We went to Miyajima the other week to see our friend off, as he started the Hatsukaichi Triathlon. We just managed to see the start from the ferry - sorry we're crap Paul, but well done! But we did spend a nice morning on Miyajima anyway though. Of course no self respecting Scot, hailing from the land of the Deep Fried Mars Bar, could pass up the chance to try out Miyajima's latest craze: the deep fried Momiji Manju!
Momiji Manju are the souvenir of choice from this part of the world. Momiji means Maple, and a manju is a kind of filled cake. Traditional Momiji Manju are basically mini doughnuts stuffed with azuki bean paste and then cooked on a special griddle which give them their characteristic maple leaf shape. Because Japanese visitors to Hiroshima more or less HAVE to buy these cakes for everyone they know, the past few years have seen a few new variations in an attempt to make them more interesting. You can now get chocolate, green tea, custard cream and cream cheese filled versions, and even chocolate covered ones although my personal opinion is that they shouldn't have messed with the original...
However this shop (in the covered arcade parallel to the seaside road to the shrine, if you're interested) has taken the humble momiji manju to a whole new level. It was something like 130 Yen for one, so we joined the queue, and tried out both kinds available : anko (bean paste) and custard cream. Cream: bowf as we say in Mars Bar Land - which is by no means a favourable description. Think hot mayonnaise. If that's your thing, get queuing! Anko: Better than the cream, but let's face it, it's going to take a lot more than a deep fried momiji manju to get me to like anko at all, after the shock of biting into an an-donut, when I was expecting a jam one, in my first week in Japan.
But then I've never been a big bean fan, have I?
Frankly, I'd rather have a deep fried pizza, and that's saying something!
M was a bit skeptical too.
Momiji Manju are the souvenir of choice from this part of the world. Momiji means Maple, and a manju is a kind of filled cake. Traditional Momiji Manju are basically mini doughnuts stuffed with azuki bean paste and then cooked on a special griddle which give them their characteristic maple leaf shape. Because Japanese visitors to Hiroshima more or less HAVE to buy these cakes for everyone they know, the past few years have seen a few new variations in an attempt to make them more interesting. You can now get chocolate, green tea, custard cream and cream cheese filled versions, and even chocolate covered ones although my personal opinion is that they shouldn't have messed with the original...
However this shop (in the covered arcade parallel to the seaside road to the shrine, if you're interested) has taken the humble momiji manju to a whole new level. It was something like 130 Yen for one, so we joined the queue, and tried out both kinds available : anko (bean paste) and custard cream. Cream: bowf as we say in Mars Bar Land - which is by no means a favourable description. Think hot mayonnaise. If that's your thing, get queuing! Anko: Better than the cream, but let's face it, it's going to take a lot more than a deep fried momiji manju to get me to like anko at all, after the shock of biting into an an-donut, when I was expecting a jam one, in my first week in Japan.
But then I've never been a big bean fan, have I?
Frankly, I'd rather have a deep fried pizza, and that's saying something!
M was a bit skeptical too.
1 comment:
I love "Agemomijimanjou" too!!
おいしいよね～！一個じゃ足りないよ・・・。宮島はもうすぐ管弦祭だよ！行ったことある？
いつか一緒に行ってみたいね！
Hava a nice trip!See you next month!
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