The ultra jiggly, pillowy Japanese soufflé pancakes have found their way to Poofy, located inside habitat by Honestbee, an experiential lifestyle store. This place incorporates the some of the most sophisticated technology (contactless, smartphone-based payment) into every step, from grocery shopping to dining. Those who are tech-savvy may agree that this place is ahead of the curve as compared to its competitors.
Back to the real stuff, here’s the Matcha by Riz Labo ($17) with Hokkaido Milk Softserve (+$3) which I got when I was going around the store. The prices are quite insane here - for one, I paid $20 for this.
The dish has its merits for sure – the pancakes were delicate and pillowy in texture and had a modest amount of sweetness to it, as with most Japanese desserts. The chantily cream as well, which had a marked weightlessness to it and a fresh flavour that was quite beautifully restrained. The matcha powder cuts through that deftly with a soupçon of astringency, so you can expect a pretty balanced taste. ⚖️ Presentation wise, they did make the product look appealing - the more I look at it, the more it reminds me of the pancake version of coin pratas. Is that a strange association to make though? I’ll let you be the judge. 🧐
This dish also has its shortcomings and masks it pretty well, thanks to the glitz and the hype around the store and the brewing craze over jiggly pancakes (and also bubble teas??) on social media. It became more obvious in hindsight. The softserve was a combination of icy and chunky, which I felt was a far cry from what a Hokkaido Milk soft serve should be. It also exhibited a surge of sweetness, which made it stick out like a sore thumb com pared to everything else on the plate. The azuki was a little hard and dry. It would have been better if it had a little more moisture to it like a paste or something. 👀
Overall, I wouldn’t say this was too shabby. It showcases its pros strongly, and its cons just as evidently, but when you add the two together, I guess it was something that I still personally enjoyed. 🙌🏽 (7.1/10)
