Among the best of Japan's convenience store snacks

Cream Puff with Chocolate Cream

Brand: 7-Eleven

Price: 160 yen

Place of purchase: 7-Eleven convenience store

Rating:

I feel like the cream puff, or "shu cream," is something of a snack staple in Japan and while I'll quite enjoy one every now and then, they don't really get me excited. Enter this "Cream Puff with Chocolate Cream." It's all about the "puff" bit, the outer pastry. Which isn't pastry. Well, actually I'm not sure what it is but the very outer layer resemble the crust of a melon pan only chocolate flavor - it's sweet and just a little crumbly. Under this is layer of something soft and delightfully chewy while being strong enough to hold the shape of the snack and stop cream from ballooning out from within. The chocolate cream inside is smooth and tasty, without being too rich or filling. The three elements come together perfectly. At 160 yen this is more expensive than the average cream puff you might find at the convenience store in Japan which probably goes from around 100 yen. Worth every extra yen though.

Apart from being unhealthy (undoubtedly an important negative), I can't think of anything else negative to say about this. I suppose I could say that its popularity at the convenience store just down the road from where I live means sometimes it will have sold out. I'm also bracing myself for the disappointment that comes when Japan doesn't realize it's onto a good thing and takes a perfectly good item off the shelves. Until that day though this Cream Puff with Chocolate Cream is going to be a weekly treat.