Suite de Barques/Mori no Hall [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Suite de Barques/Mori no Hall (森のホール)
Address: 2 Chome-1-2 Kawayu Ekimae, Teshikaga, Kawakami District, Hokkaido
Website: facebook
Style: Japanese
Price: $$ 

Judging by the signage, I'd say that "Suite de Barques" is actually the bakery and "Mori no Hall" is the cafe next door, but there is no proof at all of this being true, especially since the former doesn't seem to exist anywhere online. Needless to say, they are somehow connected since you can order to eat in and that cake will come from the bakery.

Well, if there happens to be any cake, that is. My trip included an absolutely brutal three-week-in-a-row holiday weekend spree - this was holiday #2 and fortunately the place was actually open! This was a welcome surprise. Unfortunately, holidays also mean... they don't make/sell cake. I was greeted with an empty display case. Yes, I even swallowed my pride and asked. Nope, no cake that day; however, they did have a few "shelf-stable" baked goods, namely tiny baggies of cookies and vacu-packed cake doughnuts - somewhat a trend of the moment.

Having made the trek here during a typhoon, I went with both. And quite happy I did. The first item was the lemon doughnut (180 yen). I'd already tried one of these packaged baked cake doughnuts and I wasn't a fan of the texture and that "sitting in a bag" taste. These were moist and soft with a nice crust on the outside and a delicious crisp lemony taste. Maybe they were doughnuts in shape only, but these were a huge improvement from my previous experience.

The highlight, though, had to be these bite-sized matcha shortbread cookies (280 yen/bag). Given the fact I think you got four or something, they weren't cheap, but these were so rich and flavourful. The green tea powder in the cookie and dusting the top was amazing and texture - hard when you bite it into it but melt in your mouth as you let it linger - was just right. In the end, all was not lost!

Rating: ***1/2