Kiitos [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Kiitos
Address: Mibubojocho 33-5, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 
Website: http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~kiitos/
Style: Finnish 
Price: $$ 

When I was doing my bakery research prior to my Japan trip and Kiitos popped up as an option, I excitedly clicked on the listing and, in a state of utter rapture, saw pictures of Karelian pasties and cinnamon buns. A Finnish-style bakery in Kyoto? I couldn't believe my eyes. Yes! It was like a dream come true and I instantly put it on my must-visit list (as a matter of fact, it's still on my must-visit list). Wow, a Finnish bakery in Kyoto! All the French- and German-style bakeries had nothing compared to this find.

Now, let's begin by saying that I love Finnish baking; it's certainly not an easy to one find, and it happens to be almost impossible outside of Finland itself. I've been fortunate to find a few in Canada and I myself bake some pretty good korvapuustit and karjalanpiirakat, but other than that, it's a hard craving to satisfy. Hence my absolute excitement at finding out about Kiitos. It was, however, a miserable, rainy day and my first attempt earlier in the day led to me not being able to find the bakery. I'd printed out a horrible map without making note of the address and eventually gave up, not wanting to spend my whole day at it. Taking a break later on, I stumbled upon some free WiFi and looked up the bakery's location and its opening hours. Luckily, it was still open and I made a run for it. Unfortunately, it was all in vain, since the basket of cinnamon buns was all gone and I was a little saddened to find that Kiitos actually only bakes one sweet item: cinnamon buns. Everything else is savoury: countless varieties of rye bread, some French breads, cheese and meat buns, and pasties. It's disappointing and frustrating, but as a lover of cinnamon buns, I do need to try these eventually.

In the meantime, I grabbed one of my other favourite Finnish treats: a karjalanpiirakka with rice (178 yen). Having already encountered some not overly authentic "European" treats, I was pleasantly surprised at how original these pasties were. The shape was certainly there; it had a nice, soft rye shell with a slightly browned rice filling. So good and just like I remember the last one I had from Finland!

I also got a free bun, perhaps because the lady behind the counter/owner? thought I was Finnish! :) Ha ha I wasn't exactly sure what it was and it didn't really give me any Finnish vibes: a very dense white bun, kind of like a dinner roll, but it was still sweet of her. Kiitos! ^-^

And speaking of sweet, a Cake Tour can't possibly exist based on a dinner roll and a pasty, so I made the fairly long detour back on my return to Kyoto, right in the morning in the hopes of snagging a cinnamon bun. If I knew enough Japanese I'd ask, but... I don't. So, to my disappointment, I yet again found an empty basket. :( Final rating pending, since yes, when I return to Kyoto, whenever that may be, I'll get that cinnamon bun once and for all! I won't give up!

Rating: ??