Brown Sugar Canelé HOUKIBOSHI

Located in a corner of Minatogawa Stateside Town, where many unique stores line the streets, is "Brown Sugar Canelé HOUKIBOSHI". This canelé shop offers a wide variety of canelés made with Okinawan ingredients and flavors that are unique to Okinawa.

The name of the shop, "HOUKIBOSHI (meaning comet in English)," comes from the beautiful star-filled sky of Okinawa, where the Milky Way can be seen, and from the similarity between the shape of a star and the shape of a canelé seen from above.

When you enter the shop, you will see a wide variety of canelés lined up on the counter. Compared to regular canelé, the canelés from HOUKIBOSHI use less than half the amount of sugar and rum, which gives it a gentle sweetness that makes you want to eat more than one," says Ms. Ito of the HOUKIBOSHI. The canelés are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. In order to be able to always offer products with such a texture, the canelés are baked four times a day and delivered each time not only to the main Minatogawa shop, but also to the airport shop.

To offer products that are as unique to Okinawa as possible, they basically use ingredients made in the prefecture other than those that cannot be obtained. Okinawa ingredients used in the shop's products include brown sugar (from Tarama Island), milk, eggs, dragon fruit, shikuwasa, awamori, and more. The most popular of the many types of canelés they have is the "Okinawa Milk," made with the prefecture's milk and whipping cream. The "Island Strawberry (strawberry produced in Okinawa)," which started out as a spring-only seasonal canelé but became a regular menu item due to strong demand, is also popular. In addition, the Minatogawa shop also sells canelés called "Salted Milk" that is only available there and uses salt from the Chatan area. When purchasing, you can choose your favorite size of box that fits 4, 6, or 10 pieces of canelés, and then place a combination of any flavor of canelés inside the box.

Photo 1: Salted Milk canelé only available at Minatogawa shop. Photo 2: 6 pieces of canelés.

Brown sugar cookies kneaded with plenty of brown sugar from Okinawa

Aside from canelés, the shop also sells brown sugar cookies, which are a new product in the shop. The brown sugar cookies are made by kneading brown sugar from Tarama, Okinawa, into the dough and combining it with Okinawan flavors, and can be a great souvenir. The six flavors available are plain, pineapple, shikuwasa, brown sugar chocolate, Okinawa coffee, and purple sweet potato, and are characterized by their firm texture and simple taste.

Photo: Brown Sugar Cookie

Write your wish on a star!

A large banner with the shop's logo on it hangs at the entrance of the shop. Opposite it is a corner where you can write your wish on star-shaped paper. This corner, created during the COVID-19 pandemic, is decorated with stars on which the wishes of customers visiting the shop are written.

Photo 1: Entrance of the Minatogawa shop. Photo 2: The corner where you can write your wish on a star. Photo3: Wishes written by customers.

Naha Airport shop is perfect for souvenir purchases.

HOUKIBOSHI has a Naha Airport branch in addition to the Minatogawa branch, which is very convenient for shopping. The brown sugar cookies in particular are perfect for souvenirs as they last longer. It is recommended to eat the canelés on the plane or by the next day for the best texture. The menu is also available in multiple languages, so even those who cannot read Japanese can shop with ease.

In the future, HOUKIBOSHI hopes to increase the number of products in addition to canelés and cookies. When you visit Okinawa, be sure to check out the canelés and cookies made with many Okinawan ingredients at HOUKIBOSHI.

Brown Sugar Canelé HOUKIBOSHI

Minatogawa Shop

Address: 2 Chome-16-2 Minatogawa, Urasoe, Okinawa
Tel: +81 98-975-7825
Website: https://www.houkiboshi.jp/
IG : @ houki_boshi_

Naha Airport Shop

Address: In front of the escalator at the 2F ANA departure lobby, Naha Airport Domestic Passenger Terminal Building, 150 Kagamizu, Naha, Okinawa
TEL：+81 90-9284-9715

Posted on 2023/7/28