The New Adventures of Crispy’s C(K)onbini Capers!
Last week I wrote about the new summer products currently being showcased at 7-Eleven. I want to continue that theme this week because 7-Eleven has simply EXPLODED with new products, none more so than in their bread range. Yes, it seems as though they’ve decided to revamp their current bread selection with not only fancy new packaging, but by tweaking their recipes with a resulting change in taste.
7-Eleven, for the first time ever, I am disappointed.
This morning I decided to try 7-Eleven’s new anpan [あんパン]. Yes, that sweet bread or kashipan [菓子パン] filled with sweet red bean paste known as an [餡] or anko[餡子].
Maybe I was expecting too much. I guess I’d become so familiar with the taste of their original (to me) recipe that I had imagined the shiny new package would somehow mean that it had been elevated to star status and, thus, blow me away.
Yes, it blew me away. In the sense that I’ve decided I don’t want to eat them from there anymore. It was a sad day indeed and I almost feel as though as I’ve lost a good friend. Certainly I’ve lost a perfectly good anpan. I guess what I’ve learned from this, and maybe 7-Eleven will too, is that, why fix something when it’s not broken? The recipe was fine as it is. New isn’t always better.
Sigh.
Anyway, let me describe the actual difference between the original and the new anpan. I spoke about the shiny, glazed surface of the original and that still holds true. The main difference is the dryness of the bread. Rather than the lovely doughy texture of the old one, the new one is more akin to the bread we’re familiar with in the West. In other words, it tastes like an ordinary BBQ bread-roll, just filled with bean paste; a little strange and one of those things where you find yourself saying, “Interesting, but I don’t need to eat it again.”
Not only that, but this new version has a distinct lack of sweetness. I wondered if perhaps they had decided to make it a little healthier by reducing the sugar content… I was right. In fact, there are now less calories and less sugar. Hence, less taste. Damn it. I’m wondering if the universe is conspiring to force me into a dreaded health-kick.
Sigh.
Needless to say, I haven’t been inspired by any of the new bread recipes at 7-Eleven and I guess that means I need to step out of my comfort zone and expand my horizons. Mr. 7-Eleven, I’ve treasured our time together, but like the saying goes, “All good things come to an end.” And, yes, Crispy’s C(K)onbini Capers is hot on the trail, a new quest for an avid konbini [コンビニ] explorer in search of new lands, new adventures… oh, and new products too!
Farewell for this week and see you back here again next week for more exciting adventures!
