(Gu Tappuri Anman | Hearty Red Bean Steamed Bun)
General Description
Last time, we looked at Yamazaki's 3 cheese steamed meat bun. Today we're looking at their an, or red bean, bun! The filling is tsubuan, meaning coarse red bean paste.
Anko is a common chuukaman (Chinese steamed bun) filling in Japan. Anko and goma (sesame seeds) are the sweet chuukaman options you'll often see, though anko is more common.
Like the 3 cheese chuukaman, we have to do some preparation before we can eat! In case you didn't see that review, I'll briefly go over it. First remove the paper from beneath the bun, very quickly swipe the bun under water, and shake off the water. Then put it in on a plate, (loosely) wrap the top of the plate with plastic wrap, and microwave it for 30 seconds (this time for both 500w and 600w microwaves). Then you're good to go!
Review
- Price
-
250 JPY (2 steamed buns) - Taste
-
Unlike the 3 cheese bun, there's only the anko filling, so the taste is simpler. The bun is still your regular steamed bun with no strong taste. However, the anko is good. Compared to other desserts that use anko, this one is only a liiiiitle bit sweet. Instead the red bean taste is strong. Because it's warm and not as sweet, it's really hearty and satisfying. - Texture
-
The bun is fluffy and light like the other Yamazaki steamed buns. Since this is "coarse" red bean paste, there are bits of red bean in it. However, unlike other tsubuan foods I've looked at before, instead of pieces of the actual bean, it's more like the "skin" of the beans. So it has a thin "bumpy" rather than thick "chunky" texture. I do want to point out that the filling in picture on the package looks more liquidy and fluid, where the actual product is thick like a paste. I followed the instructions, but they clearly don't match.
- Smell
-
There's no strong smell, although you can smell the bun when you're holding it in your hand.
- Overall
-
It's good, but average, if that makes sense. This time, the amount of filling is good, so it has a better balance. I think it also has a good balance of savoury and sweet. Again, I think 2 will make you feel full. - Would I try again?
-
It's not bad, but I probably wouldn't choose it unless there was nothing else I wanted. Like the 3 cheese steamed bun, while I enjoyed it, nothing really pulls me back to it. There are other desserts I would choose first. I also don't think they stay fresh for long, so I can't really save it for later.
