Often times I'm amazed that Japan is more Westernized than America these days. There are bakeries here(Tokyo) in almost every shopping center. In them you will find a broad range of pastries, breads and sandwiches that we could only dream of in the United States. How is it possible?
One thing I know and respect about the Japanese is their desire for perfection and appreciation of food. Tokyo used to and I believe still does, hold more Michelin Stars than any other city on earth. That alone should tell you that food is a big deal here, even down to the corner bakery or ramen shop.
Heart Bread Antique Bakery is a bakery I have never heard of until my wife and I passed by it in the mall the other day. My wife wanted a desert, but I was drawn in by their cat bread. What's cat bread? It's simply a loaf of bread baked in the shape of a cat's head.
What a simple idea to take to an age old food and give it a shape kids & some adults will love.
You can even get cat cheesecakes.
If cat shaped sweets aren't your thing here is a look at what we bought.
These are small apple pies for about $2, but we went for the creamy cheese tart in the top right of this photo.
Oh, and we got this chocolate croissant like ring.
But we still weren't done.
A long wiener for my kids.
It was about 24" long for reference.
This onion, chees & chicken bread looked too good to pass up.
And with that we were ready to check out.
The total was just under $20. About $4 for each of the smaller breads and $6 for the large ring. But how did they taste?
Sometimes it's hard to believe, but everything tasted great. The flavors are always mild, not strong or overwhelming like in the USA. The sweets were semi-sweet and the onion bread was well balanced between the cheese, onion & chicken. The creamy cheese tart was my favorite though. The bread was slightly carmelized which sweetened the creamy cheese filling nicely.
As I mentioned bakeries like this are found all over Tokyo. I would say a majority of train stations have a bakery attached to them where you will find similar pastries and breads. However, not many have the cat bread. In fact Heart is one of the only bakeries I have seen in person that makes them. Luckily they are a chain and their locations are strategically placed around Tokyo so you are never to far from one if you are craving cat bread.
Maybe I will try the cat bread next time!
Thanks for reading!