This chilled sando is a convenience store must-try.

When you’re travelling around Japan and learning the language, you’ll find yourself picking up new words in odd places, and right now the word at 7-Eleven is “yokubari“. Literally translating as “greedy” or “indulgent“, the chain is using the word to describe a range of single-serve “one-piece” sandwiches that are so loaded with decadent fillings they’re bulging at the seams, and now there’s a new variety on the shelves.

▼ Chocolate Chip & Whipped Cream

At first glance, you might wonder where the chocolate chips are, as the cross-section shows what appears to be flakes rather than chips.

The chocolate chunks are there but they’re hiding inside the sandwich, scattered within the cream filling.

We only found out about the chunks after picking up one of the “yokubari sando” at our nearest 7-Eleven. It took us a while to get to the inside of the sando, though, as we were mesmerised by just how beautiful it looked.

▼ The combination of white, brown and pink created a wonderfully harmonious colour palette.

The pink slices are called “sakura bread”, and are said to add more than just visual appeal as they’re slightly salty, with a flavour that’s reminiscent of pickled cherry blossoms.

Opening the sandwich for a closer look, we were pleased to see that the filling hadn’t just been pushed to the cross section – it covered the entire surface area of the bread, proving the chain wasn’t skimping on the chocolate chip cream.

This is when we discovered that the cream was actually filled with chunks of chocolate, making it look like chocolate chip ice cream.

▼ Flakes up front, chips out back.

Putting the sandwich back together for a taste, we took a big bite and lost ourselves to the super soft texture.

The bread was plump and chewy, the cream was fluffy and exquisite, and the mixture of chocolate flakes and chips made it taste chunky and melty at the same time.

This meltiness actually had another surprising effect, as it made the whole thing taste like an ice cream sandwich. The chocolate itself tasted like the hardened sort you get on chocolate-covered ice creams, so every bite fooled the taste buds into thinking this was an ice cream.

It was such an unusual sensation that we hardly noticed any saltiness from the sakura bread – if it was there it only added to the ice cream effect – and we were glad we had it chilled as this made it taste even more like chocolate chip ice cream.

We didn’t think the chain could outdo itself after wowing us with its previous Yokubari Sando, filled with colourful chocolate sprinkles, but we’re happy to say they’ve blown us out of the water with this new variety. Sweet, delicious, and very indulgent, the Chocolate Chip and Whipped Cream Yokubari is a convenience store must-try, and it’s perfectly timed for summer, when its ice cream-esque character will keep you cool and refreshed during Japan’s scorchingly hot days.

Images©SoraNews24
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