Today let’s talk about a chain we discovered a few weeks ago:
どれでも100円パン
Which means “Anything for 100円”.
Let’s see what they have to offer us.
You might think that a 100円/1$/1£/1€ edible article is quite expensive, and you would be right. But it’s without considering that Japan is NOT a pastry country. They hardly can raise cattle and crops (go figure…), so foreign food? Good luck to find some good French baguettes (real ones) or flan (no, not pudding, search “flan pâtissier“), and at a reasonable price (I saw crazily expensive croissants being sold 150円 and more in a “French” bakery [but wait, why didn’t I see even ONE French person in that shop?]).
If you could see their “ovens”, you’d probably be crying (or laughing, whichever suits you best). So baking? Hum…
Despite the name of the shop, articles are not sold 100円 but 105円. Why is that? Because in many places they show prices without including tax. It could sound fun and/or convenient, but it’s not! Tax in Japan is for now 5% which explains why it becomes 105 (yes, it’s low compared to some European countries, but it’s about to end). Sometimes prices are clearly shown without tax, and smaller with tax, which can be confusing when one is not used to it.
Moreover, what’s the point? Do regular customers care about how much a good is priced excluding V.A.T.?
Anyway, from April 1st 2014 the tax hike from 5 to 8% (and supposedly to 10% next year, great…). This shop will eventually become a 110円 bakery. Way less attractive…
You can find this type of shops in malls (Aeon for instance) among others (Café, Florist, Pharmacy/Drugstore, Food court, etc.), which is convenient as you can get a meal/snack for pretty cheap. Although I called that a “bakery”, they also sell salty stuff such as hot dogs-like.
Names are “japanesed”. Examples: “choco chippu melon” (chippu=chip), “ichigo o le” (“o le” = au lait = milky/with milk [like “café au lait”]), “ebi mayo pizza”, casutaado denisshu” (probably some choux with custard), “berugii waffuru” (belgian waffle – yes I know…), “banira hoippu” (vanilla whip), etc.
You’ll have understood it by looking at the photos: there is quite a large choice.
They even sell my beloved kare pan, and they are NOT sweet, which is a prowess as most of time they tend to fuck*ng add sugar or whatever crappy thing inside, which is nonsense and heresy!!
You can clearly notice that there is plenty of food. That’s because it was quite “early”. If you go there at the end of the day, well, you won’t have to bother about what to get: there won’t be much left!
Which is why saying that 105円 is very reasonable: its popularity, although some of the articles are really NOT worth being bought (especially when, like me, you know what a real bakery is).
Examples of what we ate there:
