Little Tokyo: Ima and Hello Kitty
Shortly after writing up the post about Fulfilled on Friday, I headed out to Little Tokyo for a taste of traditional imagawayaki. My destination? Mitsuru Cafe in the Japanese Village Plaza.
My initial visit was brought to a halt as I exited the first floor parking garage into the plaza. Behold! A brand new Sanrio store is born! As I was browsing near the front counter I asked an employee how long they had been open. It was their first day of business! This meant an entire Sanrio store virtually untouched by sticky little hands! There was much rejoicing.
This store is good-sized and sparkling new with a subsequently large collection of all the usual characters and a small selection of “For use in Japan only” products along the back wall. Employees were busy finishing up displays still in the mid-afternoon.
As I was checking out, the cashier also let me know that August 16th is the official grand opening with an appearance by Hello Kitty herself. So if you have young Sanriophiles who would squeal at the thought of hugging a giant cat and conning you into buying all sorts of kawaii paper goods, make sure you’re there.
Mitsuru was conveniently next door to Sanrio, so I popped over to have a looksee at the imagawayaki. Immediately inside the doorway, there’s a small cooking area set-up for them, some heat-lamp illuminated trays with dango and a few other treats, and a cash register. The imas were $1.25 a piece, served hot to-go in a lightly waxed white paper sleeve.
In front of the cafe, I found a sidewalk table to taste the ima. The outside appearance can best be identified as a light brown hockey puck: about 1-1.5 inches tall and 4 inces across. The texture is smooth on top and bottom with uneven ripples through the center where the “an” filling has cooked. The first bite dissolved any high expectations for bursting flavor. I was left with mostly a mouthful of rubbery tough dough that reminded me a little bit of grilled mochi. Like most filled pastries, the second bit yielded more an and a better filling to dough ratio. The red beans weren’t anything remarkable either-a subtley sweet chunky bean mash with contrasting split skins mixed in.
I guess I should’ve bought only one.
