Dori Yaki (Red Bean filled Pancakes)

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My friend Jenn is here spending time with us in Tokyo! She arrived on Tuesday night and will be staying for just over a week. Yesterday was our first full day exploring some of the city, and with no surprise, Tokyo offered an exciting food experience!

Our day was spent walking around Takashimaya, a building full of stores like Gucci, Armani, and many other stores that we could not even fathom actually purchasing something from. However, the basement level was another story. In a seemingly endless space of counters filled with beautifully presented food, from tempura and sushi to chocolates and smoothies, we found an affordable outlet for our inner foodie-ness.

I have actually walked by this particular counter many times over the past months. The delicious smell of fresh pancakes wafts into my nostrils and I am intrigued watching the assembly happening behind the glass. The only problem is that I never really knew what I was watching or wanting to try. I knew it looked like a pancake. The first time I saw them, I thought they were filled with chocolate. Fortunately, I figured out before actually tasting them that it was actually red pean paste! That would have been quite a surprise biting into something expecting chocolate and getting beans instead!

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We walked up to the counter and ordered 1 dori yaki to share. It was warm, slightly sweet, and absolutely delicious!

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Jenn took the photos for this post (she is a fabulous photographer). For more on our day, see Jenn's blog here.