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
Le Cafe de Joel Robuchon Mediterranean Fougasse: Purchased at the Joel Robuchon cafe in Shinjuku, this twisted fougasse bread was deliciously savory, combining many flavors that I don't run into often here, including sundried tomatoes, olives, lemon, and anchovies. Those flavors could easily come off as salty but wasn't in this instance: it was impressively well balanced and made me really miss mediterranean food I could easily get in the states like hummus or falafel. The bread itself had a satisfying crust that was just chewy enough. 4.0/5.0
recommended tokyo shinjuku robuchon bakery lecafedejoelrobuchon mediterranean fougasse 4.0
Ginza Akebono Strawberry Daifuku: For the most part, I've been able to try all the major traditional Japanese confectionary treats in my time in Japan, so I generally haven't been going out of my way to visit particular shops. However, if I see that a shop has a line, I'll take a look, especially as there are essentially no tourists in Tokyo now and so any place with a line is a local favorite. I hadn't known about this small shop in Ginza that opened right after WWII (about 60 years old), but their ichigo (strawberry) dai... (read more) 4.0/5.0
exceptional tokyo mochi ginza japanese ginzaakebono strawberry daifuku 4.0
Bake Cheese Tart Original Cheese Tart: While walking through Tokyo station, I came across this small shop with a sizeable, but not intimidatingly-so, line and the aroma of baked goods. They specialize in cheese tarts, some flavored with chocolate or seasonally with strawberry, but I went for the original, which is a little smaller than a typical Portguese / Chinese egg tart. The pastry base is twice baked, and the interior is largely cream cheese that has a baked browned crust of brueleed cheese. The texture of the cheese unde... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended tokyo tokyostation dessert tart creamcheese bakecheesetart original cheese 3.5
Nihonbashiya Apple Mochi: This shop adjacent to the Akihabara station has mini fruit-shaped mochi that are incredibly cute. I bought two to try: apple and persimmon. This apple one was my favorite with a surprisingly concentrated apple-flavored paste at its center. I didn't realize it would actually taste like apple, and it was well balanced and not too sweet, even though it's covered in sugar. 3.5/5.0
recommended confectionary sweets tokyo akihabara japanese nihonbashiya apple mochi 3.5
あわしま堂 Mandarin Orange Daifuku: I've had surprisingly little mochi in Japan, even though it's one of my favorite snacks, but the orange-themed packaging of this individually-wrapped snack stood out to me, and since I had never tasted orange-flavored mochi before, I decided to give it a try. The mochi itself is dyed pale orange and is much more plump and pliable than any store-bought mochi I've had in the states. The filling is almost like an orange pulp, slightly stringy in texture, and is notably acidic, rather than tas... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended mochi tokyo daifuku mandarin orange 3.5