Hello cronuts! Tokyo welcomes arrival of Dominique Ansel Bakery in Japan

It so happens that June 20 was kind of a big day for sweets lovers in Japan (well, at least for this writer). That’s right, it was the much-anticipated grand opening of the Dominique Ansel Bakery, home of the original cronuts, in Tokyo’s Omotesando district.

For those of you who may not be into sweets, the cronut is a hugely popular baked creation the bakery is known for, which can be described as a hybrid between a croissant and donut. Not surprisingly, stories of people forming long lines every morning at the New York City-based bakery for the cronuts and other delightful baked treats have reached Japan, and many sweets fans were ecstatic when it was announced that the shop would be opening in Tokyo. Not to miss out on the sugar-filled excitement, we were there bright and early on opening day, all psyched up to try the cronuts we had heard so much about.

As a matter of fact, we were so excited that we got to Omotesando at around 5:15 in the morning, but guess what? There were already about 15 people waiting in line even then. The first people in line apparently had been waiting from around 9 p.m. the previous day. By around 7 a.m., there were several TV crews interviewing the people waiting in line.

The bakery was scheduled to open at 8 a.m., and about 30 minutes before opening time, the staff began leading the customers to the store front in small groups. There was even a brief performance by professional dancers to keep the customers entertained during the wait.

A little before 8am, the crowd’s excitement went up a notch as the chef behind the cronut craze, Dominique Ansel himself came out to greet everyone (photo below). He seemed genuinely happy as he addressed the crowd, saying that it had been a dream of his to open a shop in Tokyo, and that the staff have been working very hard all night to prepare for the opening, so they might be tired, but they are sure to have a ready smile for all of the customers. He also told us that he had special gift caps to give out to everyone.

As soon as we stepped in the shop, we were offered sample mini madeleines, which were freshly baked and still warm. Near the entrance, such as Sable Breton cookies and Mini Me miniature meringue kisses in an assortment of bright colors.

And now, for the baked treats. The Mr Roboto bread (photo below) that looks like the face of a robot is available only in Japan and is a variation of the Japanese “melon bread." The Match Monaka Cookie is another only-in-Japan item. It combines the crispy shell of the traditional Japanese monaka confection with a moist financier cake, flavored with match green tea.

The croissants looked heavenly. You can try the Ham and Cheese Croissant if you want more of a meal-type bread.

Then there are the popular Dominique’s Kouign Amann, called the DKA for short. They’re so popular, in fact, that they apparently outsell the cronuts in New York. There were also plenty of artistically prepared cakes as well. The insanely adorable cat-shaped creation in the middle (of the photo below) is the Maneki Neko Religeuse, a cream puff based pastry made in the image of a "maneki neko," a cat-shaped Japanese charm that is supposed to bring good luck. This Japan-only item is flavored with a yuzu citrus and vanilla cream.

Other cakes on offer include the Mini Me Cake topped with the miniature meringues, the Cotton Soft Cheesecake and the Salted Caramel Eclair. They also have brightly colored macarons.

And of course, we bought the cronuts, which by the way are limited to two per customer. The yellow glaze looks simply divine. The process of making cronuts is apparently quite complex and takes up to three days, but they certainly look worth the effort and time.

When we bit into it, the flaky multi-layered texture felt incredible. Each month they’ll be offering a different flavor cronut, and this month in Japan, it’s the “Hokkaido Milk Honey Ganache with Yuzu Lemon Curd” flavor. The sweetness of the milk and honey combined well with the zest of lemon and yuzu.

Unfortunately, the bakery’s other signature item, the Cookie Shot, which is basically milk served in a warm chocolate chip cookie glass (that description alone makes our mouth water), is served only from 3 p.m., so we weren’t able to try it for ourselves. It looks like we’ll just have to come back again! We already know we’ll be making plenty of visits in the future anyway, with a new cronut flavor on offer each month. And we haven’t even tried any of the cakes yet.

Well, we certainly had a sugar-filled blissful morning visiting Dominique Ansel Bakery Tokyo. All the items we tried were delightful, but we have to say we were particularly impressed with the soft yet complex and chewy texture of the cronut. It was a pure pleasure to sink our teeth into!

Thank you, Chef Dominique, for coming to Tokyo, because as we’ve said before and as we’ll most surely be saying again, we can never have too much sweetness in this world!

Reference: Dominique Ansel Bakery Tokyo website

Dominique Ansel Bakery Tokyo Address: 5-7-14, Jingumae, Shibuya Ward （〒150-0001 東京都渋谷区神宮前 5−7−14） Business Hours: 1F 8 a.m. - 7 p.m., 2F 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

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