The English and Japanese-language teams at RocketNews24 have entered into a strange sort of competition, as they try to one-up each other with foods that don’t look anything like they should. The English side fired the opening salvo in this war of the eyes vs. the taste buds with a sneaky pink soy sauce taste test, and now our intrepid Japanese reporter Mr. Sato has decided that revenge is a dish best served sweet with this cake from a Tokyo bakery that looks exactly like a pizza.
We try to keep our ear to the ground for rumblings of unusual foodstuffs, which is why Mr. Sato recently ventured out to Maplies, a bakery in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood. This is the same offbeat cake shop that creates baked goods that look like bowls of ramen or tuna sashimi, but Mr. Sato was attracted by Maplies’ two newest items: cakes modeled after a bowl of yakiniku (Korean barbeque) and a personal-sized pizza.
▼ Nothing but cakes lined up here
Back at RocketNews24 headquarters, Mr. Sato decided to indulge in the yakiniku cake by himself.
As much as it looks like thin-cut strips of beef drizzled with sauce, digging in with a fork reveals that it’s really all just cream, sugar, and flour.
But while Mr. Sato isn’t one to be intimidated by a double (or 1,050-ble) portion of whatever his gastronomic muse of the moment is, he was feeling more generous than gluttonous on this particular day. Remembering that his coworker Preston loves pizza, he decided to give the second Maplies cake to the American expat, partially in thanks for being such a great colleague and all-around nice guy, and partially in recognition of his majestic beard.
“Here’s a pizza for you,” said Mr. Sato warmly, extending the box. Preston, naturally, was all smiles, because who doesn’t like the sudden arrival of free food?
▼ “Thanks, Mr. Sato!”
Mr. Sato grabbed a knife and cut a slice for his officemate, and, since it’s actually cake, also offered him a fork. Preston, however, being a true American, has no need of such dainty utensils when eating pizza. He waved the fork away, instead reaching out and grabbing it with his hand…
…which is when he noticed how spongy the “pizza” was.
Still, Preston is a trooper, so he wasn’t going to let the unique texture stop him from enjoying one of his favorite foods.
But after taking a bite, everything clicked. Sure it looked like pizza, but it didn’t feel like it…and it tasted like cake!
▼ “You tricked me!”
With the “pizza’s” cover blown, Mr. Sato decided it was time to let Preston in on the secret, showing him the cake in cross sections that clearly revealed its true identity.
Preston, meanwhile, decided it was time to glare at Mr. Sato with all the rage one usually associates with pizza betrayal.
Mr. Sato prostrated himself and begged for forgiveness (and not for the first time in the RocketNews24 offices), and thankfully there were no hard feelings when all was said and done. As far as the “make your coworkers eat weird stuff” rivalry goes, though, the ball is now squarely back in Preston’s court
Bakery information
Maplies / メイピリーズ
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Nishi Shinjuku 1-1-2, Shinjuku Chikatetsu Building basement level 2
東京都新宿区西新宿1-1-2新宿地下鉄ビルＢ2Ｆ
Open 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Website
Photos ©RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]