The Kingdom of Sweets - PATISSIER es KOYAMA (パティシエ エス コヤマ)

(credit: Picture from http://www.cake100.net/images/shop/escoyama/1.jpg)

PATISSIER es KOYAMA may be quite unknown to many foreign tourists for the fact that it's not in Kobe itself, but in a city called Sanda in the Hyogo Prefecture (same prefecture as Kobe). However, to the locals and many Japanese people, this patisserie is very famous. What's special about this patisserie, or should I rather say a sweet complex, is the fact that PATISSIER es KOYAMA is not only a patisserie, but also a chocolatier, boulangier, and a confiserie. What makes it more interesting is the fact that all of these various kinds of goodness are housed and sold in different buildings. Okay, that may in fact, sound a bit complicated, so let me show you the map of PATISSIER es KOYAMA.

PATISSIER es KOYAMA has five major brands: es KOYAMA; ROZILLA; hanare; co. & m. es; es Boulangier.

es KOYAMA is where the most famous sweet of Chef Susumu Koyama, the Koyama Roll, is made and sold along with other cake desserts are made.

ROZILLA is where the chocolate creations are sold. Products such as Hard-type Chocolate Baumkuchen, chocolate bonbon and chocolate macaroons are sold there.

hanare is the cafe where customers can sit down to eat cake (served with ice-cream) or lunch. I love the lunch menu there. It's delicious!

co. & m. es is where the macaroons are made and sold. Various flavours such as yuzu and cherry blossom are available (seasonally).

es Boulangier is the bread shop. My favourite bread is the chocolate banana croissant like bread, and the churros. They're very reasonable priced. Another reason to love es KOYAMA even more!

My favourite product from es KOYAMA would have to be the Hard-type Chocolate Baumkuchen.

(credit: picture from es KOYAMA official site & http://entabe.jp/news/article/1295)

As for the cakes at hanare cafe, my favourite cake would have to be the Mille-feuille. (I've tried the Chocolate Fondant cake, Koyama Roll cake, and the mille-feuille so far.) What's so good about this Mille-feuille is the fact that it isn't too sweet. Between the layers of pastry sheets and custard, there is a thin layer of sour strawberry jam. It's a wonderful combination, especially when eaten with the complementary strawberry cheesecake ice-cream. As for the lunch set, I've only tried the Sanda-beef hamburger so far, and let me tell you, so far, so darn good!! All I can say is LOVE LOVE LOVE!! 

(What I had at hanare cafe)

If you have children with you, make sure to visit the small hut, called 未来制作所 Miraiseisakujo, next to the hanare cafe. There is a small hole that only children can enter to see the processes of making the cakes. The children are also able to purchase sweets that are only made available to them. However, they are not allowed to tell their parents what exactly that they see (which I think is quite hard for children), in order to make the parents even more curious. My friend said that Chef Koyama's purpose for making the hut only available to children, while parents have to sit and wait next to the vending machine was to help encourage conversation in the car after visiting PATISSIER es KOYAMA (not sure if the information is 100% correct).  

(Miraiseisakujo)

So, if you have the chance, please take time to visit PATISSIER es KOYAMA :) 

Official site of Es Koyama (Japanese) : http://www.es-koyama.com/index.html

Official site of Es Koyama (English) : http://www.es-koyama.com/global/index.html

How to Get There

From Osaka (45 mins)

From Osaka JR Station, take the train to Shin-Sanda on the Takarazuka Line. 

Then in front of the station near the Rotary, take the Number 44 bus towards Yurinokidaikoen Mae (ゆりのき台公園前) and get off at Yurinokidai Yubinkyokumae (ゆりのき台郵便局前).

From Kobe (60 mins) 

From Kobe 

From Sannomiya JR Station, take the train to Shin-Sanda (normally have to transfer at Amagasaki)

Then in front of the station near the Rotary, take the Number 44 bus towards Yurinokidaikoen Mae (ゆりのき台公園前) and get off at Yurinokidai Yubinkyokumae (ゆりのき台郵便局前).

Ezaki Glico Baiton d'or (luxury version of Pocky)

A few days late, but Happy Pocky Day... (11/11) Yes, in Japan, there is a Pocky Day. If you're wondering what Pocky Day is... it's similar to Valentine's Day where people give each other Pocky for the sake of romance. And.. No, you don't need to have a boyfriend to receive a Pocky. You can receive one from friends, family, etc. Plus, on the day, Pocky are on sale at the price of 111 yen, and in some drug store, the price lowered to 108 yen in the city I live in. 

So, in the honor of the belated Pocky Day, today I will be reviewing about Baton d'or (luxury version of Pocky). 

Baton d'or is an extended line of Pocky, but more luxurious through the use of expensive ingredients, produced by... Ezaki Glico. Baton d'or means 'golden stick' in French, which tries to emphasize the meaning behind this brand, how luxurious and sophisticate it is, guess that's why they use French name. This product line was released in the mid of 2012, and have been in quite a high demand. 

Currently, there are only two shops in the whole of Japan that sell Baton d'or, and both are in Osaka (Umeda Hankyu and Takashimaya Osaka). Most of the days, all of the Baton d'or are sold out by 2pm as they are quite limited. When I was purchasing these expensive Pocky at Umeda Hankyu, I had to wait in line for nearly two hours.

There are four main flavors: Strawberry, Milk (chocolate), Cafe, and Vanilla (white chocolate). 

Seasonal products: Purple sweet potato (October-December 2013), Uji Matcha (January 2014~) and Sakura (March 2014~)

I got to taste five flavors (Uji matcha, straberry, milk, cafe, vanilla), and I have to say, the bread stick part smells heavenly. Obviously, they are made with fine butter. As for the coating part, my favorite will have to be the Uji Matcha, as the favor is very deep and satisfactory. All the other coatings were good as well. Cafe (coffee) has real crushed beans mixed with white chocolate. Strawberry has real strawberries mixed with white chocolate. Milk chocolate has a strong sense of vanilla to it, while white chocolate has a slight smell of almond-ish.

At 481 yen per 20 sticks, it's rather expensive. Even though I think it's a good experience for me, I will stick with my normal Pocky sticks.

Recently, I've started a Facebook page for reviewing Japanese snacks in English and Thai. So if you're interested, please check it out :) https://www.facebook.com/japanesessweets

Konigs-Krone's Kurone (Custard Danish) ケーニヒスクローネのクローネ

Konigs - Krone is one of the well known Western-style confectionery and cake company, which has its headquarter in Kobe. One of their well known desserts is the Kurone.

My first time tasting the Kurone was back in 2010, my first time in Kansai area. Now, in 2013, after almost 20 times traveling to Kansai in three years, I can definitely say that Kronigs - Krone's Kurone is not to be miss.

Kurone is pretty much a puff pastry in a cylinder shape with a hole in the middle. The shape itself, is rather similar with the Trdelnik in Czech Republic, and Slovakia. However, the middle hole is filled with vanilla custard filling. The Kurone is then topped off with a dust of icing powder.

The texture of the Kurone is rather crunchy (さくさく in Japanese) and not too sweet. Kurone is a great treat as it is served cold, and can be refrigerate for 2-3 days, so you don't have to worry about having to eat it right away. Kurone is a perfect snack for sight seeing, as you can walk around eating while holding one in your hand.

For a piece, Kurone costs 105 yen. Quite reasonable price, don't you think?

There are two flavors, custard and red beans (小豆), but I'm not too sure about this. I normally just order the one with custard fillings. The catch phrase of Kurone is「ケーニヒスクローネのクローネは、パンなのかパイなのか？パイなのかパンなのか？」which can be translate to Konigs-Krone's Kurone is... bread? pie? is it bread or pie? I thought the catch phrase was quite unique and interesting as to me, it's obviously a pie, as there is no.. glutenous pull to it, if you get what I'm trying to say.

Konigs-Krone's Kurone is available in major cities, Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo, Fukuoka, etc.

Here's a picture of the head office/shop in Kobe. The only sad thing is.. It's not available online, so you have to go to one of the shops to purchase one, which is terrible for my case as I live in a rather rural area.

Here's the link to the list of the shops in Japan: http://konigs-krone.co.jp/?page_id=75

For this, I give it 10/10 considering the price and taste.