Floresta [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Floresta 
Address: 8-1 Konishi-cho (1F Raffine Oriental Building), Nara
Website: http://www.floresta.jp/
Style: Doughnuts, Japanese
Price: $$ 

While I'd visited some very good bakeries on my Japan trip so far, I knew it was inevitable for something worthy of a perfect score to come along. Perhaps I never expected that first 4-star rating to be courtesy of this small, cute doughnut shop in downtown Nara (they seem to have other locations throughout Japan; at least, that is what I'm assuming "sister store" means... unless they supply various stores and cafes??).

 Floresta specializes in what they call "nature doughnuts"; they're smaller-sized cake doughnuts available in a variety of deceptively simple flavours and glazes. Nothing too extravagant or outlandish; simply decorated with seasonal/rotating varieties.

I couldn't resist one of their more interesting combinations: the white chocolate cranberry doughnut (170 yen). Peeling away the little piece of plastic wrap and taking my inaugural bite was an unforgettable experience. Really, it doesn't look exceptionally good, and yet, the slight crackle of the perfectly applied white chocolate glaze, the soft and dense doughnut dough with punches of sourness from the streaks of cranberry here and there was... wow. Perfection. I didn't want that small doughnut to disappear; I was even thinking of going back later that afternoon or the following day for a second doughnut. Yes, it was that good. One of the most memorable Cake Tours from Japan! 

Rating: ****