Let’s change up the pace a bit. Enough with the language lectures; let’s talk about crêpes!
What is so interesting about crêpes you might ask? Not a whole lot. I’m just salivating for a crêpe at this very moment, hence a small reason I’m writing this article. What does it have to do with Japan? If you have ever venture out in the metro areas of Japan, it’ll be hard not to spot a crêpe shop. In the minds of a Japanese, this famous French food staple will often bring up connections to the ever so rebellious young Japanese and Harajuku.
There isn’t that much to say about the history of crêpes in Japan. Crêpes were first introduced in Japan sometime in the late 1970s. At first the popularity of the snack was dismal. But then came along crêpe shop that opened up in Harajuku. The young Japanese who congregate the area welcomed the food item, and thus began its popularity.
The crêpe wrap served in Japan is the sweet crêpe variant, which is typically filled with sliced fruit, whipped cream, syrup, and anything else you can imagine when thinking about desserts. In addition, they are also served with vegetables and meats if one desires a meal. The filling is wrapped around with the crêpe wrap to form a cone shape. If you are in Japan don’t be surprise to get an extra helping of Japanese mayonnaise to go along with your meal crêpe. They sure do like the mayo over there. As you may have imagined, the crêpes served in Japan are more liberal in what they use for the filling.
The following are examples of what you might find on a Japanese crêpe menu:
- Strawberries with vanilla ice cream, topped with chocolate sauce
- A slice of cheesecake
- Potato salad topped with a hot dog
- Spaghetti
- Tuna, pizza, and cheese (yes, all in one crêpe)
- Frankfurter salad. One variant of a frankfurter salad I’ve seen consisted of lettuce bedding, the frankfurter with a side of turkey, topped with kidney beans and ketchup
Om nom nom nom. Why bother with utensils and dishware you would typically use for the fillings listed, when you can have everything housed in a nice cone shape wrap? For some reason I am reminded of the Simpsons episode where Homer condenses spaghetti into bar form.
Why is it hard not to spot a crêpe shop? It is mostly due to the displays that are viewable outside the shops; plastic crêpes that illustrate each menu item. Some find it fascinating, others find it scary. Personally, I’m the former. Look at the attention to detail in the first two images of this article! Plastic food displays aren’t just limited to crêpe shops, as they are commonly used by food establishments. However, the crêpe shop displays stood out the most to me, which is probably due to the extensive sized menus each shop carries and the plethora of colors exhibit by the crêpe fillings (contrast the colors of crêpes to katsu and fried products topped with curry). If you want to bring home one of these displays, stop by Kappabashi-dori in Tokyo. The district specializes in kitchenware and there are a few shops dedicated to plastic food displays.
If you live in a major U.S. city , then you might be fortunate enough to have access to a shop that specializes in Japanese crêpes. For those in the Seattle area, there is a Japanese crêpe shop that lies in the heart of the ID (acronym for International District, also known as the un-PC term Chinatown) called Unicorn Crepes.
Thanks to MSG150 for the photo above
UC was originally operated by three young individuals (I have heard they have since added more staff), one of which was an apprentice at a popular crêpe shop in his hometown Kyoto, so you know you are getting the real deal. The shop even has plastic crêpes proudly displayed! Oh, and the crêpes are pretty good. UC is located only a block away from the Uwajimaya. The peeps over at MSG150 gave their impressions of the place, which I agree with.
Here is a video for those who are interested in the construction of a Japanese-style crêpe.
[yframe url='http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ5BU225P3A']
For those who want to drool over pictures of Japanese crêpes, here is the Flickr search results.
I’m hungry.