KYOTO, Japan — It was quite an adventure for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication students in the Study Abroad trip to Japan to get to Kyoto from Tokyo. The students had to ride Nozomi Shinkansen (bullet train) for over an hour, and with great travel time comes great hunger.
One group of four students and Senior Lecturer and Program Assistant Jon Zmikly set out on a quest to find some food to quiet their grumbling stomachs. The group stumbled upon a donut shop called Brûlée Kyoto in an outdoor mall area.
“The smell is what immediately grabbed my attention,” junior Dylan Knight said. “There was a sweet smell of delicious funnel cakes in the air, but when we entered the shop, we saw the most interesting donuts ever.”
However, these donuts weren’t like the American ones they were used to at all. Nevertheless, the group wasn’t hesitant to try them. In fact, they were overjoyed.
“The matcha (creme brulée) donut was so good,” Zimikly said. “You’ll go nuts for these donuts. It was so warm and creamy inside.”
Shop owner Tetsuya Tamura explained to the students that he invented the creme brulée donut. The students and their professor watched Tamura sprinkle sugar on top of the custard-filled donut. He torched the top of the donut in order to harden the caramelized sugar.
“(Combining) two things together in Japan is kind of a trend,” Tamura said. “So, I tried to mix creme brulée and donuts together because nobody (would) ever think about that. I’ve had the shop for a total of six years.”
To learn more about Brûlée Kyoto, follow them on Instagram, @bruleekyoto.
