More Osaka goodies! A high quality rusk brand this time - Quolofune Osaka Rasq @ Namba Takashimaya food basement. Quolofune actually refers to the Black Ship event of 1853, which precipitated the Meiji Restoration. I've no idea why they picked such a name, because their website says they were established only in 2008. Well, even if it was because it was a symbol of terrifying strength... how is that related to castella??
Their staple signature product is their plain castella cake. Strangely, that's the only flavour they have. I guess they want to emphasise how traditional their products are. They also sell baumkuchen, another traditional Japanese cake. (I heard from a Japanese friend that they're used as wedding favours, and represent well wishes for a long life. Their many layers in the circular shape represent a tree trunk with many tree rings.)
Anyway, their rusks were done well! I would say, it ranks alongside Gateau Festa Harada in terms of quality, just that it's castella rusk instead of bread.
From left to right, it's matcha (green), plain (yellow) and brown sugar (brown) castella rusks. Together, the three of them make for a nice earthy colour palette! Like brown for wood, and green and yellow for leaves.
I also liked how they were cut as sticks, and in a rather irregular fashion, even though all the pieces were cuboidal. It has a very raw and natural look to it, unlike many Japanese products which come across as manicured.
The castella ingredients were also of high quality - no butter or oil. Just eggs, sugar, wheat flour, mizuame (starch sugar), and matcha or brown sugar for the flavoured ones.
Plain Castella Rusk
This was very crunchy, but in a delicate sort of way... almost crispy. It was also not too sweet, unlike typical castella cakes. The plain variety allows one to fully appreciate the eggy flavour of the castella, so this was great in its own right.
The other flavours were an extension of this in texture, just that the eggy taste was masked or blended with the respective flavours.
Matcha Castella Rusk
The matcha flavour permeated through the entire cake and was distinctive, strong enough to dominate over any eggy or flour taste. Yet, it was relatively delicate and not overpowering. As my preference is for subtle and delicate flavours, this really appeals to me!
It wasn't too sweet either, as many matcha products tend to be.
Brown Sugar Castella Rusk
Like the matcha flavour, the earthy brown sugar fragrance permeated the entire cake distinctly, but wasn't too sweet. I had a bit of trouble appreciating the full flavour after trying the matcha one, but it comes out really clearly after you have eaten the plain one.
All three flavours are definitely recommended!
Ruskology 204 - Matcha Bread Rusk
Their staple signature product is their plain castella cake. Strangely, that's the only flavour they have. I guess they want to emphasise how traditional their products are. They also sell baumkuchen, another traditional Japanese cake. (I heard from a Japanese friend that they're used as wedding favours, and represent well wishes for a long life. Their many layers in the circular shape represent a tree trunk with many tree rings.)
Anyway, their rusks were done well! I would say, it ranks alongside Gateau Festa Harada in terms of quality, just that it's castella rusk instead of bread.
I also liked how they were cut as sticks, and in a rather irregular fashion, even though all the pieces were cuboidal. It has a very raw and natural look to it, unlike many Japanese products which come across as manicured.
The castella ingredients were also of high quality - no butter or oil. Just eggs, sugar, wheat flour, mizuame (starch sugar), and matcha or brown sugar for the flavoured ones.
Plain Castella Rusk
The other flavours were an extension of this in texture, just that the eggy taste was masked or blended with the respective flavours.
Matcha Castella Rusk
It wasn't too sweet either, as many matcha products tend to be.
Brown Sugar Castella Rusk
All three flavours are definitely recommended!
Other related food
If you found this interesting, check out these other posts in the rusk series:
Comments
Post a Comment