We don’t know if we should eat this or keep it as a friend.

Japanese foodie culture is of the opinion that food shouldn’t just taste good, but look good too. Of course, “looking good” includes a broad range of possibilities, from appearances that convey opulent luxury to rustic purity…and, in the case of the latest creation from bakery chain Kimuraya Sohonten, irresistible cuteness.

It turns out there’s a hue of brown that equally conveys “mouthwatering baked goods” and “cuddly forest critter,” and that’s exactly the degree to which Kimuraya bakes its new tanuki bread. Inspired by Japan’s lovable “racoon dogs,” the latest entry in the bakery’s revolving animal bread series just went on sale at the start of this month.

In Japanese folklore, tanuki are known as mischievous shapeshifting tricksters, and so, fittingly, there’s a surprise to the tanuki bread. Thankfully, the twist here is a happy one for us humans, as the inside of the tanuki bread is filled with chocolate cream.

Coming out of Kimuraya’s ovens at the same time as the tanuki bread is a new seasonal melon bread variation, which takes the Japanese bakery staple of a dome-shaped bun with a lightly crunchy sugar-dusted top and fills it with kabocha-infused sweet bean jam. While kabocha is often translated as “Japanese pumpkin,” it has a stronger natural sweetness than the type of pumpkin used to carve jack-o’-lanterns at Halloween (as one of our taste-testing reporters recently, and traumatically, confirmed).

The tanuki bread (officially called “Doubutsu-pan Tanuki” in Japanese) is priced at 351 yen (US$2.35) and the kabocha melon bread at 300 yen, with both on sale until November 30. In addition to being offered at Kimuraya physical locations, they can be ordered as part of a 1,653-yen Tanuki/Kabocha Set or a 4,380-yen November Fun Set through the Kimuraya online store here.

Be assured though that the tanuki bread will be the first pieces grabbed, so make sure to pull one aside for yourself before you set the box out in your home or office.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Kimuraya (1, 2)
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[ Read in Japanese ]