Travel Bite - Totoro Cream Puffs in Tokyo

I saw a food magazine post a picture of Totoro cream puffs on their Facebook site, and I thought they were from a Hong Kong bakery, but I was wrong! They come from a small bakery called Shiro-Hige in a Tokyo suburb. So, I kept them in mind and a trip to Shiro-Hige was fixed into the trip itinerary! It's a must-do for any foodie x Totoro fan.

Totoro Cream Puffs from Shiro-Hige

They are seriously almost too cute to eat. I just wanted to stare at them. The ones with the green leaf are the custard and cream ones. The one with the white hat and blue ribbon are chocolate cream. These are available all year round. The one with the pink sakura flower is strawberry cream, which is available from January to May. They have a peach cream one from June to September, and a chestnut and chestnut cream one from October to December. They also sell some cookies.

Custard and Cream, Chocolate Cream and Strawberry Cream

Custard and Cream, Chocolate Cream and Strawberry Cream

All of these puffs are filled to the brim with cream! They were all good, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be the original custard and cream, being simply vanilla. The chocolate was really good too, not over-powering the cream, and you could feel the cocoa powder on your palate. The strawberry one tasted like fresh cream mixed with a strawberry jam. Not sure if the jam was home made though. I would probably prefer it if the cream was mixed with fresh strawberry puree, but that would mean that the cream would be less stable and could separate. The puffs must be consumed the day you buy them for maximum freshness.

For sure, I'll be making a trip out to Shiro-Hige just for their puffs the next time I'm in Tokyo. Call ahead and reserve them, because they sell out quick! 

Shiro-Hige storefront

Shiro-Hige
3-21-21 Takaidohigashi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03 3334 4689
www.shiro-hige.com