Pain Kichi [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pain Kichi (ブーランジェリー ぱん吉) 
Address: 4 Chome-18 Kita 8 Jonishi, Kita Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido
Website: n/a 
Style: Japanese
Price: $$ 

The closest independent bakery to Sapporo Station, this was actually my very last stop in the city before stepping on the train and leaving Sapporo... for good! Nevertheless, amidst the grey, lacklustre skyscrapers, there's this lovely little bake shop that seems to focus on rustic breads (hence the "boulangerie" in their name) and pretty French- and Danish dough treats, featuring both sweet and savoury, more classic European and Japanese fillings.

Danishes really aren't the most common baked goods in Japanese bakeries; you'll see the croissants everywhere, but despite it not being the best thing to transport, I couldn't resist the flaky, crown-shaped creations at this bakery. Not to mention the berry one! One thing I do miss when being in Japan is the ease at grabbing some berries for breakfast; they're so hard to find and when you do spot them, they're so expensive. Kichi did get bonus points for (finally) having some real fruit!

 Simply put, I grabbed the fruit and custard danish (250 yen). It didn't photograph very well nor did it survive the jostling of train travel, but it still looked good. The dough was nice and flaky, the fruit was fresh and flavourful, though the glaze was a little too thick and gloopy for my liking. Also, though the custard was good, there was too much of it. It got pretty deep in the middle and there wasn't enough dough underneath to counteract it, resulting in a more soggy bottom. Good taste, just a little work needed in terms of proportions.

Rating: ***