Going Bananas

Scattered all over Tokyo Eki is this ubiquitous stall called Tokyo Banana. Since I often take the Narita express to and from the city, my journey usually begins and finishes at the station, and I never paid much attention to the shop. All I know is that sells yellow and brown chiffon cakes which - eventhough they look very interesting - I never got around to buying.

On my trip last week, I had 30 minutes to spare before catching my train and started roaming around the Eki. It was then I realized that I still haven't bought any pasalubong for the house, and as fate would have it, the stall in front of me was Tokyo Banana. In less than 15 minutes, both my hands were carrying bags of bright yellow boxes.

Fast forward to a few days later, people were telling me how much they LOVED my pasalubong. Ate Bullet called from Manila to tell me how yummy the cakes were, and my colleague Joe told me the same thing. Curious at what they were raving about, I opened the box that I bought for myself.



By Golly Gulaman! (As Madz would say...) Now I know what they were raving about. The cake IS really good. It's a light as air chiffon cake with a creamy banana filling. It's a perfect snack or dessert because it's light and sweet, and not overwhelming. It was too light, I finished 2 cakes immediately.



Personally, I think this is a better Japanese pasalubong compared to the usual suspect - Mochi. The next time I'm in Japan, i'll definitely try the other cakes they have to offer. (On hindsight, I should've bought that choco-banana cake.) And maybe even try the "Strawberry Cake from Ginza" that's next door.