Autumn is the season of many things, with one of them being Persimmons.
I look around me and every year I feel that there is this huge craze for persimmons, especially by the ladies. I don't see the heat nearly as high in the men around me. I think this is somehow a female thing.
So today we'll jump into trying a persimmon wagashi by Minamoto Kitchoan.
Minamoto Kitchoan is absolutely solid when it comes to fantastic wagashi. Let's see how they do their persimmons.
Suikanshuku $10.00 SGD for 1 piece
Suikanshuku by Minamoto Kitchoan at Takashimaya
391 Orchard Road, Ngee Ann City Tower A #B206-1
Homepage: https://www.kitchoan.com/
They actually have a fantastic page introducing the product on their website. (Nope, not sponsored)
They also have a cute video.
Let's get right into it!
This product is on the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to the price of the wagashi by Minamoto Kitchoan.
Their packaging is beautiful.
The outer layer can slide off to the side to reveal the inner package.
The inner package has a beautiful introduction about the Suikanshuku.
This is based on my novice translation efforts.
It mentions it's a fruit based wagashi using Japanese persimmons which are characterized by their classy sweetness and is stuffed with plenty of white bean paste.
When it's put into your mouth the dewiness, sweetness and richness of the wagashi will spread. The natural sweetness of the persimmon will perfectly harmonize with the gentle sweetness of the white bean paste.
Sounds delicious!
It also has some instructions (which I must admit I ignored!)
- Slice into 3-4 pieces when serving.
- Use a knife to cut so the persimmon won't be smashed.
Yes, I ignored both instructions.
This is before I cut.
And this is after I cut before reading the instructions. This shows how important instructions are!
I didn't do justice to this beautiful wagashi at all.
The wagashi is actually quite big. As said in the instructions, it can indeed be split into 3 or 4 and enjoyed with a few of your friends with some tea.
Let's get into the taste.
Firstly, at the very base, this is a dried persimmon.
I love how they kept true to the fantastic gentle sweetness and taste of a classy dried persimmon, because that's exactly what this wagashi is. Not adding too much. Addition by subtraction. simplicity.
It just highlights the quality of the soft Japanese persimmon and it's richness of the taste and flavors within the sweetness of the natural fruit. You can only enjoy this quality with this simplicity.
Moist and dewy. Very soft to the mouth.
The white bean taste complements very well too. It's really a complimentary taste to the persimmon. It doesn't overwhelm. It highlights. Again, a really soft and gentle sweetness.
It's nice.
I'd pair it with some 'green' Japanese green tea. (Not roasted Japanese green tea).
While the sweetness is not strong, the richness of the taste works well with a strong taste of say a Sencha or a Gyokuro.
This time I had this with some high-grade Genmaicha.
This paired nicely as well.
Guru Rating
for the Wagashi 8.6 / 10.0
The seasonality adds a bonus to the points. I can easily see myself recommending this wagashi during the autumn season, especially if I knew the person likes dried persimmons. I can imagine persimmon lovers arguing the score should be higher for this one.
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