パパス パティスリー (or 'Papas Patisserie') on Route 56, near Onoba, Akita city, was a serendipitous find.
Returning home from an afternoon trip to the beach along this busy link road, and ignoring most of the small, rather unattractive, commercial enterprises en route, I suddenly noticed an inconspicuous sign, with simple blue lettering, that read ケーキ (cake), so I quickly pulled over into one of the two parks outside the tiny store to take a closer look.
The shop itself was small and the space for customers rather narrow, much like many home-based businesses on a busy thoroughfare anywhere, with a couple of cane tables and matching chairs in the window, some 'cutsie' decorations and little potted plants, and a long glass cabinet containing a colourful array of home-baked goods.
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| A mini polar bear, with an equally mini cake fork, awaits his turn for afternoon tea. |
The open space between the counter area and the kitchen beyond was filled with a tall wobbly pile of empty white cardboard cake boxes, and the shop assistant, who was on her own, could barely squeeze past to get close enough to serve me.
She greeted me with a friendly いらっしゃいませ (welcome) and a slightly nervous smile. (The mild alarm I often notice crossing the faces of shopkeepers in small businesses further away from the busier parts of the city, is not something unusual. Since I am not Japanese, and it is probably very unlikely for a foreigner to be shopping for cake, or anything else, for that matter, in this particular part of town, the arrival of a 外国人 or 'gaikokujin' (sometimes translated 'alien') often creates a stir, and often no small amount of nervous giggling.)
There was no coffee for sale, since this was a specialty cake shop, which I thought was a pity, since the shop was located back from the road and the tables were well placed for a sit-down afternoon tea. A choice of drinks to go with the baking would probably entice a few more customers inside.
The time being around 2.30, I would have expected most cakes to have been sold, and not much left to choose from, but I was the only customer, and the cabinet was still very well-stocked.
My choice for the day was the Orange Tart. This turned out to be a nicely balanced culinary creation, and in its small takeaway box, with a mini cake fork wrapped in layers of napkin and a wide strip of rose-patterned paper, was artfully presented.
A buttery shell of shortcake provided a firm, but 'biteable' casing for a delightfully sweet almond cream cake filling, the overall effect of which was moist, and deliciously dense.
On top was an arrangement of layered orange slices, (skins still on), set in a clear glaze above a singed cake crust, and edged with small rosettes of piped cream. The slight bitterness of the orange peel and the dark brown crust provided just the right foil to the shortcake and sweet filling.
At 300 Yen a slice, it was well priced, and definitely worth the stop, and the wait (in order to get home) to have it with a coffee...
I'm hoping it will be fine again next weekend... perhaps I'll make another trip to the beach...
