Upon leaving Heiwajima Station on the Keikyu Line and walking north for about 5 minutes on the former Tokaido road, you will see what looks like the corner of a European town a little before reaching Heiwa-no-mori Park.
This is Crescent & Molly. “A crescent represents the shape of the moon. Molly is the most popular name for dogs in the UK. I guess it is equivalent of Pochi in Japanese?” says Mr. Ryutaro Hama, the owner.
Mr. and Mrs. Hama, the owners: Yoshiko (left) and Ryutaro (right)
From the regular bread that is crispy on the outside to savory breads and sandwiches, products are lined up side by side.
“Selected 100 Souvenirs from Ota”-branded “Mikazuki Anpan” is their flagship product. Its characteristic is the richness and heaviness coming from the red bean paste stuffing made by an authentic Japanese sweets artisan.。
Mr. Hama’s grandfather used to run a Japanese sweets shop called Shogetsudo in Tokyo, but it eventually closed down. As both of the shops have the “moon” kanji in their names, Mr. Hama came up with the idea to create crescent-shaped anpan (sweet rolls stuffed with red bean paste) using the red bean paste made from his grandfather’s recipe to keep the traditional flavor alive.
“Mikazuki Anpan” might be small in size, but has a rich texture. 129 yen per piece including tax.
However, Mr. Hama immediately ran into a problem. He looked everywhere, but couldn’t find crescent-shaped molds needed for forming the shape. He could find star- and heart-shaped molds, but no crescent. Mr. Hama didn’t know what to do.
Seeing his dilemma, Mr. Hama’s wife, Yoshiko, told her brother, who runs a manufacturing company in Omori, about the problem. Soon after her consultation, with her brother’s help, a business connection in Keihinjima decided to take on the creation of crescent-shaped molds as a custom order in their factory.
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| (Left photo) Custom-made molds. (Right photo) A veteran Japanese sweets artisan (Mr. Hama’s uncle) kneading the red bean paste. He now works in the kitchen of the bakery. |
“Mikazuki Anpan” has both coarse red bean paste and a unique aroma from natural floral yeast, giving the crescent-shaped roll the taste of classy Japanese sweets.
“We only use natural and additive-free ingredients, but the anpan doesn’t become hard the next day. One of the reasons is because we take six times the normal amount of time to prepare the dough. The traditional way to cook baguettes inspired me,” says Mr. Hama.
On another note, Crescent & Molly also sells bread and crackers for dogs, so we asked why.
“When we thought about what we can do to be loved by the local community, this was the result.”
The bread and crackers for dogs have no sugar or salt.
Before Mr. Hama opened the shop, he researched the neighborhood thoroughly. Because Heiwa-no-mori Park is right outside, regardless of the day of the week, a lot of people pass by with dogs, but there were no locations in the area where a pet can get some rest together with their owner.
Mr. Hama presented a concept of “dogs are allowed” so that his shop would be a place where people from the local community can drop by and feel relaxed and at peace.
Mr. Hama has an interesting background. He spent eight years in the UK and after graduating from RHBNC (now called Royal Holloway, University of London), he had some twists and turns, but in his 30s, he decided to become a baker. “I’ve finally found something I like, so I’d like to do it through and through,” says Mr. Hama, and he mentioned that his motto is to do the best that he can, as much as he can.
With that, he created
“Zaronbai Bread” (356 yen for half a loaf including tax). Zaronbai is a type of Japanese apricot, and the bread uses floral yeast from Zaronbai. This bread is also featured in our “Selected 100 Souvenirs from Ota.”
There are many kinds of bread. The one in the photo is from a series called “breads made with unusual flour and sold on Wednesdays.” For this Wednesday, the bread was made with flour intended for making noodles. “Wednesdays-only Bread” is 356 yen for half a loaf including tax.
“The ward flower of Ota City is the Japanese apricot. That’s how I came up with this idea. Ota City is a treasure house of inspiration. Just thinking of what ingredient from Ota City to use next makes me excited.”
Crescent & Molly, filled with love for the local community, and “Mikazuki Anpan”...
Beyond the tastiness of their bread, the shop has such an amazing atmosphere that it has been repeatedly used as a filming location for TV dramas. We would definitely like you to drop by and enjoy!
▷ Check out
“Mikazuki Anpan” via our “Selected 100 Souvenirs from Ota”
* All prices listed in the article are current as of June 2021 (the time of writing) for takeout.
