Le Cafe De Joël Robuchon Peach Bread with Pistachio Crumble: I actually purchased this bread back in June but realized I never wrote a review. This is from the Le Cafe de Joel Robuchon located on the ground floor of NEWoMan in Shinjuku; it's hard to miss as it's right at the entrance of the shopping mall, with a portrait of Joel Robuchon on the window. The pastries are a bit pricier than normal Japanese bakeries, but the quality is unsurprisingly good. I purchased a seasonal bread that was topped with a remarkable buttery nut crumble both savory an... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended robuchon bakery tokyo lecafedejolrobuchon peach bread pistachio crumble 4.0
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
recommended desserts bread bakery azabujuban japanese montthabor hokkaido milk 3.5
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 Turtle melon pan: I stopped by a bakery on my way to the train station and stumbled upon turtle melon-pan, which some may remember was the original avatar of Tasty Snacking until I designed my own. Having never seen one in person, I had to try it. The bread has a fairly standard dinner roll flavor, which is to say pretty neutral, while the "shell" of the turtle is sweet and reminiscent of Chinese pineapple bun, though less rich. It doesn't taste like melon (I believe it's called that for its appearance rather... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese bakery bread montthabor turtle melon pan 3.5
Meyers Bageri Cinnamon Roll: On my recent trip to Scandinavia, the one item I was on the look out for was cardamom buns. Unfortunately, a handful of the bakeries I tried to go to didn't work out. Most of them were closed for the month of July as part of their summer holiday (could you imagine if people did this in the US?!), which I only sadly discovered after going to them in person. It was a reminder not to trust Google Map opening hours as bakeries often share that they're closed through their Instagram feeds. Ba... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended bakery cinnamon bread roll 3.5 meyersbageri
Mah Ze Dahr Banana Bread: Mah Ze Dahr is a small bakery in Greenwich Village with pastries carefully organized on wooden boards and raised platters, somehow conveying both abundance (through its variety of baked goods) and scarcity (there are <10 of each). This banana bread was served in a sizable disc, like an enlarged, leveled-off muffin top, or an especially thick cookie. Unfortunately, while banana bread is one of my favorites, I found it to be a bit on the dry side, and the sugar coating on top made it far too... (read more) 2.0/5.0
desserts bakery nyc mahzedahrbakery banana bread 2.0