Must-try in Kanazawa: The world’s second-best freshly baked ice cream melonpan coming soon!

▲ A melonpan bigger than your palm, thick and crispy, exudes the warm aroma of freshly baked bread that makes your mouth water. (Photo / CNA reporter Tsai Wen-jun)

Reported by Huang Shih-yuan, Taipei

Known as “Little Kyoto of Hokuriku,” Kanazawa boasts not only historical sites such as Kenroku-en Garden but also a bakery called “The World’s Second-Best Freshly Baked Ice Cream Melonpan,” which is a must-try local delicacy. Now, it’s available in Taiwan too. Korean BBQ operator Hutong will bring it to Taiwan, with the first Taipei branch set to open in July.

The “World’s Second-Best Freshly Baked Ice Cream Melonpan” store in Kanazawa is always crowded with people lining up. The shop insists on baking each order fresh, so customers have to wait around 10 to 15 minutes after ordering—but they’re guaranteed a warm, freshly baked bread. The shop’s signature ice cream melonpan is said to have sold over 7,000 units in a single day at its peak.


▲ The “World’s Second-Best Freshly Baked Ice Cream Melonpan” at Kanazawa’s Kōrinbō (Photo / CNA reporter Tsai Wen-jun)

While on a journey to find new ingredients and learn culinary skills in March 2016, the team at Hutong Korean BBQ were deeply impressed by the “World’s Second-Best Freshly Baked Ice Cream Melonpan.” To let their friends in Taiwan enjoy this delicious treat, they traveled back and forth to Japan multiple times until they finally got the owner’s approval. Now, the “World’s Second-Best Freshly Baked Ice Cream Melonpan” is coming to Taiwan, with the first branch in Taipei set to open in July at NEO19 on the first floor.

Address: 1F, 22 Songshou Rd., Xinyi District (NEO19)