Kimuraya, Tokyo

I first discovered melon pan in Tokyo, several visits ago, when someone brought them into our office.  I was totally in love with the sweet soft dough and the crispy cookie-like top.  I was also very jetlagged, and likely easily influenced by ravenous hunger at unpredictable times.

But ever since that visit, I've sought out melon pan, not only in Tokyo (including at the breakfast buffet at the Westin, which did have good chocolate chip melonpan, and Sekai de Niban-me ni Oishii Melonpan for the very famous melonpan stuffed with ice cream and pineapple), but really, anywhere I see it (like, Aki Boulanger in Paris and Fujipan in Sydney).

This visit though, I had struck out on my melonpan at Pompadour (lackluster), and thus did a bit of research on Japanese bakeries.  And thus, I quickly learned about Kimuraya, perhaps the most famous bakery of all.

Kimuraya was established in 1869. They invented the anpan, one of the most common Japanese baked goods.  Now, of course that is the item they are most known for, but I saw good things about the melonpan too.

Melonpan ... with real melon?!

It turns out, that Kimuraya makes two different melonpan.  One, like I was expecting, an item that *looks* like a melon, but contains no melon.  The other ... which does.  The later of which I'd clearly never want, given my melon allergy.

My visit was not to the main store in Ginza, but rather, the stall in the Matsuya Food Hall.  It was about an hour and a half before closing, and the pickings were getting a bit slim, so perhaps I didn't notice that they had two different ones, and I pointed to the wrong one?  Or, more likely, they were sold out of the regular one.

Let's just say ... this experience was not what I expected.

Packaging.

 My item was nicely wrapped up and handed over in a branded bag.

Ginza cream melon.

"We put melon puree in cream and melon skin and dough! You  can enjoy the taste of melon wherever you eat.  The cream also contains melon pulp."

I clearly didn't have this description available when I got the item. This, was not the regular melonpan.  No, this was the Ginza Cream Melon.  Uh-oh.

I opened my item with glee, thrilled to see that the top was crispy as I wanted, and it looked so very well sugar coated.  It was about this time however that I noticed that the top was ... green?  Well, huh, that was different.

Ginza Cream Melon: Side.

The topping, while crisp and sugary as I wanted, tasted ... well, like melon.  I thought it was my brain playing tricks on me, as it was green, and looked like a melon after all.  It couldn't possibly really be melon, right?  These things are never actually melon ...

I still liked the topping, but was a bit unsettled by the melon taste.  The rest of the bread though really let me down.  It wasn't nearly as soft and fluffy as I wanted, and didn't taste very fresh.  Sure, it was 6:30pm, but ... I just expected better.

Ginza Cream Melon: Inside.

As I continued ripping pieces off, I  made another discovery.  Um ... my melonpan had a filling.  A pink filling.  A pink ... melon filling.

This was *very* clearly melon flavored, and a really odd consistency, kinda like a jelly.  Not a cream.  It had little bits of ... candied melon in it?

Once I realized this was melon, I didn't dare take another bite to investigate further, but I was fairly fascinated.

I ... did not like this filling, and found the bun a bit stale, but, maybe if you want real melon, and get it earlier in the day, it is good?

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Mannaken, Tokyo

Waffles.  One of my favorite topics.  Not just foods, topics.  Remember that whole phase of waffling all my leftovers?  Yeah, I love waffles.  Particularly when we are talking crispy liege waffles, like my absolute favorites from b. Street Waffles in San Francisco.  Oh yes.

Waffles will draw me in.  They will cause me to do unexpected things.  Like, ditch my plans to get a dessert 2 blocks away, a carefully researched, deliberately planned, dessert, just because I happened to walk by a waffle shop.

Yes, this is a story of woe, that began with walking by Mannaken, in Tokyo, on my way to get an amazing soft serve strawberry parfait elsewhere.

Mannaken is a Japanese waffle chain, started in 1986.  That is all I know.  I didn't even know that when I stumbled in.

Waffletastic.

Everything at Mannaken *looked* so very very good.

However, the waffles, which should have been the stars ... lackluster, to say the least.

Storefront.

The curb appeal though was great.  The smell of fresh waffles was basically irresistible to many of us.

Belgian Waffles

Belgian waffles are the main draw, and come in a slew of flavors, ranging from simple plain, maple, or chocolate topped, to trendy matcha, to limited seasonal specials like chestnut, to monthly specials like caramel (September).  Additionally, many stores have exclusives, like the 'Premium Butter Waffle' found in Ikspiari only, or the caramel, honey, and florentine topped version only in Hankyu.

Uji matcha, Maple, Plain, Chocolate.

Here were the basics, plain, one with maple baked in, one topped with chocolate, and the green matcha.

All looked fresh and crisp.

Marron, Double Chocolate.

Next up, some more limited ones, including the seasonal marron and chocolate topped chocolate based double chocolate.

Caramel Pudding.

The special for September only, a caramel pudding version.

Again, these looked great.

Waffle Set.

You could also get pre-packaged boxes of 7 different flavors, or make your own assortment.

Cup Waffle. Marron. 380 yen.

"100% Hokkaido cream, high quality soft cream and freshly baked waffles."

"Tasteful waffles made by kneading Italian chestnut malon paste into the dough, baked with sweet chestnut dice."

As good as waffle is, there is something much better than just a waffle.  A waffle with soft serve ice cream of course!

I am notorious for making waffle sundaes at home, so this was *exactly* what I wanted.  An amazing waffle plus Tokyo soft serve?  I mean, YES!!!!

For my waffle, I picked the seasonal marron (chestnut).  I was so excited that they offered it.  I love chestnut.

I ... kinda expected the waffle to be warm.  I definitely expected it to be crispy.  It was neither.  Room temperature, and ... soft.  I don't understand how a liege style waffle can be as soft as this was.  Particularly given that it *looked* legit.  But alas, it was soft, and not hot.

I did like the bits of chestnut in it, but I was so incredibly let down by the rest of it that I really couldn't find much joy in it.  Had I been home, I would have quickly scraped the ice cream off, saved it, and tried to toast it up at home.  But having no access to a toaster oven, I gave it a few more half-hearted bites, and threw it in the trash.  Defeated.

The soft serve though was good.  Not as amazing as the top soft serve places I was usually seeking out in Tokyo, but, it was creamy, rich, and the signature "milk" flavor you find in Tokyo.  The ice cream was redeeming, but, this was a waffle shop!

Cream Waffles

Cream waffles are the other product line, packaged waffles, filled with fillings. Available in 5 flavors: vanilla, chocolate (with chocolate chips), custard, rare cheese, and a limited edition peach.

Packaged Cream Waffles.

Only two varieties remained when I arrived, but that was fine with me, as the one I wanted, rare cheese, was one of the two.

I quickly added this to my order, not sure when I'd get to it, but, I knew I wanted to try it.

Rare Cheese Cream Waffle. 200 yen.

"A smooth rare cheese cream that uses cream cheese from Tokachi, Hokkaido, with sweet and sour raspberries."

I was asked if I was eating it then or later, and said later, and thus it came packaged up in its own "Cream Waffle" branded bag, with a mini ice pack!  I was really surprised when I found the ice pack, but, pleased, as it was still over 80* out, even though evening, and I had a long walk back to hotel.

The waffles used for the cream waffle were entirely different.  They were ... thin, limp, and spongy.  Note: I said different, I didn't say better!  If anything, it was worse, but the fact that it was filled saved it a tiny bit.

Rare Cheese Cream Waffle: Side Profile.

The filling was tasty, sorta like cheesecake, sorta like the crema toppings you find on bubble teas these days.  Great dairy flavor, cheesy, sweet.  The berries were fine too, although quite sweet.

So the filling of this was nicely done, just like the ice cream, but again, this was supposed to be a waffle shop.  I did gladly salvage the filling though and just eat it by the spoonful, leaving the soggy waffle behind.

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