meron pan

i really miss meron pan (”melon bread”). meron pan is a sweet pastry: cookie dough (like a sugar cookie) on top of bread dough. i used to buy meron pan at Family Mart (convenience stores) in japan. at one point, i was so addicted to them i was eating one for lunch almost every day. now i’m living in canada, where no one’s even heard of meron pan.

sushi is the best-known japanese food in canada, but i hardly ever ate it in japan. i like sushi but it was mostly for special occasions. once in a while my dad would bring some home after “settai” (business dinner) as an omiyage, but otherwise…

what i miss most is everyday japanese foods like meron pan. even T&T (the asian grocery store in vancouver, calgary, etc) doesn’t carry it. Nakamura Bakery in J-town (toronto) makes it, but i’m in saskatoon, so what can i do…

of course, i decided to make it myself. “don’t have it? you make it!” — that’s my motto. my first attempt (above) went relatively well. as is often the case, it was whole a lot tastier on the second day. the meron pan recipe called for a dash of melon essence, but i couldn’t find any so i had to substitute lemon essence. so i guess i ended up making lemon pan. hahaha!