Are you dust or diamonds?

(plastic rustling)

Usually, bread can be roughly divided into three groups; shokupan (2) and baguette alike that have neutral taste, Sozai bread (3), and sweet bread. The way to combine these three breads are infinite, but with good and simple combination, it’s like a glimpse into individuals in human race.

My line up for today is croquette bread, cascoot (4), mentai French (5). And then four red-bean paste oyaki. It was late today so everything sold out had been bought, but thankfully I was able to complete the line-up, I’m very lucky that especially cascoot is still left! But it can’t always be happiness, the problem is where I should attack from.

So I decided on a theory. The first thing is always the thing that doesn’t leave too much taste, but now the answer that show me the way, cascoot first!

In my mind, what is called cascoot is classic filled with ham and camembert cheese, but today I chose cascoot with pastrami beef, cheese, and pickles. It’s not too much to say that how this choice turns out will decide the quality of this dinner.

(eating)

Ooh, this is delicious. The richness of Pastrami beef seasoned with spicy black pepper and cheese, then pickles give it accent. Everything wrapped up inside baguette. Alone they are simple, but to be able to create such harmony. This seems to be the best start.

(plastic rustle)

Okay, the next one. Croquette bread and mentai French. The problem is where should I attack next. This is quite annoying, but I think counting back from red bean paste oyaki which should be the last, as expected (the next is) croquette bread. Why? Because before red bean paste oyaki, inside of the mouth should taste the highest level of saltiness. Doing it like that, dessert should be the last thing to be eaten today, so the umami taste of red bean paste oyaki can be obtained at to utmost.

(plastic rustle)

Hm. In a small koppe bread (7) croquette with sauce and cabbage, there’s no simpler croquette bread than this. I can even imagine how it would taste. This sense of stability is the essence of croquette bread. Well, then.

(eating)

The croquette is simple meat with potatoes, the crunchiness of cabbage still left. This is what you call “the croquette bread—wait, this sauce is a bit unique. No, this is clearly very unique!

(continue eating)

Hmm. The harmony for earlier cascoot all flies away. For the time being, I’ll reset the inside of mouth with black coffee.

(drink coffee)

That doesn’t work! The sauce taste still left in my mouth. Now that this happens, it can’t be helped. I will use mentai French to overcome the lingering taste of the sauce and forcefully return it like the beginning.

(eating)

Not bad. Not bad at all. Inside of my mouth becomes even more salty. On top of that, the saltiness of the sauce and the saltiness of the mentai is just different saltiness. It’s different too from the saltiness in the beginning. Unfortunately, this is not supposed to be like this.

(train sound)

No. Not yet. It’s too early to be discouraged. This saltiness is surely will make the sweetness of red bean paste stand out. The umami taste of the oyaki will be pulled out to the highest.

(rustling)

That way, the quality of this dinner can be quite secured. And then I can obtain the radiant feeling of Kyoto sunset. Well then.

(rustling, eating)

This is… salty. Even though it’s red bean paste oyaki, how can… This is… pickled mustard? Why pickled mustard? *gasp*

Oh, so it’s like that. If I’m not wrong, it was because before the shop was almost closed. The red bean paste and pickled mustard oyaki were placed in the same tray. I was rushing to catch the last train so I chose wrong, huh. It's my fault then...

(continue eating, drinking)

*sigh* If I know things will turn out like this, I should’ve just choose anpan (8).

(end)

(1) A type of Tokaido Shinkansen service (2) loaf bread, usually served as thick sliced bread (3) bread filled with various side-dish, usually savory (4) the same sandwich as the one Nanami bought from the bakery in the anime (5) baguette filled with pollock roe (6) chewy buckwheat dumpling filled with various stuff (7) bread with oblong shape, like hot dog buns (8) sweet bread with sweet red ben paste filling