Boulange Okuda [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Boulange Okuda 
Address: Yakunin-cho 253-2, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto
Website: http://boulange-okuda.jp/
Style: Japanese, European
Price: $$

Boulange Okuda is attempting to evoke Old World, European bakeries and it certainly succeeds with its decor alone; with its warm brown panelling, black marble accents and gold lettering, it does look like it would be more at home along the streets of Paris than on the ground floor of this fairly drab building in Kyoto. Inside, the baked goods also justify its name and look, a not so common occurrence for European-style bakeries in Japan, with a lovely selection of artisan breads, buttery French dough classics (croissants, croissants aux amandes, kouign amann), and airier brioche-based baked goods. Of course, they still did have those Japanese staples like melon and cream pan, but I have to say that the selection of things that not only looked really good, but authentic was impressive.

Saying that in as objective way as possible, I'll admit that I really did forget almost everything that was in-store, simply because the moment I set my sights on my eventual purchase, nothing else mattered. :D At first, I couldn't believe my eyes: was that...? No, it couldn't be! It had to be black sesame or chocolate; I was just being hopeful, but further inspection and trying to decipher the name was starting to work completely in my favour. Yes! It was a POPPY SEED CAKE.  (227 yen each) I saw it and I knew I'd regret it otherwise: I just grabbed the last two slices. If there were more, I probably would have taken them all.

This poppy seed cake belongs to a very few perfect ratings on my Japanese Cake Tour: fluffy dough braided with a generous amount of poppy seeds and a hint of orange peel. On top, there was a thin glaze. This was amazing! This was the best baked good I had on my trip. Even now, I can't believe I found a perfect poppy seed cake in Japan. WOW! *-*

Rating: ****