This is one of 7-Eleven Japan’s rarest sweets, but is it worth tracking down?

7-Eleven is an ubiquitous part of Japanese cityscapes, but while you’re never too far from a branch of the convenience store, that doesn’t mean that each location has the exact same snack selection. Some 7-Eleven stores also offer the chain’s 7 Cafe Bakery line of baked goods which are finished off by the staff using the oven in-store, making them extra fresh, warm, and delicious. Even out of the branches with the 7 Cafe Bakery lineup, some are more special than others, and today we’re looking at an incredibly tasty, and even elegant, treat that can only be found at 7-Elevens in Tokyo and two other parts of east Japan.

We don’t usually expect convenience store snack runs to broaden our vocabulary, but that’s what happened with 7-Eleven’s Sugar Palmier, a type of pastry that gets its name from being shaped kind of like the top of a palm tree. Palmier aren’t among the staple breads like melon bread or curry bread that you can always expect to find in Japanese supermarkets or chain bakeries. They’re usually the sort of thing you need to go to fancier specialty food stores for, so finding them at a local 7-Eleven, and with their baking finished right there in the store, is a big surprise.

After ordering one at the counter and paying the 220 yen (US$1.40) 7-Eleven prices them at, the staff finished off our palmier in the oven and placed it in a bag for us. We could feel its enticing warmth through the paper, and even after we’d arrived back home for taste-testing, it was still nice and warm.

Visually, it’s very classy, with its heart-like shape and glisten of light reflecting off the sprinkled sugar giving it an air of refinement despite its humble source, especially after we plated it.

Of course, if we stared admiringly at it for too long, it would eventually get cold, so before that happened we took a bite, and were thrilled to learn that 7-Eleven’s palmier tastes every bit as good as it looks! The rich buttery sensation, which has both a stimulating taste and aroma, melts into the sweetness that comes with a tiny touch of crunch from the sugar, making for a harmonious luxury throughout its flavor profile. The texture of the bread itself is excellent and complex. The stint in the oven right before you receive your palmier imparts a pie-like crispness to its outer surface, with a softer fluffiness, similar to a Danish’s, waiting at the center.

The buttery sweetness comes through with lightning quickness thanks to the in-store baking, and the flavor didn’t just fill us with satisfaction, but with happiness.

As of right now, the Sugar Palmier is available only at 7 Cafe Bakery branches in Tokyo and two of its neighboring prefectures, Chiba and Kanagawa, but if you’re in one of those three places, this is definitely worth tracking down.

Photos © Sora News24
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