Pikachu Kasutera
Hope you know what Pikachu is. If not, it’s a character in Japanese anime, “Pocket Monsters.”
There’s a vendor who sells this Pikachu kasutera near the Izakaya I work at. I don’t know what triggered me to go for it today, but I came home with a bagful of these cute yummies (500 yen a bag). They were still warm when I got home.
Look at the closeup. Yeah, they are too cute to eat.
BTW, there's another vendor near the Izakaya who sells Doraemon Kasutera. I might try them, too, someday.
aren't they too cute to eat? ;)
ReplyDeletePosted by GRILLED_AUBERGINE
Oh my, they *are* adorable!
ReplyDeletePosted by Amanda
Just too cute..Obachan..!!!!
ReplyDeletePosted by MrsT
Oh obachan, these are so cute! I wonder if they have these in Hello Kitty? :)
ReplyDeletePosted by Julia
What are kasutera, obachan?
ReplyDeletePosted by Darkling
> GRILLED_AUBERGINE --- Yep! They sure are!!
ReplyDelete> Amanda --- Really. It’s amazing to me that they can make the details so nicely (like mouth).
> MrsT --- I wonder Chloe would love this kind of food.
> Julia --- You bet! I heard that Hello Kitty version they sell in Tokyo has anko (sweet red-bean paste) inside.
> Darkling --- Basically kasutera is a kind of sponge cake, which is said to be brought to Japan from Portugal, rich in eggs and honey. It’s rather strange to call these pikachu “kasutera” because they are actually batter baked in molds (I think) rather than "sponge cake". But we usually call this type of sweets we buy at the vendors “kasutera.”
Posted by obachan
oh my! Pikachu is so kawaii~~ And they have Doraemon and Hello Kitty too! Ohhh How come I am not in Japan right now??
ReplyDeletePosted by pinkcocoa
Kawaii!!
ReplyDeletePosted by fish fish
I hope she does.. Obachan..!!
ReplyDeletePosted by MrsT
Personally I wouldn't hesitate to gobble them up, despite their cuteness. ;-)
ReplyDeletePosted by Jonny Angel
Kawaii indeed. Are those the type of little cookies with some kind of filling in the center?
ReplyDeletePosted by Sarah
Hi Obachan! my girls love pikachu! But what are kasutera? is it a cookie or something savory? The girls are curious too :-)
ReplyDeletePosted by JMom
oops, I guess i should have read your answer to Darkling. Now I know the girls would definitely love these treats!
ReplyDeleteWhat does kawaii mean? The only thing I know that is anything like that word is Kauai, the city in the state of Hawaii. I'm sure that's not what you're talking about! ;)
ReplyDeletePosted by Annie
Kawaii means 'cute' in Japanese.
ReplyDeletePosted by Jonny Angel
Oh, ピカチュウ... Is the word Kasutera originally from Portuguese?
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to seeing the Doraemon too...
Posted by keiko
> pinkcocoa --- To make you more envious ; ) check out these sites!
ReplyDeleteHello Kitty version , Sazae-san version, Doraemon version, and Chibimaruko-chan version.
These animation character kasutera are also called “ningyo yaki” (baked dolls??) these days. Somehow, they are all considered as souvenir of Tokyo. Is that because those animation films are all made in Tokyo????
> fish fish --- Honto! They’re so meccha kawaii!!
> MrsT --- I hope so, too : )
> Jonny --- Ahhhh, what a cold-blooded monster! But actually, I did so, too. ;P
> Sarah --- I’m not sure if you can really call them cookies because the texture is much like pancakes. Some of them have filling inside, but these pikachues(?) don’t.
> JMom --- Yeah. Now I’m curious about how your girls would like the Hello Kitty versions (click the link in my answer to pinkcocoa’s comment) with custard cream filling, sweet bean paste filling or chestnuts cream filling…
> Annie --- Yeah. When we see things like little baby’s smile of a kitty playing with a ball etc… we say Kawaii!! Thanks, Jonny..
> Keiko --- According to this article, it might have come from Castelia, and that’s what I’ve been told, too (by whom???). BTW, I don’t know what “millet jelly” mentioned in the article is. I had long believed that it was honey that was added to Japanese version of Kasutera to make it moist.
Posted by obachan
> Annie --- Sorry, I meant to say "little baby's smile OR a kitty playing with...."
ReplyDeletePosted by obachan
obachan~
ReplyDeleteNoooooo...I am sooooooooooo jealous. Okie. I am flying off to Japan right now :p Oh hey, I remember something similar in Taiwan. I had a pic of that. Might post it up soon. :D
Posted by pinkcocoa
Hi Obachan - sorry for the late response, but the article you mentioned was really interesting. I liked the castelo chanting bit! I don't know what millet jelly is either, but like you said, it must be honey.
ReplyDeletePosted by keiko