Little Mermaid [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Little Mermaid 
Address: 13-4 Nishimikadochō, Nara
Website: https://www.littlemermaid.jp/
Style: Japanese, European 
Price: $$ 

My final bakery stop in Nara before continuing on my way, Little Mermaid has proven to be yet another one of these bakeries that looks like a smaller-scale operation, but actually has like, hundreds of locations across the country. *sighs* It's so hard telling the difference when you don't know anything...

Regardless, Little Mermaid, as the name tries to suggest, is aiming to evoke one of the greatest baking countries: Denmark. The overall vibe does seem reminiscent of Danish-import Andersen, right down to the font used. Even so, stepping in, I didn't see counters laden with flaky Danish pastries as the website would like to suggest. Actually, I was hoping there would more "European" influence, especially since I've come across greater selection in bakeries that weren't quite pretending to be anything.

Really intent on trying something both flaky and different than some of my more usual picks, I went with a seasonal matcha pastry (216 yen), presumably available for a limited time. I'm always happy to try anything matcha flavoured and this lovely braid looked pretty promising. I did like the outside with the flaky dough and simple egg wash on top, but inside, I wasn't a fan of the thick matcha paste that you would find in manju. The dense, heavy filling -- and there was so much of it -- just didn't match the airy weightlessness of the dough surrounding it. In the end, the fact that it reminded me of Andersen didn't just stop with the font: it ended up with the same lacklustre rating.

Rating: **1/2