10 Yen Cheese Coin @ KITTE, Hakata, Fukuoka

 

Recently, there has been this viral influx of the 10 yen coin. And I do not mean the literal coin. But rather, a cheese pancake that is in a shape of a 10 yen coin. Before I go any further, please note they do not cost 10 yen. Rather it's 500. Talk about inflation. 

Men at work

Then again, this is not a new phenomenon as I remembered seeing a few of them pop up during the Dontaku festival this year. I did not think much of it as I thought it was just something people would want to post on social media. The line was pretty long the last time I remembered as well. But alas, one stall popped up in KITTE shopping mall near my apartment and since the line was pretty short, I thought I gave it a shot. In addition to the unique look of the thing, the cooking process was quite fragrant too. After all, it is basically pancake batter with a block of cheese inside. And after some time on the grill, it was ready for a chow down. 

Not legal tender

As it was a stand after all, I had to find a place to sit down before gobbling this thing down. It took me a while to find a bench as it was a weekend, but I was able find one next to a fruit juice stall not far away. Lucky there was not much of a "customers only" policy. 

This was actually quite hefty.

The first bite was quite interesting, it was very cakelike. The closest thing I can think of would be a taiyaki, which is the fish-shaped grilled cake you can probably find in most shops. It still tasted pretty good, although it was something quite familiar to me. It was nice but nothing special. 

Fighting with my food?

Then eventually, I reached into the cheese filling. Being essentially a block of cheese, I felt the full blast of the elastic contents sticking onto my teeth. It was a peculiar feeling for me, and yet something not uncommon. If you had cheese rolls or mozzarella in carozza, then you know what I mean. Unfortunately, it was a bit hard to take down. It was either some form of generic chedder or cheap mozzarella. It was quite heavy and a bit dense. It had a nice stretch and gave a good visual. However, that is probably it. To be fair, this was actually kinda tasty but it does not live up to the hype. 

Front of the house. Do note it will be gone by the end of June!

Would I try this again? Probably not. But I guess it is something that you should try at least once. And if you fancy a go, it is located on the first floor of the KITTE mall located within the Hakata station building complex. It is not hard to find. It should be noted the last day of operations is 27 June as this is a temporary pop-up stall. So if this has caught your attention, better head there while you can.