Located in the Mission, Knead Patisserie is home to the Pomme D’Amour. It’s a custard filled puff pastry topped with sugar and then torched to the crunchiness of a creme brûlée. Yelp reviewers rave it as “better than sex.” I find it to be a heavenly snack that hits the sweet tooth.
Behind the Pomme D’Amour is an almond twist. It is light and flaky. Pairs perfectly with your morning cup of joe or tea.
If you’re looking for Knead Patisserie, it’s located inside Local Eatery. Keep in mind, it’s only open in the morning and afternoons. I like to grab a coffee from Philz next door and then head over to Knead Patisserie for a bite.
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse is home to the cruffin (croissant muffin). However, on this day they were sold out.
Above are (top to bottom): negroni doughnut x2, chocolate doughnut x2, salted caramel doughnut x2, amelie amann, and chocolate croissant.
The negroni doughnut is filled with Campari jelly and negroni custard. The pipette is filled with negroni syrup. Unaware of what negroni is, I took a big bite and was left with a bitter aftertaste. After some research, I learned negroni is gin, vermouth, and Campari. Not a big fan of this alcoholic doughnut.
The salted caramel doughnut was as delicious as it sounds. The doughnut texture is light and fluffy.
I loved the amelie amann. It reminded me of a flaky puff pastry with a creme brûlée top. It would pair perfectly with your morning coffee.
Studio Ghibli and My Neighbor Totoro fans can now fawn over Totoro cream puffs. Yes, a Totoro cream puff factory does indeed exist! It was opened in 2008 by Shirohige, also known as white bread in Japanese. Sources says this factory is also owned by the Miyazaki family. Hayao Miyazaki is the founder of Studio Ghibli and director of My Neighbor Totoro. Miyazaki also created a pig nosed animation of Shirohige, the baker.
This will also be the cutest place you visit. The inside is adorned with everything Totoro and Studio Ghibli. Even the bathroom has a Totoro smiling at you. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures.
You can buy your Totoro cream puffs downstairs if you choose to consume them later. If you choose to eat them there, there is a cafe upstairs. However, they do require each person to buy one drink minimum.
The flavors are seasonal and are indicated by the type of decoration Totoro adorns.
I got the strawberry cream (pink flower) and matcha green tea custard (yellow hat). My favorite was the strawberry cream because there were chunks of fresh strawberry in it.
Hello my neighbor Totoro! 🙂
The factory is located in Setagaya, about a 20 min train ride from Tokyo. When you get out the Setagaya station, make a right. Pass Lawson and make another right into the neighbor and follow the path until you reach Shirohige’s.
Despite having traveled to Paris before, I never heard of patisserie Sadaharu Aoki until now. Aoki was born in Tokyo but moved to Paris to learn the art of French baking. He opened his own shop in Paris before expanding in his homeland. I give him an A+++ for mastering French baking. Above is the matcha eclair incorporating the French pastry with his Japanese background. The eclair is filled with a matcha custard and topped with a matcha ganache. Aoki did a wonderful job in bringing out the true matcha flavor. It was so supremely divine that to this day, I still dream of having another bite.
Look out for it at the Shinjuku Isetan on level B1F.
If you’re a noodle lover like me, I highly recommend Mentsu-Dan. The fresh handmade noodles will elevate your udon standards. The noodles are chewy and have the perfect bite. I haven’t been able to appreciate udon anywhere else after this. Being the tourist I am and willingness to try new things, I ordered natto with a fresh egg. I soon learned natto was fermented soy beans. I don’t recommend this unless you are a fan of fermented soy beans. It was difficult for me to overcome the fermented flavor despite how great the noodles were. I recommend the beef udon with broth instead. The beef is yummy, and the broth is clear and easy on the taste buds.
After you get your udon, head over to the tempura area where you can select from the vast varieties of tempura. I got the squash, katsu and squid. Overall, the freshness of the noodles makes this a must go when in Tokyo.
Like everything else in Japan, Ichiran is a chain restaurant. They specialize in ramen with tonkotsu broth. To order, buy your meal ticket at the vending machine. You have the option to add more pork, green onions or an egg for additional costs. Once you’ve purchased your meal ticket, the hosts will guide you to an open table. You have the option to sit at individual booth like eating area or at open tables. At the table, you fill out a form customizing your broth and noodle preferences. The broth was porky but not deep in flavor. The noodles were the perfect chewiness. One dislike was that they forgot our egg until I remembered at the end of meal. Overall, it was a satisfying bowl of ramen.
Next to Tenryuji Temple is the infamous Sagano Bamboo Forest. I was very excited to check this out as I was expecting never ending columns and columns of bamboo as the word forest implies. However, it was only approximately two blocks of bamboo and was polluted with people. It was not as calm and peaceful as I hoped it to be.
This guy did a great job of portraying the nature of the bamboos.
Kyoto is known for it’s love of desserts. Where ever you go in Kyoto, you will find plenty of shops selling matcha green tee ice cream. I didn’t catch the name of this place but it was on the way to Kiyomizu-dera.
The little old man that runs the place was adorable as he was the front man of the shop and also the behind the scenes man. He had to keep taking his shoes off to run to the back of his shop to fill up a cone. It was selling like hotcakes that the owner had to turn customers away because his ice cream machine broke down.
Umeda Sky building consists of a pair of skyscrapers connected by a floating garden observatory, depicted above, with a 360 degree view of Osaka. The mirrors reflect the sky to give the observatory a floating effect.
Osaka Castle played a major role in the unification of Japan in the sixteenth century. In 1583, Toyotomi Hideyoshi began the construction of the castle featuring eight stories, five stories main tower and three stories underground.
Despite it being an iconic landmark of Osaka, it has been rebuilt several times due to sieges and being burnt down multiple times. In 1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu seiged the castle from Toyotomi Hideyori, the heir of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
In 1620, it was reconstructed by Tokugawa Hidetatada, son of
Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1655, lightning struck the main tower and burned it down. The current castle is a restoration, completed in 1997, representation of the Toyotomi period. The interior is now a museum of the history of Osaka Castle.
Before you is the amazing Osaka Castle. Just kidding. It’s one of the few remaining turrets.
The south half of the inner moat is grass while the north half is filled with water. This was how it was during the Toyotomi period and has remained that way since.
The inner stone wall was built in 1620 and still stands today. The granite boulders, from a rock quarry in Seto Inland Sea Rock, interlock together without mortar.
View of Osaka from the top floor with half of the golden Shachihoko. It is a mythical creature with a dragon head and fish body and symbolizes prestige and authority.
YUMTRAVELS 