Premium version of common-people treat is almost 10 times the price of regular anpan . Anpan , a bun filled with sweet red bean paste (an) , is one of the most popular snacks in Japan. That’s “popular” in both senses of the word, as anpan is widely loved and also an affordable treat that’s truly for the common people.
You can find tasty anpan in any convenience store, priced at around 100 yen (US$0.70) or so. But if you’re looking for anpan in the food section of the Isetan department store in downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood, you can also find shockingly expensive anpan that costs 1,059 yen (US$7)! With our curiosity piqued and stomach growling, we decided to see if this ultra-premium is worth its cost.
Called the Shinguri Anpan , it’s being offered by the Isetan location of Satsuki , which is itself a satellite branch of the Satsuki bakery inside Tokyo’s New Otani luxury hotel. ▼ Satsuki’s Shinguri Anpan Shinguri translates to “new chestnuts,” and Satsuki gives it that name because this anpan’s filling includes bits of chestnut from this autumn’s harvest. As luck would have it, Yamazaki , the company whose baked goods are the epitome of affordable mass-market sweet pastries and breads, also happens to be selling a chestnut anpan at the moment.
Yamazaki calls it the Kuri-iri Tsubuan Kokyu Tsubuan (“High-Class Sweet Bean Bread with Chestnut”), but don’t let the name mislead you into thinking it’s a luxury-priced item, as it costs just.