Japan Today
Image: SoraNews24
food

Tiny chocolate croissants cause big stir at popular bakery cafe in Japan

3 Comments
By Oona McGee, SoraNews24

When it comes to cafes in Japan, there are a lot of options to choose from, but for many locals you just can’t beat Saint Marc Cafe. This home-grown chain, which opened its first cafe in Tokyo in 1999, prides itself on being a “bakery cafe," with as much attention given to its lineup of baked goods as well as its drinks.

This year, the cafe chain is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a series of limited-edition menu items that have fans swooning. The first new release is the “Ultimate ChocoCro," which is an even more decadent version of the chain’s most popular menu item, the ChocoCro, which is the chain’s take on a chocolate croissant.

▼ The new pastry (pictured below) contains twice the amount of chocolate and 10 times the amount of butter as a regular ChocoCro.

Screenshot-2024-09-12-at-15.31.50.png
Image: Press release

Joining the Ultimate ChocoCro for a limited time is the ChocoCro Parfait, and while they both look impressive, what’s causing even more of a buzz is the Drinkable ChocoCro Chocolate Smoothie.

Screenshot-2024-09-12-at-15.31.59.png

The poster for the new drink shows something so unlikely that many may be fooled into thinking this is some sort of photo-edited wizardry, but this drink does actually contain what you might think is impossible — a teeny tiny croissant.

Screenshot-2024-09-12-at-15.32.07.png

Priced at 690 yen for the version with soft serve ice cream, or 640 yen for the version without, the miniature croissant makes this drink look larger than usual.

Screenshot-2024-09-12-at-15.32.15.png

To truly appreciate just how small it is, we lined it up against a regular ChocoCro, where it measured in at just four centimeters across, which is roughly a third of the usual 11 centimeters.

Screenshot-2024-09-12-at-15.32.24.png

And if you thought the tiny croissant was impressive at first glance, it gets even better when you look inside, because this is no ordinary croissant — it’s a miniature ChocoCro, complete with a rich chocolate filling.

Screenshot-2024-09-12-at-15.32.34.png

The cross section is identical to a ChocoCro, except, of course, in a much more miniature form. Each one is hand-kneaded individually, showcasing the skills of the bakers that make this chain and its baked goods so reputable in Japan, and it’s an absolute delight to eat, crunching deliciously in the mouth, with the perfect amount of chocolate inside.

It’s such a beautiful and tasty treat we would buy packs of them if we could, and it’s actually a great introduction to the drink, which contains a blend of milk and ChocoCro chocolate.

Screenshot-2024-09-12-at-15.32.42.png

Despite being a rich and decadent chocolate beverage, it’s actually deliciously easy to drink. It’ll take a lot of restraint on our part to not overindulge in them, but the drinks are so good we’ll definitely be returning for another taste while they’re on the menu until September 26. As for the parfait, we have a bit more time to try it, as it’ll be on the menu until October 31.

Related: Saint Marc Cafe locations

Photos ©SoraNews24

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Japan now has Kit Kat croissants, in chocolate and matcha green tea flavors

-- Japanese convenience store’s cheap knockoff croissant — is it any good?

-- Look out, Starbucks — McDonald’s Japan has now entered the dessert drink game

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

3 Comments
Login to comment

Credit where credit is due the Ultimate ChocoCro is exceedingly good!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Well, this is too good to pass up. Croissants are great whatever the flavor, but chocolate with soft-serve. . .my kind of drink.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I guess this is aimed at the female customers.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites