Japan is renowned for its healthy people. Its national diet of fish, rice and vegetables, coupled with healthy doses of green tea, is lauded for being packed with antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and other things that sound vaguely good for you. It shows in terms of longevity and vitality, as old Japanese folk remain active into their old age, doing things like climb Mt. Everest at age seventy.

Homer Simpson is not known for being healthy. I would argue that he would not be unhappy in Japan (ignoring, of course, the Japan episode of The Simpsons). For a country that is so known for being healthy, it sure knows how to do unhealthy foods ridiculously well – their deep fried potato cheese croquette serves as one example. The prevalence of the all-American doughnut, which for some reason became a craze in Japan a few years back, is another. Mr. Donut, the country’s dominant doughnut chain, has localised its operations very well in particular, with its options beautifully presented on a lovely seasonal menu.

The doughnut craze preceded the cream puff (aka choux puff) craze, which spread to the US several years later in the formidable form of Beard Papa’s, originally from Osaka. When I came to Japan, I really wanted sushi, mochi, and other Japanese food items… but I also wondered: If Japan could elevate whisky to an art form, what could it do with the humble doughnut?

For my answer, a friend pointed me to central Tokyo – specifically to Omotesando subway station, which, like most other Tokyo subway stations, has a great variety of eateries. Unlike other stations, whose customers are composed mostly of salary men, Omotesando targets its food at ladies who shop, as it is very close to a street lined with higher-end retail stores. When I visited, the station was filled with ladies, mostly of the ladies-who-lunch or the drinks-after-work set.

At the center of this three-floor underground metro hub, Choux Cring, a small stand decorated with pink, has combined the cream puff and the doughnut into one delicious bite, served in delicate flavours like matcha (green tea), almond caramel, and mango strawberry. For a concoction that must be extremely unhealthy, each one of these rings is very light and pretty. Moreover, when you purchase a doughnut, the sales woman will delicately pick up the pastry, wrap it in clear plastic, place it in a paper bag, then fold it over and place it in a rather nice carrying bag. It’s quite a lot of wrapping for two US dollars worth of dough, highlighting the Japanese attention to presentation – even in a doughnut.

After careful consideration, I chose the strawberry and almond caramel doughnuts; the first was covered in strawberry frosting, the latter in a toasted almond and crunchy caramelised crust that reminded me of crème brulee. Both were surprisingly light for being filled with vanilla custard. Both were also very, very satisfying. The custard was chilled, and the doughnut was sweet and springy. I had a moment of pastry euphoria that I had never before experienced and could now see why so many ladies hung around this particular subway station.

If I were to remain in Tokyo, some form of crack-like addiction to these delicate rings, as I am wont to develop with small, beautiful and colourful pastries, would undoubtedly follow. Alas, I am now back in Beijing, and these lovely cream-puff/doughnut hybrids remain on the second basement floor of Omotesando.

Choux Cring
Omotesando Metro Station Concourse
Minato, Tokyo, JAPAN
03-5956-2962

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 11:10 pm and is filed under Tokyo, travel.