move the tiny chicken drumsticks out of the way before you cover your waffle with syrup and butter, but disregard that. As awful as it sounds, the chicken tastes best doused with sweet maple syrup. That combined with the thin waffle that almost melts in your mouth will have you moaning with delight — or maybe it's just an American thing. After your fried chicken and waffles (¥1,200), stop downstairs for a bag of fresh cookies, in flavors ranging from chocolate chip to oatmeal and raisin. (1-2F Ozio Bldg., 5-5-9 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; 03-6264-1527; www.soulsnacksjp.com).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jun 24, 2014
Cupcakes and other treats make Magnolia Bakery worth lining up for
The newly opened Omotesando branch of New York's Magnolia Bakery sells fresh cupcakes topped with a generous dollop of sweet buttercream frosting — a welcome reward after the long, long lines. The mini key lime cheesecake (¥880), baked with a graham cracker crust, and the chain's popular banana pudding (¥680 for 10 oz [285 g] and ¥880 for 13 oz [370 g]) are worth a try too. "What our employees don't know is that they'll end up gaining 10 pounds," jokes owner Steven Abrams. (B1F Gyre, 5-10-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03-6450-5800; www.magnoliabakery.com.)/p>
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jun 10, 2014
A chocolate ice cream dessert you may never forget
Eating Avalanche (¥1,350) at the Marunouchi Ozao branch of Belgian patisserie Debailleul is like falling in love. You can't get the treat off your mind and the silly grin off your face. As bitter hot chocolate is poured onto it, the spherical chocolate shell melts and crumbles away like an avalanche, which explains the name of the dessert. Inside you'll find bits of white cookie dough and vanilla ice cream. Warning: This dessert may induce the most powerful foodgasm of your life. (1F Marunouchi Oazo, 1-6-4 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; 03-5224-3565; www.debailleul.jp).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
May 27, 2014
Colombin's matcha-flavored sweets
Colombin, which was founded in 1924 and boasts of being the first provider of authentic French sweets in Japan, is putting a Japanese twist on traditional French goodies with the release of bright green, matcha-flavored sweets in select shops until June 26.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
May 22, 2014
Animal cupcakes too cute to resist
One Fairycake Fair cupcake may be too small to satiate real hunger, but when it comes to the amount of frosting it'll have on it, you can count on it being generous. Fairycake Fair makes a series of cakes shaped like animals from the wild. For ¥460, you can get your hands on a panda one, which is topped with a large dollop of mascarpone cheese and vanilla cream with piped chocolate for eyes, nose and mouth. It tastes as good as it looks. Fairycake Fair; JR Higashi Nihon Tokyo Station B1, Marunouchi 1-9-1, Chiyoda-ku; 03-3211-0055; www.fairycake.jp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Apr 22, 2014
Get in line for Japan's latest Cronut homage
Tokyo may not have a branch of Dominique Ansel, but it does have a Japanese answer to the New York bakery's famous Cronut. The next time you're waiting for a friend in front of Shinjuku's Alta building, grab the titular snack of Croissant Taiyaki (¥210), comprising sweet bean filling wrapped with a buttery pastry crust. You'd better hope your friend arrives late, though — on weekends the line can stretch into the adjacent Shinjuku Station subway entrance and all the way down the stairs. 3-24-3 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; also at Gin no An and Tsukiji Gindaco stores around Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Apr 8, 2014
Quality Spanish chocolate at a quality price
The French and the Belgians get all the attention when it comes to good chocolate, but you have to give credit to the Spanish for introducing the treat to Europe. Cacao Sampaka, which hails from Spain, is a reminder of that: The luxury brand uses only the highest-quality ingredients and no artificial flavorings. You can try exotic flavors such as four-cheese (including Parmesan and Manchego; ¥1,728 for a box of four) or royal Xoconusco cacao (¥2,160). Pricey, but that's what you have to pay for chocolate fit for royalty. Marunouchi Brick Square; 2-6-1 Marunouchi; Chiyoda-ku; 03-3283-2238; www.cacaosampaka.jp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Mar 25, 2014
Scoop up a Ben & Jerry's at Kanto supermarkets
No more waiting in long lines at the Ben & Jerry's shops in Tokyo this summer — six flavors of the ice cream can now be found in branches of upscale supermarkets such as Seijo Ishii and Nissin World Delicatessen, some branches of Tsutaya and so on. You can try the popular Cherry Garcia or satisfy your chocolate craving with Chocolate Fudge Brownie anytime you want, priced ¥348 for a 120-ml cup. And good news for those who live in Chiba, Kanagawa and Ibaraki: You can also pick up Ben & Jerry's without having to make the long trek into Tokyo. A list of the 120 outlets, which will be updated as new stores are added, can be viewed online at reizoko.benjerry.jp/shoplist.html.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Mar 11, 2014
Pastry goods the color of White Day
If you're looking to impress a special girl in your life but want to keep things simple and easy on the wallet, Shiseido Parlour launched a line of white sweets this month that will be available until White Day (March 14). The custard pudding (¥451), roll cake (¥546) and éclair (¥367) are all made with eggs with pure-white yolks, which means that everything comes out completely white — something that can't be achieved with the conventional eggs you buy at the supermarket. 1F Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Bldg., 8-8-3 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; 03-3572-2147; parlour.shiseido.co.jp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 25, 2014
Coco Ange's heavenly cakes
Patisserie Coco Ange, which opened in Tokyo's Roppongi district last November, showcases the creations of chef Masayuki Nakagawa, who trained in France. Each pastry and cake is a work of art in itself, and, as the shop name suggests, looks as it were crafted by the hands of an angel. Try the espoir (¥640), a beautiful creation made of Sévarome pistachio mousse with a passion-fruit jelly center, topped with a gold flake. Take your treat home or enjoy it at Sakura Cafe next door. 21 Roppongi Bldg. 1F, 6-1-12 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo; 03-5411-2525; www.coco-ange.net).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 11, 2014
Unleash your inner Cookie Monster
For the cookie lovers out there, New Zealand-based Cookie Time opened its first cookie bar in Tokyo's Harajuku in December. At ¥240 apiece, each cookie is warm and chewy on the inside, and each bite guarantees plenty of half-melted chocolate chunks. The brand uses only organic ingredients and claims that it doesn't use any artificial sweeteners or additives, but be warned: These cookies are so good that they will bring out the Cookie Monster in anyone. For a piece of heaven, dish out ¥280 for the ice-cream cookie sandwich. 1-21-15 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03-6804-3779; www.cookiebar.jp.
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