Hop Shu-Kuri-Mu Matcha Cream Puff: I randomly passed this pastry shop in Azabu Juban and made a mental note to return based on the quality of bread in their window. I'm glad I did, because their cream puffs are insane. The exterior has a crispy baked texture, similar in some ways to dutch crunch bread from San Francisco, and the filling is of the highest quality I've had in any bakery, with a creamy and not too sweet flavor and ideal matcha bitterness. The most interesting part to me was a bruleed base that resembled a normal pastry wrapper - I thought I had to peel it off but it turns out it was sugar-work, with a nutty caramel flavor. Impossibly, it cost a little over $2. This is definitely a cream puff worth traveling for. 5.0/5.0

japanese exceptional azabujuban creampuff tokyo sweets hopshukurimu matcha cream puff 5.0