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Little witch Kiki and Little Mermaid Bakery bake three special pastries, we eat them all

Casey Baseel Mar 9, 2014
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The live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service is out now, and whether the movie should be judged on its own terms or if it can only be evaluated in comparison to the 1989 animated version is a matter of individual belief. One thing everyone can agree on, though, is that the new film will give you a craving for baked goods, as several scenes feature the breads and pastries made and sold by the bakery young witch Kiki boards at.

In anticipation of these cinema-induced hankerings, Little Mermaid, one of Japan’s largest and most popular bakery chains, has released an assortment of Kiki’s Delivery Service-themed goodies. As journalists (and hungry people), we were so excited that we decided to sample the whole lot.

All three of the special offerings are available at Little Mermaid branches throughout Japan until April 30, giving customers plenty of time to try all three, then go back for more of the one they like best.

The most visually appealing of the bunch is Osono-san’s Cat Bread, named for the proprietor of the bakery (who’s also getting a starring role of her own in original Kiki’s author Eiko Kadono’s new serial).

In the new Kiki’s Delivery Service film, there is indeed a scene where Osono-san whips up a batch of rolls shaped like cats. Oddly enough, the Little Mermaid version doesn’t look that much like what moviegoers see in the film, though, as the real-life bakery’s creation is simpler and flatter in design.

Two different versions are available, one with whiskers and the other without. We say if you’re going to go to the trouble of buying cat bread and don’t choose the one with whiskers, you’re missing the whole point. Should you, for whatever reason, though, get stuck with a clean-shaven pastry, the flavor should still be more or less the same, as they’re each filled with condensed milk that keeps each bite moist and sweet.

The Kiki’s Chocolate Donut has the most tenuous relation to the franchise. The connection is entirely based on the color scheme of Kiki’s black dress with red trim, but that doesn’t diminish the flavor in any way. Layers of biscuit within the donut’s cake give a pleasing crunchiness, and the crumbled freeze-dried strawberry topping results in a delicious tangy sweetness.

Finally, our favorite of the bunch was Jiji’s Chocolate Muffin, named after Kiki’s black cat familiar that accompanies her on her year-long journey of training. Visually, it’s just like any other muffin, except for the wrapper decorated with drawings of cats and broomsticks.

Surprisingly for a witchcraft-inspired treat, there’s really nothing tricky at all going on here. This is simply a chocolate muffin with chocolate chips mixed in, plus even more chocolate chips on top. Call us philistines, but we love its straightforward strike to the sweet-sensing taste buds. If you’re like us in that the three criteria you look at when evaluating desserts are one: amount of chocolate, two: amount of chocolate, and three: amount of chocolate, then there’s a lot to like here.

▼ Now if we only had some chocolate syrup….

Related: Little Mermaid
Photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]