Japan has a host of delicious eats to enjoy, both of the savory and the sweet kind. One of my favorite sweet treats? Melon pan. This kind of bread is something you'll see in just about every bakery across the country, and the name is owed to the fact that the bread itself resembles the look of a melon, with a criss-crossed, crunchy exterior. If you want to up the ante on your regular melon pan, there's a way to do that - at Sekai de Niban-me ni Oishii Melon pan, otherwise known as The World’s Second Best Melon Pan.
What is it that makes the melon pan here so special? Well, they slice them open and turn them into ice cream sandwiches! Their menu has a number of different ice cream flavors on offer to fill your melon pan with, from fairly commonplace varieties like chocolate, vanilla or cookies and cream, through to Japanese specialties like matcha and black sesame. Prices for a melon pan ice cream sandwich run from about 390 yen to 450 yen, depending on the ice cream variety you opt for.
You may be asking "what's the deal with the self-deprecating store name?". Well, the chain owner made the claim that his mentor made the best melon pan ever, so his could only be second best. Talk about humility at its finest!
