Fuwa Fuwa Japanese Pancakes

Bakery: Fuwa Fuwa Japanese Pancakes 
Address: 408 Bloor St W, Toronto ON 
Website: https://www.fuwafuwapancakes.com/
Style: Pancakes, Japanese 
Price: $$$$

Upon returning from my first Japan trip in March, 2018, I was asked, as a baked goods expert of sorts, if I could predict the next Asian dessert trend that would trickle over to these shores. Everyone knows Japan is the trendsetter, after all. I immediately said pancakes. Extra thick souffle pancakes. Several months later, Fuwa Fuwa opened and seems to be doing particularly well for itself, now with their four locations across the GTA. (Vancouver is also seeing the Japanese pancake chain Gram come to town) And yes, I do have a bit of a vendetta against them for "stealing" my idea. At least beating me to it. Which is why I held off so long in giving them a try, even though I'm in the neighbourhood on a regular basis.

Anyways, Fuwa Fuwa is a teeny tiny space whose locale is best fit for ordering on the go, only because you're hard pressed to find a seat. However, at the same time, the price, wait time and overall composition of the pancakes makes it difficult to grab it with you and reconstruct. Case in point below.

The day I decided to give Fuwa Fuwa a try, it was especially crowded so I went with takeaway. The matcha red bean pancake ($13.90) came deconstructed in a series of small containers along with an elaborately illustrated instruction card. So this is what I'm paying for! I followed the directions; I warmed up the pancake on its own and added the toppings... and was left with a total disaster. Okay, wow, it definitely didn't look like that on site. XD So there was matcha cream, whipped cream, red bean and some sort of garnish mixed in with the cream. Hey, I tried! For one, everything just started melting on the hot pancake. Secondly, the delicate taste and texture of that light, fluffy pancake and the amount of cream meant that all I could taste was cream. There wasn't even that much matcha, so it was the plain cream that was overpowering. In all honesty, I was not impressed.

Rating: **1/2