Little bits and pieces of my 3 favourite things in Fukuoka
New to me, though founded in 1850 in Saga prefecture, Ohara・大原 is adorable with the kindest staff and fun new treats. In the middle are a red bean and white bean sweet with a texture someone close to marzipan with a gritty sweetness. The white and pink one was soft and doughier with a sakura jelly feel to the pink petals. It was really a lovely store and I can’t wait to return.
From a little while ago, from Rabbit Moon・兎月, the end of sakura season shown as a single stray petal. Filled with creamy red bean paste and bittersweet with the thought of the blooms passing. I’ll borrow from my friend’s translation of a 9th-century poem by Ariwara no Narihira about sakura season in Japan:
世の中にたえて桜のなかりせば春の心はのどけからまし
If there were no cherry blossoms in this world, my spring heart would be calm.
From Tugi, a beautiful and classic namagashi with a twist. Red and white bean paste dance together inside a spring marbled dome that invokes the blue sky peeking behind sakura blossoms as the trees thin out and petals fall.
Another very very fun one from Kumaya・熊屋, an interactive sweet: cream cheese and white bean paste daifuku with an injection of strawberry sauce. It was fun, it was sweet, it was very unique. A tiny overflow on my part did not hamper my enjoyment of it at all. Doesn’t it look like a mini jelly donut?
Tea, Sweets and Trails 