When the humbly named “World’s Second-Most Delicious Ice Cream Melon Bread” bakery in Kanazawa blessed the world with its ice cream-filled melon bread this past year, it was a massive hit. The creamy fusion was so popular that its makers opened up another shop in Shibuya in July so that even more people could fall in love with the creamy lumps of guilty goodness.
If you thought the bakery was satisfied with giving customers just one new way to enjoy melon bread, though, think again. They’ve recently put out a new, more mysterious item dubbed the double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread.
What on earth could it possibly taste like? And what does its absurdly long name even mean? We went to find out for ourselves.
▼ The place where all your melon bread dreams come true.
We came prepared for this task and with high expectations. We’ve tried the melon bread ice cream before and loved every bite. Warm, soft melon bread, crunchy on the outside fluffy on the inside, wrapped around cold ice cream is something no life is complete without trying. But today wasn’t about the ice cream melon bread; our goal was to find out more about its misfit little brother, the double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread.
▼ The dancing cheese and mayo are either welcoming us or warning to turn back before it’s too late.
Now, while we wouldn’t ever doubt the compatibility of mayonnaise and cheese, a combination that has had a long, loving relationship in cheeseburgers, we had a hard time imagining that they would go well with sweet, sugary melon bread. To make our anxiety worse, the price of one double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread was 350 yen (US$3), the same as melon bread ice cream, so we couldn’t even lie to ourselves that we were just trying it out to save some cash. We had to go into it fully aware of what we were doing. After gathering our courage and taking a deep breath, we ordered one.
When you buy a double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread, they make it right in front of you, just like they do with the original melon bread ice cream.
First, they squirt on the mayonnaise.
▼ Uh, I was going to eat that melon bread. What did you do to it?
Then they slap the two slices of cheese on top and use a blowtorch to melt it a little.
▼ Yeah, uh, that thing’s all yours now bud.
When the cheese is nicely browned in patches, the Franken-pan is complete. There was only one thing left to find out: the taste.
▼ Something’s not quite right here….
After picking it up with our trembling hands and carrying it to a quiet spot, we took a cautious first bite and mulled it over. We have to admit, double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread isn’t horrible. Of course the combination of cheese and mayonnaise is always going to be good, and nothing more needs to be said about the perfect fluffy melon bread on which it sits, but the two opposite ends of the taste spectrum being shoved together, that sweet sugary bread spliced with toppings you’re more likely to find on a pizza or hamburger, just didn’t quite work for us. It was like the ingredients’ fusion, rather than turning out to be like some unusual, forbidden love, was more a meeting of lifelong rivals, both fighting in our mouths to get our attention.
▼ Melon bread, take off that silly cheese/mayo hat. You’re drunk. Go home.
The double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread brings together two fundamentally delicious things, so there’s no way it could ever be bad, but at the same time our taste buds just couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. I guess as the saying goes, you can’t have your cheese/mayo and eat your melon bread too.
As for this author’s personal opinion on the double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread, honestly it’s not the best. But nevertheless, I applaud the efforts that went into its creation. I would never want to dissuade those mad melon bread scientists from experimenting and discovering new possibilities with their craft.
▼ This author left with a bag of delicious, safe melon bread rusk.
▼ Ah yes. No cheese in sight, and that’s just all right.
If you’re interested in trying something you’ll never forget, then definitely check out the double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread to see for yourself if you approve of the legendary bakery’s latest concoction.
Store Location
Name: Sekai De Nibanme Ni Oishii Yakitate Meron Pan
世界で２番目においしい焼き立てメロンパンアイス
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jinnan 1-15-9, Iwase Building
東京都渋谷区神南1-15-9 岩瀬ビル
Hours: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Website
Photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]
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Origin: The double-cheese-mayonnaise-melon-bread is a mouthful in more ways than one
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