azabujuban (9)
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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 nor... (read more) 5.0/5.0

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Tsukishimaya Imagawayaki waffle dessert: In my neighborhood in Tokyo, there's a very small to-go stall selling a traditional Japanese dessert called Imagawayaki, which is a wheel-shaped waffle/pancake with red-bean filling. Here, you can purchase a custard version as well, each for just over a dollar, and they're made fresh right in front of you with a heavy-duty cast-iron mold. I really enjoyed the crispy coating and slightly chewy interior. The pancake itself had a nice wheat flavor, which was pleasantly surprising because I e... (read more) 4.0/5.0

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Mont Thabor Ohina-sama Pastry: This week, I moved to a new part of Tokyo and left Azabu-Juban, the neighborhood I was living in for 3 months. One of my favorite parts of Azabu-Juban was its variety of small historic businesses: there was the original taiyaki shop, a nuts and beans shop that's over 100 years old, and this bakery, Mont Thabor, that opened in the neighborhood 40 years ago and has since expanded to several locations. The bakery overall was a solid neighborhood bakery - the prices are reasonable, and the pro... (read more) 3.5/5.0

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Mont Thabor Hokkaido Milk Bread: I found the picture I took of the Hokkaido Milk Bread from Mont Thabor, a neighborhood bakery in Azabu Juban in Tokyo. One characteristic I've noticed of most bakeries in Tokyo that aren't chains like Starbucks is that they don't normally have any seating, with the idea that customers purchase items to eat at home. Unlike America, where it is normal for people to eat or drink while walking, in Japan, this is considered rude, so even if you purchase say a soft drink at a convenience store, ... (read more) 3.5/5.0

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Nico Black Sesame Donut: This was a donut I purchased about two months ago in the Azabu-Juban neighborhood of Tokyo. The small stand, selling donuts to go, has a menu of small soybean-flour-based donuts dusted in flavored sugar. The soybean flour gives it a uniquely texture more similar steamed bread than American fried donuts. Flavored sugar is also not overly sweet but also easily identifiable as black sesame. A little bit pricy for the size, at least by Japanese standards (a little over $3 for the donut), but... (read more) 3.5/5.0

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Hop Shu-Kuri-Mu Matcha and red bean bread: There is a small bakery in the heart of Azabu-Juban in Tokyo that has the most delicious cream puffs – they also sell a variety of other baked goods, including fresh loaves of bread with visually striking swirls of flavor baked in, similar to what you might see for flavored milk bread loaves at Asian bakeries more generally. Their loaves tend to be about half the size of what you might see in the US. I really enjoyed the spongy, stretchy texture and faint sweetness of this loaf. If you ev... (read more) 3.5/5.0

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