Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey explorers. Welcome to episode 326 of the TDR now podcast. We're the first English speaking podcast about the Asian theme parks like Tokyo Disneyland Tokyo Disney Sea Hong Kong Disneyland Shanghai Disneyland Universal Studios Beijing, Universal Studio Singapore. Yeah, we talk about it all and you can find us over on our website@tdr explorer.com and also on social media, all under the same name. I'm one of your hosts, Chris. I'm the one that see you see on camera all the time on YouTube usually stuffing my face and if you watch my recent video, saw me stuffing my face while in a wheelchair.
But we're going to talk about that in the next episode actually.
And joining as always is the wonderful Patricia.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Hey guys.
I take photos and I work with the city for tourism and I'm part of a team on Instagram called Discover Urayasu. So please check that out if you're interested in things happening in the city. And you can find me on social media under Dream Sweets Love, on Instagram and on threads and under Blue sky at inktastrophe. But yeah, I, this, this time I am the one eating lots and lots of Christmas cake.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: Yes. Well, Christmas cake is a huge thing here in Japan.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: It's massive. Yeah. And like what cake you get can be pretty serious business. Like people pre order pretty well in advance and it can be pretty competitive getting the cake you want.
[00:01:44] Speaker A: Yeah. Was it like end of October is when or near the end of October you start seeing the advertisements start popping up?
[00:01:52] Speaker B: Absolutely, yeah.
[00:01:54] Speaker A: Yeah. I've only ever done, I think I've only ever done like the 711 one.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: We've done a lot. We've done back when. I don't think they do it anymore. Back when the ambassador used to have the Christmas cake at the resort. We used to buy, we bought that one, I think one year and we've done like Cacao sampaca, the Spanish chocolatier cake one year. Joelle Robuchon.
So we've done a few, we haven't done any of like the, the really wild Shibuya ones. I feel like those sell out so quickly. But they're so interesting.
But there's so, so many kinds and a lot of them are limited. There's a very limited number.
[00:02:39] Speaker A: So yeah, it's, yeah, it's as you said, it's very competitive.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: It really is. But I kind of actually want to do the convenience store one this year because they have Mofasan.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: Oh yeah, yeah, they do.
[00:02:56] Speaker B: Which, which one do you like when you, so you, you do you said 7 11, right?
[00:03:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:02] Speaker B: What. Which. What kind do you shop?
[00:03:04] Speaker A: I usually just go for the strawberry shortcake Classic. Yeah.
[00:03:09] Speaker B: Yeah. Can't go wrong with that.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: No, I. I enjoy strawberry shortcake, and I think Japan does a very good job with it.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, like. So it's kind of interesting because I know, like, people are like, strawberry shortcake, that's, like a casual summer cake. And. And. Yes, but the strawberry shortcake here is very, like, elevated, and it's. It's quite fancy and super light and airy. And the cream is, like, really fine cream. And the strawberries are, like, perfect strawberries. And, like, it can get pretty fancy.
[00:03:45] Speaker A: That's true.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: And pretty expensive.
[00:03:48] Speaker A: It does, doesn't it? Oh, my goodness.
Yeah. So, yeah, like, today we're gonna be. Well, it's mostly gonna be you because you. You did all the research on this. I'm just along for the ride.
We're gonna be talking about where to get all the Christmas cakes or. Well, not all of them. Oh, my goodness. We'd be here forever. We're to get some Christmas cakes.
If you're here. Here in Japan. I'm looking through the list, and there's. There's a lot.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: Yeah. So the list here is, like, what we did at, like, the hill. We went to, like, the Christmas cake unveiling.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: Oh, at the Hilton.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: At the Hilton. Tokyo Bay.
So. And it's actually a pretty good.
It's a pretty good, like, idea of what you'll find in general, like, the kind of trends that you'll see, so we can kind of, like, walk through it. But some of them were just really, really gorge, and some of them were kind of like a clever take on, like, a classic holiday cake. So I guess we should start with. Because we were talking about shortcake, one of my favorites. I was, like, trying to convince my family to buy it, but they're like, oh, it's very expensive.
It was this. It's like a jewelry box.
And the jewelry box is made. It's all edible out of, like, white chocolate. And it had, like, this golden arabesque pearl powder and all these, like, decorations on the box that are handmade. And, like, a little key, and it was really, really beautiful. And you can lift the lid, and under the lid was your shortcake. But it's not just any shortcake. It had, like, 35 strawberries, like, perfect strawberries. And the cream was from Kyushu. And, like, it's funny because, like, when there was, like, the question and answer session, they're like, why did you choose the cream from there. And he's like, oh, that's where I'm from. So I wanted to use the cream which was really cute. It's like a nice like personal touch. And then on top of the strawberries and like cream there's like all this like gold leaf foil which was really festive and kind of lovely and it was like super, super airy and the cream was really, really delicious. So I guess Kyushu cream is very, very good.
But like you said like shortcake is like the go to and this is like a fancy way of doing it.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: I'm looking up a picture of it. Oh my God, the jewelry box. That. Wow. That is, that is impressive.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: It is.
[00:06:36] Speaker A: Oh my goodness. How do you buy it?
[00:06:38] Speaker B: You can. So okay, hold on. If you go to Discover Urayasu. Oh, is it actually on there? It actually has English instructions on what you can do. And like one of the things we discussed with them was would it be possible if you're staying at the hotel to order like pre order the Christmas cake so that you would have it available for your stay. And they said it is possible to like to order it and then send an email of like the date of stay and you could have it brought to your room.
So if you go to Discover Urayasu, there's like a post with like there's a. Actually the box is the one on the front and it has all the, the cake descriptions, the prices, the dates that it's available for pickup, the pre order time and everything.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: That's really cool.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So this one was a little pricey.
This one was the jewelry box cake is. I just.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: Look, Angie's looking up the price. Oh, okay.
[00:07:50] Speaker B: Hasen n.
Yeah, 18,000 yen.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Yeah, 18,000. How much? I don't know. What? I don't know the currency anymore because.
[00:08:00] Speaker B: Things I don't know anymore either.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: It's about 120 US dollars.
[00:08:05] Speaker B: Oh my God. The currency. The exchange rate is still really bad for us.
[00:08:08] Speaker A: That's bad. Oh my goodness.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: Good for people visiting. So yeah, for us it would be closer to like the equivalent of like. Oh like almost about 180.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: Yeah, about 180.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Yeah. That's a great discount. So if you're visiting and you want to try Christmas cake and you're staying at the Hilton, go check it out because you'll get a really good deal.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: It says they're only making 20. I don't know what that means.
[00:08:33] Speaker B: That that's how many they're making. That's the number total yeah, when it's gone. When it's sold out, it's sold out.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: Oh, it looks like it's sold out.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: No, it's beautiful. I. I do not. Yeah, good choice. Because that would have been. That would have been my choice out of all of these. And all of them were really good, but that one was the one I was in love with.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: There's a bunch of other ones too that are cheaper, that look like.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely.
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Still available. That's cool though.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: The. I really also liked, like, if you have, like, kids or if you're like a chocolate lover. I know you don't like chocolate, but it was really, really cute. So, you know, like the bush rush. Noel, right? Yeah, it's. It's a yolag, Right. And it's on its side. But their version that they did, it's kind of like, I guess, like standing up and it's a tree stump.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, my. I'm looking at it right now. It's so.
[00:09:26] Speaker B: Are you looking at it? It has like a little door, like if little fairies or elves live inside of it. And like, again, the. Like, when you buy a Japanese cake, the fruit is perfection. Like these gorgeous strawberries and, like, lovely berries. And it's got, like, Santa and a little elf. And in between the rolled layers are tons and tons of chocolate chips.
Oh, looking at it, that's so, so delightful.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:00] Speaker B: So, like, if you're a chocolate lover or I think especially for kids, the idea of finding all these chocolate chips in your cake, it works. It's not. It doesn't feel overdone. Like, they're really good at the flavor balance because, like, the chefs at Hilton are really top notch. And it's not too sweet, which is nice, but it's not like, it's not like something that, like, kids wouldn't like, like bitter chocolate. It's like a perfect chocolate balance, which is nice.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: Oh, interesting.
That is so cool.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: I really love their take on it because it's like a really, like a classic holiday cake, right?
[00:10:36] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:10:38] Speaker B: And then it is. It is. And that one is much more, like, affordable. I think that one is like 6,500 yen. Yeah.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: Or 6,200. Yeah, 600. 200.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: I'm sorry, 6,200.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:10:55] Speaker B: Even better, you know?
Yeah.
And if you're a little fancier or you want like, a little bit more of like an interesting flavor combination, they had this rouge chocolat mousse cake. And on top of the cake there was like a caramelized, like, piece that's like, giving, like, the image of a wreath. And then the cake itself is this really beautiful, like, vibrant red.
And inside there's chocolate mousse and there's like a berry gele with, like. I think there's, like, different berries. There's like raspberry, wild strawberry, forest strawberry, and I forgot what else? But it was like a berry jalet and had nuts. So it had a little bit of crisp and it felt like more like of a modern Christmas cake, you know, which is really cool.
[00:12:05] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. It's so hard, like, tasting each one. I'm like, oh, this one's good. Oh, but this one's also really good.
So it, like, really depends on, like, what you enjoy, you know?
[00:12:21] Speaker A: Right.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: And of course, you had your classic strawberry shortcake. You can't go wrong with it. It's light, it's fluffy.
But again, you can find a classic shortcake anywhere. So I. My family, when we have the family party, we usually have the classic red and white strawberry shortcake because they really. They love it, you know.
But for our. Ourselves, I. I like to kind of, like, go outside the box and, like, try different kinds, you know?
And then this, they had this gatonoir, which was, like, all. All the nuts. Okay. So this one was like, my son would, like, die for. It's. It's all like hazelnut sponge cake with a dark chocolate ganache with candied nuts and layers of cream and praline crunch. And it was nutty and delicious and felt, like, very kind of elegant and, like, adult, like, the design of it. So a little bit of an elegant design, which is nice. But, yeah, if you're a hazelnut lover, this is amazing.
[00:13:39] Speaker A: Oh, I love hazelnut.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: I do, too. I'm, like, obsessed.
It's so good.
And then there's one that I. I told them, like, oh, you should get in contact with. I wonder if they did with the rugby players, like, the drocks, because they always have a pretty big Christmas party and they. I think it's the first time that they do this. They had a cake that you could have it delivered, and they deliver it to three parts of Japan.
They deliver it to three cities. Urayasu and.
Gosh, where was the other one?
Urayasu. And you can find it on the website, but they would deliver it or you could pick up if you wanted to. And that one was pretty massive. So you could feed, I think they said, up to, like, from 20 to 40 people, depending on how you, you know, like, I guess, like, cut the cake and it had two layers. And it was kind of interesting because one layer, the top layer was apricot and walnut brownie.
Or that. Sorry, that's the first tier. And then the second tier was the classic strawberry shortcake.
But it was massive. And every little detail was so, so adorable. Like, you have Santa decorating the cake with cream and, like, placing strawberries and, like, sticking out of a chimney and like a little gingerbread house. And it's ridiculous. But it was also very, very expensive. I think it was. How much was it? Wait, let me go to the thing.
[00:15:35] Speaker A: It was 60,000.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness.
If you're having a big party, you know, you could do that one. Did that one sell out? I'm kind of curious.
[00:15:50] Speaker A: No, it. No, it's. No, it's still available. It's about US$400.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, more for us. Yeah, yeah. If you live here, it would. It would be. If you're not a tourist. Yeah, it would cost a lot more. So. Yeah, good deal if you're visiting. But you would have to be a really big group, so probably not for. For tourists.
Yeah. But it kind of gives you a good idea of, like, the types of cake that you can get for the holidays.
And it's not just Christmas cakes, although most people do do Christmas cakes. Some people do. Stolen is really popular. In fact, you know, if you go to Joelle Robuchon, you can get stolen all year round. And I think that kind of started during the pandemic. You started to see a few, like, bakeries doing that, and they would have, like a summer stolen, and maybe it would have like, like, like lemon or pineapple or something, and you would have, like, stolen. And the autumn stolen, which is like chestnuts. And of course the winter, which is when you usually eat it. Right.
And then like, I feel like last year the panettone was, like, really big. It was kind of like the trend. And you can, of course, always find it everywhere.
So there's other treats as well, you know, like, what do. What is your favorite? Like, when you're back home with your family? What is your, like, holiday sweets selection?
[00:17:22] Speaker A: Like, a lot of, like, shortbread type cookies.
[00:17:28] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:17:29] Speaker A: Rocky roads. Like the chocolate with the marshmallows in it. That's big.
Also, like, my family is really big on.
What do we call it? We call them nuts and bolts. I don't know what they're called elsewhere.
[00:17:44] Speaker B: Yeah. What is it?
[00:17:46] Speaker A: It's like a mixture of things like pretzels and I guess in Canada, cheesies.
We call Them and like Chex Mex. Like, you know, the cereal.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:17:59] Speaker A: And different nuts, like peanuts, almonds, cashews. And it's all like roasted with seasoning and stuff. And it's. That's quite popular. Like that's what we. I mean, at least that's what my family does.
[00:18:14] Speaker B: It's like a perfect party food.
[00:18:16] Speaker A: Oh yeah. 100 and I can't wait to have some when I go home.
[00:18:20] Speaker B: That's right, yeah. Because you're going home, right?
[00:18:22] Speaker A: Yes, I am. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:18:24] Speaker B: I'm so wonderful.
[00:18:27] Speaker A: But yeah, like cakes though, like, cakes have never really been a thing.
[00:18:32] Speaker B: I feel like it's a very Japan thing.
[00:18:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, I just like for holidays I don't think of cake at all. It's not just. It's not something I think of.
[00:18:40] Speaker B: We would do. They had like a Cuban like rum cake that we would do sometimes at a local bakery that was really good.
But yeah, I feel like in North America it's more. And it depends where you live because like in my hometown, because we had a lot of Latin Americans, for example, like the Brazilians eat a lot of panettone. Right, right. And like we eat like turones and things like that. So like it's. It's like various Christmas sweets. And also the American like style of like cookies or pies or things like that. Right, yeah. So it was kind of like a mix. And I imagine it's different depending on what region you live in. But yeah, and so I feel like if you're a tourist and you're here for the winter season, it doesn't even have to be like a cake that you pre order, like if you're walking around. And I know it can be a little daunting, like going to the basement of the various department stores and seeing these massive lines for cake, but they move pretty quickly. And if you're in the city and you want to try a Christmas cake, I really recommend that you go to the basement of these department stores. If it's just like you by yourself or you have a small party like a, like of two or three or something, they have smaller cakes as well, you know, so it doesn't have to be like a full size Christmas cake or even like you said, if you don't want to do a department store. Although I really recommend them because they're really quite lovely. But if you, you know, you're like, oh, I'm not gonna wait in line.
But if you want to try, you know, like, like you said, the convenience store, it's also a Christmas cake and it's kind of fun and they, they sometimes have character collaborations and things like that. And it's, it's definitely, they have individual like slice slices that you can buy as well.
So yeah, I, I really recommend that if you're here for the holidays, you know, before, before, you know, up leading up until the 25th.
Yeah. Check it out. Because it's, it's quite fun.
[00:21:03] Speaker A: Oh yeah, 100%, I think.
Yeah, I, I would typically get like if I'm by myself for the holidays, like, I, I wouldn't get a full cake. I'll just get a slice.
[00:21:18] Speaker B: No, of course not.
[00:21:20] Speaker A: I don't need a full one.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: That full cake would last forever, you know.
[00:21:24] Speaker A: Oh yeah, totally.
[00:21:26] Speaker B: Like, even for us that there's the three of us, like, we tend to get like a smaller cake. I think last year we did stolen. I think we, we got it from maybe Laure. There was like an ispahan stolen. And you know, even with the three of us, when we get like a smaller size cake, it's, it's a lot, you know, and luckily there's a teenager that can eat a big amount of it. But yeah, it's, it can, yeah, there's, there's smaller size, there's individual portions, there's individual slices and you don't have to order an entire cake.
[00:22:06] Speaker A: Yeah, no, definitely don't have to do that.
I was just looking at the Hilton website.
[00:22:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:16] Speaker A: So you can't find the information in English. So yeah, definitely go to the Visit Ureyasu website.
[00:22:24] Speaker B: Discover Udayasu.
[00:22:25] Speaker A: Yeah, sorry. Discover Ureyasu. Yeah, I was just trying to see if I can navigate to it from the English website. And yeah, it's not there.
But interestingly enough you can, when you go to order it, you can auto translate it to English, which is interesting. So yeah, you can if you want to fumble around with it. Yeah, you can definitely, it's definitely doable.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: And they also have a bakery that's open and they have other treats like cookies, like gingerbread cookies and stolen. Actually, I think it's their first year making stolen and their stolen is kind of interesting. So if you're used to like the European stolen, the flavor is a bit lighter because the chef wanted to make it a little bit more for the Japanese palate. And I prefer traditional. But my husband actually liked the Hilton version. He does not like so many spices in his sweets. So it's a nice alternative if you have somebody in your family or if you yourself are not like a Big fan of so many holiday spices.
[00:23:38] Speaker A: Such as the holiday spices.
[00:23:40] Speaker B: I do, too. I live for it. I'm like, let's go. Spice me up.
[00:23:45] Speaker A: Give me flavor. I want fuddle flavor. Do not give me subtlety. Do not.
[00:23:52] Speaker B: No.
[00:23:52] Speaker A: Do not do that.
[00:23:54] Speaker B: Give me all the spice.
[00:23:56] Speaker A: Can I. Okay. Can I kind of talk about something that's somewhat related to that? It's not about the Christmas cakes, but it's about.
[00:24:02] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:03] Speaker A: Because I don't know if we'll have time to, like, talk about this in the. On the podcast, but I did.
I did some food at Tokyo Disney Sea today for Christmas.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh.
[00:24:16] Speaker A: I said that these. The same thing today. There were some of the desserts that we had. I'm like, there is, like, this. The flavor is too subtle. I don't really taste anything like this. Like, where is the. Where's the spices? Where's, like, where's the bold flavors? Like, to me, Christmas is bold flavors.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:36] Speaker A: Right. Like.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: Like, not necessarily spicy, but just, like, different spices and herbs and, you know, all these different. Pardon me. Different flavors and stuff. And, like, for some reason, this year at Disney scene, I. I haven't done anything at Disneyland yet. Disney sees food. A lot of the desserts were just very subdued in their flavors. And I was a little, like, annoyed if I could, if that's a good way to put it, because there was a. It was a condensed milk mousse with strawberry compote. Like strawberry jelly. I mean.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: Yeah. And you hear condensed milk, and that should be a pretty bold flavor. Right? It's quite sweet.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: Pretty. It was pretty close to flavorless. Like, it was so, like, it was very subtle and very light.
[00:25:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: And then the strawberry, like, jelly was also, like. When I think strawberry jelly. Jelly, I think of, like, strawberry jelly.
[00:25:33] Speaker B: You want, like, a bit of that. You want to taste the fruit. Yeah. You want the tartness.
[00:25:37] Speaker A: I want tartness.
[00:25:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:38] Speaker A: No, it was just. It was too. It was almost, like, close to, like, flavorless jello. Like, it just wasn't. There was, like, dessert. Like, I understand there's people that probably really enjoy that. Like, kind of going back to what.
[00:25:54] Speaker B: You were just saying. Like, yeah, it's a really strong flavor.
[00:25:58] Speaker A: And, like, this definitely doesn't.
[00:26:00] Speaker B: You should have the tartness. Like, I think more people. Some people here don't like the spices, but, yeah, you want that to come.
[00:26:10] Speaker A: Through at least, which is interesting because they kind of went on these two extremes this year at DisneySea. So there's the. Like, a lot of the desserts Were very subtle in their flavors. But then some of the, like, main dishes. They used a lot of chorizo this year.
[00:26:28] Speaker B: Oh, really?
[00:26:29] Speaker A: Yeah. So they had. Which was. Was really delicious, by the way. It was. Yeah, it was a gnocchi gratin with chorizo and mushroom and cheese, and it was delicious. It wasn't aesthetically pleasing.
They tried.
[00:26:48] Speaker B: Sometimes it doesn't need to be if the flavor is there, you know?
[00:26:52] Speaker A: No, they had, like, Mickey. Like, a Mickey was cut out. Like a potato or something was on.
[00:26:59] Speaker B: It in the shape of Mickey.
[00:27:00] Speaker A: So Cool. Close enough. But it was delicious.
[00:27:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:05] Speaker A: Chorizo, which. I don't. I don't really recall them using a lot of chorizo with Tokyo Disney in.
[00:27:11] Speaker B: I don't think. Yeah. In the past, they haven't. But chorizo is popular in Tokyo, at least.
[00:27:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:17] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:18] Speaker A: So it must be some sort of trend or something that I'm missing out on. Yeah.
[00:27:21] Speaker B: I'm not sure. It's like, a good drinking food, so.
[00:27:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, okay.
I wanna. Okay. I know. Like, I'm kind of derailing the whole Christmas cake.
[00:27:31] Speaker B: Yeah. No, no, no. It's okay.
[00:27:33] Speaker A: I was. For the first time today.
[00:27:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: I, Like. Okay. I wasn't mad. I'm being like that. That's me being dramatic. I was more just like, I got this dish, and I was just like, what are you doing? Like, I. That's what went through my mind. So I went to the Teddy Ro. Went to the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge, and, you know, they. Re. Hauled the menu. They.
[00:27:58] Speaker B: Yeah, they've done it sometimes not for.
[00:28:00] Speaker A: The better mind people.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: My son and his friends got angry. They're like, what is this? There's. I think they said there was, like, a hamburger and then something else. And they're like, this menu is not good. And they. They.
[00:28:12] Speaker A: They gutted the menu, which is so sad.
[00:28:15] Speaker B: It makes me really angry because it was a. It was like. It was like, very, like, kind of like.
[00:28:20] Speaker A: It was casual, but also elevated, you know, it was.
[00:28:23] Speaker B: It was. It was casual thing.
[00:28:25] Speaker A: So I wanted to try the Christmas sandwich set that they had. I'm like, okay, cool.
[00:28:31] Speaker B: Okay, I went.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: And it was 3,400 yen. So it wasn't cheap.
[00:28:35] Speaker B: It was pricey. Yeah.
[00:28:36] Speaker A: So we got it. And it came with a tomato soup, a seafood tomato soup, which was really lovely.
And it also came with this popover that had, like, pistachio cream and strawberry.
Strawberry sauce. And there was, like, a heavy cream inside of it, and it looked like a Christmas tree.
Those two things were perfect.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: They Were so good. Then there was two more things on. On this dish.
One was just a bunch of potato wedges. No seasoning, nothing. Just potato wedges and salt. I'm like, okay, okay. Then the main part of it. This is what made me very angry. It was so the filling of the sandwich had chorizo and chicken and something else, I think pork. And then it had, like, a. A really nice sauce on it. And then it also had, like, peppercorns, I think, and also had, like, red peppers. Like, it had a nice.
It was. It was good. Okay, however. Okay, however, the bloody thing was in a bloody hot dog bun.
[00:29:52] Speaker B: Oh, no.
[00:29:54] Speaker A: Made me so mad.
[00:29:55] Speaker B: I'm like, how dare.
[00:29:57] Speaker A: Like, you. I mean, this is the same. This is the same bun. This is the same hot dog bun that if I went down to. In front of the electric railway, you know, the hot dog stand.
[00:30:10] Speaker B: Huh?
[00:30:11] Speaker A: It's the same bloody bun.
[00:30:14] Speaker B: That's. That's just rude.
[00:30:15] Speaker A: And it, like, the bun was red, but still, no, like, a hot dog. Like.
[00:30:23] Speaker B: That much proper bread and season the potatoes, a little rosemary, you know, just a little seasoning.
[00:30:31] Speaker A: They could have put, like, paprika on it or something. Like, just something like paprika would have made it, like, colorful, right? Matches the. The rest of the plate. Like, the plate was very red. And so, like, when I saw it, it was in a hot dog bun.
I. This is the first time I was. I've been at Tokyo Disney and gotten like, like, looked at and just said, like, what are you doing? Like, I'm like, no, no. Like, yeah, give it to me. Like, on a. Like, I don't know, a brioche bun. Like, a toasted bun of some sort. Like, you know, maybe like, dusted with, like, butter on it or. I don't know.
[00:31:06] Speaker B: Not a hot dog bun. Not a hot dog bun. Any kind of bread, okay? Like, a proper bread.
[00:31:13] Speaker A: It doesn't match the aesthetic of the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge. It cheapens the experience. And I don't like that.
[00:31:20] Speaker B: Neither do I.
[00:31:21] Speaker A: Especially for the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge. Like, that place. Gorgeous.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: Gorgeous. Yeah, it's gorgeous.
[00:31:26] Speaker A: And it's done up for Christmas right now, which is my favorite time to go there. And, like, just getting that, I just felt like it was kind of a slap to the face, if I'm being honest. I was not impressed.
And you know me, I'm pretty forgiving with a lot of things. I'm pretty lenient.
But this. This was just a hard, like, what are you doing, guys?
[00:31:49] Speaker B: And, like, I guess you can. I guess for the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge. Like you said, the interior is beautiful.
Go for, I guess, a cocktail, you know, but for the food, it's been disappointing.
[00:32:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Some of the food, like. But then there's other stuff that I had, like, outside of that was wonderful. Like, there was a. There was pistachio and almond milk drink that they did.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: There you go. I'm telling you. Go for the drinks. Yeah.
[00:32:20] Speaker A: The drink was delicious.
Absolutely delicious. It was the best drink I had all day. It was so good.
[00:32:26] Speaker B: Their bar is really good.
[00:32:29] Speaker A: Oh, this was at the food. The food truck outside.
[00:32:33] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:32:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
So, like, that was like a home run.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:39] Speaker A: So it was just like. It's very strange that we have. Things are just.
Some things are wonderful, and some things are just not.
[00:32:50] Speaker B: You know what they do have at the Disney Resort right now, it's. I think it's at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. They have a little, like, personal Christmas cake, and it looks like little candles. It's like a cake set, and it's like a Christmas cake set.
[00:33:09] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Is that at the lounge?
[00:33:11] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:33:12] Speaker A: The Teddy. Or not the Teddy Restaurant.
[00:33:14] Speaker B: And it looks really cute, and it's a pretty good price, I would say.
[00:33:20] Speaker A: I'm just gonna look it up because I remember. I remember seeing it.
[00:33:23] Speaker B: It looked really adorable. It was like a little Mickey on the top.
[00:33:29] Speaker A: Why is the Tokyo Disney Resort website so slow?
[00:33:32] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Because it's the worst.
[00:33:36] Speaker A: Man. There's things about that I love about this resort, but then there's things that are just, like, frustrating, and the website is one of them, and I don't understand why they cannot figure this out.
[00:33:47] Speaker B: You think they would eventually. Right?
[00:33:50] Speaker A: Like, especially for, like, a web, like, a website. Yes, I understand websites get high traffic, but.
[00:33:56] Speaker B: But they know it gets high traffic.
[00:33:58] Speaker A: Like, you're not Google, you know, you don't have.
[00:34:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:02] Speaker A: Billions of people accessing you every day.
Just, like, make it freaking work. Anyway, I'm trying to find that.
[00:34:09] Speaker B: And the merch. Like, guys make enough merch for, like, at least a week. At least a week. And have it available on the opening day. You know, don't sell out before the event starts, please.
[00:34:21] Speaker A: I'm trying not to be negative. It's just. But it's also good to be honest. Right.
Set expectations. I did a. I did a merchandise video today because I had to delay because, well, surprise. I was hit by a car, so I couldn't do a lot for.
I'm fine, by the way.
The. So I did the merch video today for the. The Christmas stuff.
The. The. It just Started like, not even 10 days ago. And it's over. It's so picked over. And I was just like, wow. Like, I, like, usually I'm there within the first day or two, and so, you know, I get to see everything. I never kind of. I don't really go back again to check on stuff, mainly because there's no ap. So I'm not going to pay to go into a park to look at merchandise. You know, I'm not going to do that.
[00:35:12] Speaker B: But, Chris, did you hear the best part?
It's okay if it's sold out because you can order on the app and guess when you'll get it.
[00:35:22] Speaker A: Wasn't it June or something?
[00:35:23] Speaker B: It's in June. You'll get it in June. Perfect. Justin. No, not in time for Christmas. Maybe next year's Christmas, I guess. Why? Why would you do that? Why even make that an option? It's so terrible.
[00:35:39] Speaker A: The TR website just crashed, but I'm trying to look at the menu.
Man.
Man, I don't. Like I said I love. I love this resort, but the park.
[00:35:50] Speaker B: You know what I mean?
[00:35:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:53] Speaker B: Like, what good does it do me in summer? Disney.
[00:35:56] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. So a lot of the little ring ring stuff was all gone, of course. Like, I. I kind of thought. I'm like, oh, it'd be nice to kind of get like a little plushie. That's all I really wanted. And I'm like, oh, they're. It's gone. Like, there's just nothing.
[00:36:13] Speaker B: But you can get it on Mercari for like, whatever. Double, triple the price.
[00:36:17] Speaker A: Picked over. Yeah.
[00:36:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:21] Speaker A: I don't know.
Yeah. I don't think it's unique to Tokyo Disney in terms of, you know, the Disney parks. Some of them are getting pretty frustrating to visit, and Tokyo Disney's no different in some cases.
I can't find this cake. I don't know. I'm looking.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: It's cute. You guys look it up on your time.
[00:36:41] Speaker A: I see the afternoon tea set. The afternoon tea set's cute.
[00:36:45] Speaker B: Yeah. But they pared it down so much, though, over the years, and they've raised the price. I feel like if I'm paying that much, I'll go into the city at a nice hotel and have a really proper Christmas tea. Exactly. Hilton or Peninsula or La De. You know, somewhere really lovely.
[00:37:10] Speaker A: I can't find this. Oh, there's the. No. Oh, the little Mary Lingling.
[00:37:14] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:37:16] Speaker A: Oh, that's a hype. Oh, that's one of the Hyperion Lounge.
[00:37:18] Speaker B: Oh, the other lounge.
[00:37:22] Speaker A: Oh, and Then premium suite set. Okay, so Hyperion seems to be the one with all that stuff. Okay, yeah, that's at the Ambassador Hotel.
[00:37:31] Speaker B: I got the wrong hotel. I'm sorry, you guys.
[00:37:34] Speaker A: I had to suffer through the Tokyo Disney Resort website.
I went all the way to the.
[00:37:39] Speaker B: Tokyo Disneyland Hotel website. It wasn't there.
[00:37:42] Speaker A: Oh, the. The cake set. You have to.
You have to have a booking you have to make.
Yeah, it's only between noon and 7pm I'm okay, sorry to say. But good luck. Because every time I've. I've ever tried to, like, get these special cakes, I can never get a reservation. And I check a couple times and I just give up.
[00:38:03] Speaker B: We don't bother anymore. We used to go up casually and, like, go, hey, what's, like, the wait? And usually you could get in and you wouldn't have to book anything, you know, but, like, it's. It's just impossible now. And, like, if you go to the city, there's plenty of places to get, like, a lovely cake set as well.
[00:38:20] Speaker A: I just. I.
I don't know. What? I don't know. I just don't know. I wish it was just easier because. Yeah, it was easier to, like, kind of rock up and, you know, you can get these things, but now it's just. Everything's in advance and stuff just disappears so quickly.
It's. It's disappointing.
[00:38:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:38:38] Speaker A: But these cakes look cute, though.
[00:38:40] Speaker B: They are cute if you can get a booking. Enjoy.
[00:38:47] Speaker A: Yeah, there's one that looks like a traditional cake, but there's. Then it comes with a whole bunch of other little cakes.
Duck thigh. Okay. No, that's not cake.
Oh, that. Okay, I see these little appetizers. So there's duck thigh. Confit. Confet. I don't know how to say that. Smoke, salmon tartar and roulettes. Cauliflower mousse. That sounds nice. Dried fruit and nut terrine.
Then there's breads with vegetables secured. Ham, roast beef, egg and potato salad, shrimp and broccoli.
Dessert, Apple cl.
What are all these words that I don't know? Apple cl. Fotus claphus and cinnamon cream. Yule log.
I guess that's the cake. I'm guessing that must be the cake.
[00:39:37] Speaker B: Sounds like it sounds pretty good.
[00:39:40] Speaker A: Yeah, that'd be kind of fun to do.
Oh, oh, the Hyperion Lounge also had. There's like a.
They have, like, a traditional strawberry shortcake that you could just order if you go.
[00:39:54] Speaker B: Yeah, that's like their. They always have, right?
[00:39:56] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, there you go. Don't Stress yourself out about the Christmas cakes. Just go get this strawberry shortcake and just pretend.
[00:40:03] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:40:04] Speaker A: It's easier that way.
[00:40:05] Speaker B: It's still shortcake, so.
[00:40:07] Speaker A: Yeah, it's still shortcake. It's so. It's so special, right?
[00:40:10] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:40:10] Speaker A: There we go. We're here to find solutions.
That's what we're doing. I'm going down a rabbit hole right now.
[00:40:19] Speaker B: Oh, my God. The thing is, if you go down, like, a sweets and like, afternoon tea rabbit hole, like, it. It never ends, you know, like, not just around the resort, but like, in Tokyo. It's like so many. So many locations. It's like I don't know how to even choose.
[00:40:41] Speaker A: You know, it's overwhelming. I get overwhelmed.
[00:40:44] Speaker B: Yeah. And there's like, some really interesting stuff out there. And I was like, oh, that looks really good too. And, oh, that design is really unique. And, oh, that looks. I've never seen that before, you know, so it's like just walking around. I feel like just walking around the city, you can encounter so many lovely holiday treats.
[00:41:05] Speaker A: Or if you want, you could go to the Tokyo station and go to the Kirby Cafe Petite.
[00:41:12] Speaker B: And they have stock now. Like, now it's easier to get the cakes and stuff.
[00:41:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I need to go do that. I still haven't done it.
[00:41:20] Speaker B: And the Mofasan store is right next to it.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: It is.
[00:41:23] Speaker B: It's true. Yeah.
[00:41:24] Speaker A: It's down in Character Street. I've been meaning to do a video because I. I like. I love going there. I love going there.
[00:41:30] Speaker B: And it's so cute.
[00:41:31] Speaker A: Different food. Yeah. The Kirby Cafe has a lot of. I don't think there's any strawberry stuff. Oh, no, there's.
[00:41:36] Speaker B: There has to be because there's, like, so much pink stuff.
[00:41:38] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, pink Shotokiki.
[00:41:42] Speaker B: There you go.
[00:41:45] Speaker A: Samashita.
[00:41:47] Speaker B: Is that the Christmas cake or is that just like a normal.
[00:41:49] Speaker A: No, it's just a regular cake.
[00:41:50] Speaker B: I bet you they have, like, a Christmassy thing, though, like a holiday thing.
[00:41:55] Speaker A: This one, it's very red. Like, even the cake is red. The icing is white, but the cake inside is red.
[00:42:01] Speaker B: And this is like a small size, so you can eat it on your own without sharing if you don't want.
It's fairly affordable, too.
[00:42:11] Speaker A: There you go.
We have. We have good solutions.
[00:42:15] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what we're here for.
[00:42:19] Speaker A: Oh, now I want cake.
[00:42:21] Speaker B: Me too.
[00:42:23] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
I was just thinking, oh, I could go to 711 and get a strawberry shortcake. I really.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: They have it. I know they have it.
[00:42:32] Speaker A: They do. You know, I've been obsessed with lately.
[00:42:34] Speaker B: What.
[00:42:37] Speaker A: So the 711 near me, my place, finally got the smoothie machines.
[00:42:43] Speaker B: Oh, hey.
I always see those. They look really good. Have you tried?
[00:42:47] Speaker A: They're really. Oh, I've been getting one every day.
[00:42:50] Speaker B: Wait, what's your favorite flavor?
[00:42:51] Speaker A: The Shari Banana sounds good. The mango one is also pretty good. Yeah, they also have like a.
Not spinach. Spinach. Spinach. And something more like vegetable. Like a more full type of smoothie. So. Yeah, it's quite. They're. They're quite good. Like, it's all just frozen vegetables or fruits in a cup. And then the machine blends it and adds in. Like, depending on the type of smoothie, it'll add in like soy milk or just water or whatever.
It knows how to do it. It's. It's quite nice. But the. The smoothies aren't new. They've been. They started them like, I think two years ago.
[00:43:31] Speaker B: Yeah. And they changed the flavors out. Right?
[00:43:34] Speaker A: Yeah, I. I noticed. I think the one. The banana smoothie, I don't think has soy anymore. I think it used to be soy milk, but I think it's just milk now. I'm not sure.
[00:43:43] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:43:44] Speaker A: I'm not too particular on it, so I didn't. Maybe I should check.
Yeah, that's been like my obsession lately.
[00:43:52] Speaker B: Oh, for sure.
[00:43:53] Speaker A: It's getting. It's getting not.
I love it.
So good.
[00:43:58] Speaker B: I'm gonna try it.
[00:43:59] Speaker A: It's like 200 Samyang.
[00:44:01] Speaker B: That's so affordable. Because, like, if you go to the station, like. Okay. The smoothies at the station are so freaking good. But it's so expensive.
[00:44:10] Speaker A: Yeah, it's always those little kiosks, right?
[00:44:13] Speaker B: Like the one.
[00:44:14] Speaker A: One or two people working at it.
[00:44:16] Speaker B: Yeah, there's one inside. Like Shinurayasu, The. The Aeon.
[00:44:21] Speaker A: Is that the Honeys bar or something?
[00:44:23] Speaker B: No, the Honeys bar is basic. This place is so freaking major. It's so good. But it's super expensive.
[00:44:32] Speaker A: Oh, no.
[00:44:33] Speaker B: So it's like I. Once in a while, like, treat. Treat us with the mango one there is so good. Like, it's like mango and other like, tropical fruits. And it looks so freaking good. But it's like, what is it? It's like.
I want to say it's close to 800 yen or something.
[00:44:48] Speaker A: Oh, wow. That is a lot.
[00:44:50] Speaker B: Yeah, the 711 is a good option. And then they have one inside the station that they just opened. And it's kind of like a little kiosk inside Atre. But it's like, it's like you said, it's the fruit in the cup and then they add the stuff. So I'm like, if you're doing that, especially seeing the fruit in the cup in the fridge, I'm like, I could do that at home.
[00:45:12] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, I want to see you chop.
[00:45:13] Speaker B: It up and it's cheaper.
[00:45:15] Speaker A: You know, I want to watch you take the fruit and chop it up.
[00:45:19] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:45:20] Speaker A: If I'm paying this.
[00:45:20] Speaker B: Or at least, at least put it into the cup from somewhere.
[00:45:26] Speaker A: Or something.
[00:45:27] Speaker B: You know, scoop it, do something.
[00:45:29] Speaker A: I don't know. I don't know, man. I don't know.
[00:45:30] Speaker B: I don't want it pre prep like that.
There's no, there's no work involved.
[00:45:41] Speaker A: Well, yeah. Explorers. If you, if you decide to have a cake, please tell us. Please let us know. Love to hear it. Love. If. If there's one of you, one of the what, 60 people that bought the cake, the jewelry box cake, if one of you is listening, I'm so jealous of you.
[00:45:58] Speaker B: You did?
[00:46:00] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I would, I would kind of. I think I would buy it because it's just so elegant looking.
[00:46:07] Speaker B: It's so beautiful. I think that one year we splurged, we splurged on like a Joelle Robichon cake. And that one was pricey. It was really good. But they get so expensive, you know.
[00:46:21] Speaker A: I kind of don't care.
[00:46:22] Speaker B: I know, because it's like a special night. So it's like, okay, let's do it.
[00:46:26] Speaker A: You know, it just looks so. Like the box is. Wait. Oh, the box is edible.
[00:46:31] Speaker B: It's. It's all edible.
[00:46:33] Speaker A: Yeah. I was thinking the box wasn't.
[00:46:36] Speaker B: You can lift the lid.
[00:46:37] Speaker A: Oh, I guess if I would have read the bloody picture. Yeah, yeah. White chocolate is the. The box is white chocolate.
[00:46:44] Speaker B: And it was, it's. It's good white chocolate. I'm not typically a white chocolate person, but I was okay with this.
[00:46:51] Speaker A: Dang, that looks good.
[00:46:53] Speaker B: It's really beautiful. I just want to look at it. I just want to, like, you know, like, I wanna. I wanna have a party and unveil it. Like cha cha.
[00:47:03] Speaker A: I was one of the. Oh, no, it was only 20. They only made 20 of these.
[00:47:06] Speaker B: Yeah. But I can see why it sold out. That was my favorite out of all of them.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, these would not be quick to make either. Like, they're quite intricate. Like, this would take some time. So I understand why they only sold 20.
[00:47:19] Speaker B: And it's really delicious.
[00:47:21] Speaker A: The Japanese said, like, it's funny, the Japanese literally says sold out because it's too popular. Effectively sold out due to popularity.
[00:47:34] Speaker B: Wow. But if they make it again, I might.
[00:47:38] Speaker A: You know, I might actually just order a cake when I get back.
[00:47:41] Speaker B: You should do it. Oh, my gosh. Okay. Oh, my gosh. Let's go down the rabbit hole. Let me know what you choose, because there's so many, like, every. And every city inside Tokyo has, like, so many choices, you know?
[00:47:54] Speaker A: I love it.
[00:47:56] Speaker B: Yeah. I bet you could find. Because you love cheesecake. I bet you could find a really, really delightful cheesecake.
[00:48:03] Speaker A: Oh, yum.
[00:48:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:08] Speaker A: All right, explorers, thank you so much for listening. And before we go, though, we got to thank some wonderful explorers that are supporting us over on Patreon. So if you want to support the show, head over to patreon.com TDR now. A huge thank you to Acro Disney girl, Adam, Amanda C, Amy B. Amy C. Mama. Explorer, Benjamin, Brent, Carrie, Crispy, Claire, Claudia, Dave, David, Baker, Kevin, Harry, Marina, Beth, Eli, Abby, Robinson, and Taylor and Jamie.
[00:48:35] Speaker B: Jose, Kathy, Lee, Marie, Michelle, Murray, Sophie, Spoopy, Thomas, K, Alexandra, Lizzie, Amy, and Andy, Dana, Cassandra, Annie, Sonia, W.W. paige, and Tara.
[00:48:46] Speaker A: And if you haven't already, make sure you hit that subscribe or follow button so you don't miss out on any of our newest episodes. So thank you so much, explorers. I'm one of your hosts, Chris. I'm the one that's getting hit by cars.
We're gonna talk about that in the next episode. The story time, I suppose.
But don't worry. I'm fine. I'm.
[00:49:07] Speaker B: He's okay.
[00:49:08] Speaker A: I'm. I'm okay. I'm. I'm. I'm out and about. I'm gonna be giving me some cake.
And joining, as always, is the wonderful Patricia.
[00:49:17] Speaker B: I'm. I'm eating all the cake.
This is very bad. It's very dangerous. But also delicious.
You guys let us know, like, wherever you are in the world, what you enjoy eating in the winter season. Do you prefer stolen? Do you prefer cake? Panettone? Do you like turones? Do you like. Let us know what you're eating and let us know what you would try when, if you visit Japan.
[00:49:47] Speaker A: All right, explorers, we'll see you in the next one.
[00:49:49] Speaker B: Bye.
