An avalanching tower of whipped cream?! The third installment in the pancake saga!
Today I present to you the third installment of the pancake saga! Let me introduce you to “Eggs’n Things” all the way from Hawaii♪
Eggs’n Things is said to be responsible for starting the current pancake fad in Japan, but it actually opened its first store here in the spring of 2010. That’s over 4 years ago. At that time, the founder of Tully’s Coffee Japan opened the store with the idea of spreading American-style breakfast to Japan. When the first store opened in Harajuku, news spread all the way to Kansai that the line was over 100 meters long.
The same Eggs’n Things has finally made its way to Kyoto!
Egg’n Things is, of course, famous for its pancakes, but it’s also built around the concept of the American breakfast as I mentioned before. It’s “All day Breakfast,” meaning they serve filling breakfast dishes morning, noon, and night--whenever you want.
So with that in mind, I decided try out their menu items.
★Order #1: Eggs Benedict
This is an irreplaceable American brunch item. When I first saw this dish, I was amazed at how such a snazzy creation could be made from such ordinary ingredients. A wonderful aroma on par with my expectations greeted me as the dish was placed before me. The egg yolk peeped up at me when I dug in with my knife, and I couldn’t help but smile when biting into the eggs along with the buttery smell of toasted English muffin. The seemingly heavy hollandaise sauce was actually tart from the lemon and did not leave an aftertaste. I felt as if I could never get tired of the stuff. By the way, the name “Benedict” actually comes from a person’s name—just like the sandwich!
★Order #2: Ahi Steak & Scrambled Eggs (Meat & Eggs)
In the Meat & Eggs menu series, you can chose your meat and eggs to your liking. For meat, besides ham and bacon, they also have American style items such as spam and corned beef. (They also had turkey bacon—a rare item in Japan.) There are an impressive 6 styles of eggs, allowing you to choose your own preference. This is a menu that pays attention to the details.
While meat is nice, I also like fish, so I ordered the ahi steak. The pepper packed a spicy punch! Plus the side of roast potatoes was out of this world!!! The flavoring was simple, yet the deliciousness shined through.
★Order #3: Strawberry Whipped Cream & Macadamia Nut Pancakes
Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for!
I had heard rumors about these pancakes before, but when these bad boys were presented, the visual was enough to knock my socks off. I forgot whether I was eating pancakes or just whipped cream. 5 mini pancakes were lined up neatly and on top of them—BAM! Whipped cream. I witnessed before my very eyes the tower slump as the cream melted over the hot pancakes. (Take a look at the picture!)
The pancakes themselves are classic milk pancakes, and you can enjoy them with the 3 different sauces on the table. There’s maple syrup, coconut sauce, and a pink sauce that at first I thought was raspberry but turned out to be guava. I have been to a lot of pancake shops in my time, but guava sauce was a first for me. It was a fruity taste with a hint of sourness that went well with the sweet pancakes and was nice and light….oh my gosh, it was so good.
Each menu item was delicious, but since the portions are huge I recommend going with a friend. You’ll feel a bit of America in the middle of the Japanese style Kyoto. The original restaurant in Hawaii and the one in Tokyo seem to have lines, but this one in Kyoto seems like a well-kept secret.
Next time I plan on ordering the sunny side up eggs! But maybe I should hold off on the pancakes….