I’m slowly catching up on posting Dessert Fiend excursions because I keep going to too many pastry shops.

The biggest problem with being a vampire who is mostly alert after dark is that most bakeries operate during daywalker hours, which means I almost always arrive at shops just before closing time. While I may be more functional after 3PM, I’ve had to get used to there being limited options at the most popular pastry shops because almost everything sold out earlier in the day.

Such was the case at Boulangerie Sudo.

Since I’m staying near Chōfu, it takes at least an hour for me to get anywhere in Tokyo, so by the time I arrived at Boulangerie Sudo, I had to make a series of rapid choices before they completely sold out for the day. Other patrons wielded their trays like shields and their tongs swords as they grabbed the scarce items lining the shelves. Fighting through my past trauma of asserting myself against housewives grocery shopping the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I rolled my shoulders back and waved my tongs in turn.

Luckily my efforts were able to procure a melon danish, a baguette filled with a peanut butter butter filling (yes, I meant to write that twice), and a not pictured slice of seasonal vegetable pizza.

I was particularly keen to try the danish as I’ve followed Chef Hideo Sudo on Instagram for years now and have literally drooled on my phone scrolling through photos of his fruit based masterpieces, which are some of my favorite pastry bar none.

When I got back to my Airbnb in a fugue state, I only meant to eat half the melon danish. “Be patient,” I thought as I waited for my slice of pizza to heat in the tiny toaster oven and took my first bite of danish. That was not to be because three blinks later I looked down at my plate and jumped because there was nothing but crumbs left.

It really was that good.

The melon was perfectly ripe and sweet, complemented by thin slices of citrus over the smooth yet slightly tart cream cheese lining the bottom. The melon was topped with the softest of whipped cream, and encased in perfectly baked laminated dough?

My god. No wonder I blacked out eating it.

I had the peanut butter baguette the next day, so the bread had slightly dried out, but it was still lovely. Probably also because I’ve really missed eating peanut butter which is strangely difficult to find in Japan. Japanese style peanut butter is … different, to say the least, and when looking for more familiar American style only yields Skippy in foreigner oriented grocery stores.

The slice of pizza I had was also delicious, though even after 15 years of visiting and studying abroad in Japan, I will always feel conflicted about adding mayo to pizza.

If you find yourself in Tokyo, I highly, HIGHLY recommend visiting his bakery in Setagaya, and if you’re a daylight person, I think your experience will be even more rewarding.

Originally published on Instagram June 10th, 2024. It has since been edited for the web version.