“Fami-Macaron” Raspberry Stick

Brand: Family Mart

Cost: 120 yen

Found At: Family Mart

There are a lot of things to unpack here:

First, it is remarkable how many things Family Mart will brand with the “Fami” prefix. Fami-chicken is the in-house fried chicken. Fami-shu is the family Mart cream-puff (Family mart + pate a choux). And now, Family Mart has Fami-macarons? The more I learn to read the more I realize that this particular convenience store is more branding-happy than an American real-estate tycoon.

Second, macarons come in sticks? What have I been doing all my life with the little round rip-offs when I can have three-bites for the same price?

Third, after looking at this skin-toned log of cookie without my glasses, I may have figured out why they don’t usually sell these in sticks. It is moderately suggestive in shape.

Fourth, I never realized that raspberry was a particularly western flavor until I came to Japan. Unlike in Stockholm or Seattle, where you can easily buy a vat of raspberry jam at any grocery store, here you need to go to the Takashima Gate Towers or the PIAGO La Foods to find any raspberry preserves. It’s a shame because I am a big raspberry fan. So, when I saw that this macaron was not, as is usually the case, strawberry flavored, I really had no choice but to buy it.

Fifth, oh Mylanta, this is so good. Its sweet and tart and the cookie crumbles perfectly in your mouth just like a proper macaron should do. It’s all the experience of a Seattle upmarket macaron boutique but at a convenience store price. Truth be told, I regret finding it because now that I know it’s there, it will be that much more temptation to resist.