Pasco [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pasco Hokkaido Premium (Pasco北海道プレミアム)
Address: New Chitose Airport Terminal, 987-22 Bibi, Chitose, Hokkaido
Website: n/a
Style: Japanese
Price: $$$

You never really associate bakeries with airports, so it came as a total surprise to find, despite its decidedly commercial appearance, what seems to be a small Hokkaido bakery chain in the 2F food court. ((Except I swear I've seen that logo before on pre-packed supermarket baked goods??)) Not a cafe, not a monster chain like you come across in larger train stations throughout Japan, but a real bakery right in the middle of the airport - tongs and all. Pasco opened in September, 2019 so it must have just opened when I was there at the end of that same month. The most popular items among their large, fully-stocked selection of sweet and savoury bread and buns seem to be prettily packed loaves of bread and rather disturbing smelt (yes, as in the fish) danishes. Unsurprisingly, expect to pay about 100 yen more per item compared to city bakeries. On the other hand, what was surprising was a complete lack of English labelling; it is an airport, after all.

So I was definitely not there for the smelt danishes... instead, I absolutely could not resist the "forest bear (森のくまぱん; 250 + tax)" bun. I've seen better versions of this bun online, so I think my batch didn't turn out that well, but I still have a soft spot for my uh, physically challenged bear. Despite the adorable appearance, the taste was too sweet for me: the chocolate filling was so thick and sugary that it was almost like you filled the inside with chocolate syrup. The dough itself was underwhelming. Not very flavourful and the texture was too compact; despite eating it almost immediately, it felt like it'd come from a sealed plastic bag, not fresh from the oven.

To make up for the somewhat disappointing bear, there was the melon jam/cream-stuffed bun (350 yen + tax). Seeing that this is also available as a 3-piece gift pack in a variety of colours, I presume this is one of their signature items. I wasn't expecting much, since it had the look of a green hamburger bun, but the filling with its pockets of tangy jam amid a rich cream was a pleasant surprise. Again, quite sweet for a Japanese bakery, but it was great to have the option of stopping at a bakery before a flight!

Rating: **1/2