Morinaga Pino Uji Matcha Ice Cream: These are popular frozen treats you can buy at most shops in Japan. They're shaped like large Dots candies with a thin outer coating and ice cream interior. The classic version has vanilla ice cream with a chocolate coating. I purchased their Uji Matcha flavor, which tastes of a mix of matcha and red bean, though both the shell and ice cream were matcha-green. I was surprised how much red bean flavor came through. The coating is not like American coated-ice cream, which tends to be cris... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese dessert redbean Maruetsu morinaga pino uji matcha ice cream 3.0
Morinaga Annin Tofu: Morinaga is a common Japanese brand that can be found in the supermarket for all sorts of things, probably most popularly in the US for their Japanese instant pancake mix. Recently I've been trying their pudding sets, which are overall decent and affordable. This was their version of almond jello (called annin tofu, though it doesn't contain tofu but just resembles it in its look), the type you get in asian restaurants with canned fruit or goji berries. It has a familiar concentrated almo... (read more) 3.0/5.0
inegaya pudding japanese almond morinaga annin tofu 3.0 dessert sweets
Oreo Crispy Sakura Chiffon Cake Cookies: In Japan, oreos do not come in their more familiar resealable pouch packaging and instead come in boxes with individually wrapped tubes; in this box, there are 3 tubes of 8 cookies. The Sakura Chiffon Cake filling is slightly tart and definitely tastes different than regular Oreos, but I don't know if I would identify it as cake-like. That being said, I've never had Sakura cake before, so maybe this is more accurate than I can personally judge. The closest comparison I can make is a very ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
cookies familymart japanese oreo crispy sakura chiffon cake 3.0
Mont Thabor Hot dog bread with cabbage: I ate this for my last lunch in Azabu Juban, purchased at the neighborhood bakery Mont Thabor. For some reason, a lot of asian pastry shops feature hot dogs in their savory breads. This hot dog bread had sour cabbage on top along with a drizzle of ketchup. It pretty much tasted exactly as it looks: salty from the hot dog, bitter from the cabbage, and sweet from the tomato ketchup. 3.0/5.0
azabujuban japanese bread montthabor hot dog cabbage 3.0
Mont Thabor Chocolate Croissant: The best and most popular baked item from this shop is their Hokkaido milk bread, a pastry that can easily serve 2/3 people and consists of a fluffy baked bread with a sweet crumble coating. I had purchased it once but seemingly didn't photograph it, so here's a another item I purchased from the bakery instead. This is a chocolate croissant, shaped like a cornucopia, that has both a chocolate sandwich cookie at its end plugging a very rich and substantial chocolate filling. The entire pas... (read more) 3.0/5.0
pastry azabujuban dessert japanese montthabor chocolate croissant 3.0
Lotte とろ～りれん乳三昧 苺れん乳 Strawberry Kakigori Popsicle: These are unique popsicles that could only be manufactured through modern food science. They consist of a milky outer coating, made with Hokkaido milk, that encapsulates multiple layers. At the top is a viscous syrup, which has a slight tropical pineapple flavor to me though perhaps it's just a type of acidic milk – with my first popiscle, the liquid layer came as a surprise when it came pouring out. Underneath the syrup is a strawberry popsicle, somewhere between a freeze pop and fruit b... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese naniwaya dessert frozen lotte とろ～りれん乳三昧 苺れん乳 strawberry kakigori popsicle 3.0