bread girl

If I had my druthers I'd eat carbs all day every day. I'm not much into meat, though when my blood sugar gets low, give me some chocolate, a glass of OJ, and some PROTEIN (usually in the form of a glass of milk, some cheese, or crackers and peanut butter).

Anyway, we usually go out on the train somewhere on the weekends (if you've got little boys this is a must because the trains in Japan are super clean and always right on time), and one of our favorite stops is the Kurakuenguchi station. A yummy bakery, Roggen Meyer, just happens to be right across the street, and of course we just have to go in and grab a few bits and pieces for lunchies by the river.

They don't have my to-drool-for (bite-sized and glazed) lemon donuts anymore, but they do have this amazing chocolat orange pastry now that Stephen and I both adore (pictured below). The bitterness of the orange peel on top just goes perfectly with the not-too-sweet chocolate and pastry.

And the sakura (cherry blossom) mochi anpan (rice paste and sweet red bean paste) pastry (pictured above) is perfect for munching by the cherry-tree-lined river (the trees have just started blooming now). The sakura blossom adds a nice salty flavor to the cloyingly sweet red bean paste in the pastry. You just gotta try it. Come on over!