Kintsuba - Japanese Sweets in Asakusa
Not Too Sweet Japanese Sweets Made Slowly
Kintsuba きんつば is one of the Japanese sweets that I like because you can watch them being made. This photo is from a small shop in Asakusa located in the Nakamise-dori shopping street at Senso-ji temple. You can try the Kintsuba fresh, still warm.
Kintsuba are made from sweet bean paste. The thick paste is cut into square pieces. One side is dipped into a very light batter and cooked as you can see in the picture. Then the next side is dipped into the batter and the process repeated until all sides are covered. This batter is so light that you can see through it.
Although Kintsuba is a sweet, it does not taste too sweet. Kintsuba are very nice with tea.
Local Find: Old Maker of Japanese Sweets
This is Umegen, a Japanese sweets shop - wagashi-ya 和菓子屋 - in Asakusa. The old shop and maker of Japanese sweets is located next to Kappabashi street. I read that there used to be about 100 makers of Japanese sweets in the area. Many of these shops were selling to the theaters in Asakusa.
Any of the products from this or another small old maker will be an excellent gift - omiyage お土産 - to take with you when you visit someone. Some of Umegen's products are available at the shop, for example the Kintsuba in the picture with the tea. Some of the shop's specialties have to be ordered in advance. Take a look at Umegen's sweets on their Facebook page. It is in Japanese, but has some nice pictures.
David
Germany
