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Japanese customer service turns a disappointing experience into a heartwarming memory. 

When people hear the words “Starbucks breakfast” in Japan, they usually think of the chain’s “Good Start Morning” offer, which gives you a 40-yen (US$0.25) discount on the in-store price when you buy a qualifying drink and food item together. You can take advantage of the deal until 11 in the morning at most stores, but diehard fans of the chain know there’s a better deal hiding out at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward.

Here, you’ll find a luxurious breakfast that’s been described by diners as “hotel-quality”, but the only problem is it’s so popular it often sells out. That’s what happened when we stopped by to try it, but rather than leave disappointed, we ended up leaving with a full stomach and a warm heart, thanks to the help of staff who went above and beyond with their customer service to make our experience a great one.

▼ Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo

The official name of the popular breakfast is “Roastery Breakfast Mattina“, and it’s sold by Princi, the Italian bakery on the first floor. While it’s said to be incredibly delicious, it’s also slightly pricey, at 2,250 yen per set, and can only be ordered dine-in until 11:00 a.m. each day.

▼ Drinks are sold separately, so if you want to add coffee to your breakfast, you should be prepared to spend at least 3,000 yen.

Despite the price, the breakfast is incredibly popular – so much so that when we visited at 10:30am, staff told us that they’d just sold out, and when we returned the next day just after 9 a.m. staff told us they sold out at 8 a.m.

Fearing we may never get to eat breakfast, we asked staff if there was any type of workaround they might recommend. We told them we’d be happy to purchase the bread and ham from the breakfast set on their own if it were possible, and to our surprise, the staff member we spoke to said, “You can buy the bread individually. We also offer ham in sandwiches and such, but…please wait a moment.” They then started communicating with someone on their intercom system.

Eagerly waiting to find out what was about to happen, the employee then said, “Well, how about this? We have a menu item that we’d like to recommend, but please wait a moment while we check if it’s still available.”

Crossing our fingers for the best result, we waited with bated breath until the staff member turned and said, “It seems it’s still available, so I’ll guide you to the place where it’s being served.”

▼ They then led us to the Princi bakery, where they introduced us to a store-exclusive menu item called “Customize Bread”.

As the name suggests, this customisable bread menu allows for a wide range of customisation. You can choose your favourite bread, cheese, ham, and, if desired, olive oil, salt, and black pepper, to create your own unique set.

The price varies depending on what you add – cheese add-ons cost an extra 280 yen, while the butter, dip and cream options are less expensive.

You get to choose your bread yourself, but if you’re unsure about anything, you can simply tell staff your preferences for hard or soft textures and they’ll choose something that suits your taste. Staff were incredibly helpful, and when we asked if it might be okay to order pretty much all the toppings, they told us not to worry as customers often add all of them.

▼ So we ended up ordering the lot, except for the Hazelnut Cream, which we worried might be too sweet for our liking.

It was a veritable feast, and so good looking it resembled a breakfast you’d get at a fancy hotel.

▼ Olive oil, Maldon sea salt, and black pepper are free with every order.

We had no idea a breakfast like this was possible at Starbucks, and we were particularly impressed with the range of hams.

▼ We chose prosciutto crudo, prosciutto cotto, pistachio mortadella, and speck.

Sure, it may not be as colourful as the original breakfast set, but in every other respect it seemed overwhelmingly superior. Not only did it look like a high-class hotel breakfast, we also enjoyed being able to mix and match the bread with toppings to our liking.

As previously mentioned, the price of the set varies depending on what you add, and because we went all out with the add-ons, our total came to 2,934 yen, which was more than the sold-out breakfast.

Still, it was an experience we were happy to pay for, because not only did we get to discover a new way to eat breakfast at Starbucks, we got to experience the warmth of Japanese customer service as well. In fact, it was the customer service that left a lasting impression on us, as staff went out of their way to ensure we left happy, and never applied any pressure during our order, so we were able to make our choices calmly and with ease.

It added the pep in our step we needed to start the day, and now we know Starbucks is just as good a place to go for breakfast as it is for afternoon tea.

Cafe information
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo / スターバックス リザーブ ロースタリー東京
Address: Tokyo-to, Meguro-ku, Aobadai 2-19-23
東京都目黒区青葉台2丁目19-23
Open 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website

Images©SoraNews24
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This collection of 26 Easy No-Yeast Sweet and Savory Bread Recipes is all about simple homemade baking, without the wait or stress of rising dough. These are the kinds of recipes I turn to when I want something fresh from the oven, but don’t have time for yeast, kneading, or long proofing times.

Inside you’ll find everything from soft sweet breads perfect for breakfast or afternoon coffee, to hearty savory loaves that go well with soups, salads, or just a slice of butter. Each recipe is designed to be easy, approachable, and made with everyday ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

I love no-yeast breads because they feel so comforting and forgiving. You mix, bake, and in less than an hour you have something warm and homemade on the table. It’s the kind of baking that fits into real life—busy days, last-minute guests, or those moments when you just want something cozy.

Greek Yogurt Bread – No-Yeast Quick High-Protein Bread

This Greek Yogurt Bread has quickly become a favorite in my kitchen. It’s the kind of recipe I turn to when I want something homemade, cozy, and fresh from the oven without the wait that yeast breads require. No fancy steps, no long rising times, just mix, bake, and enjoy.

Check out this recipe

Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls- Easy, Quick, No-Yeast 

These Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls are one of those happy kitchen surprise, soft, swirly, and incredibly satisfying, yet made with simple everyday ingredients. I love that they come together without yeast, without long rising times, and without any complicated steps. Just mix, roll, fill, bake… and your kitchen smells like pure comfort.

Check out this recipe

No-Yeast Giant Apple Cinnamon Roll

This Giant Apple Cinnamon Roll is a comforting fall dessert perfect for apple season. It is bursting with cinnamon flavor and wonderfully complements the tender apples inside. Serve while still slightly warm with a generous amount of cinnamon cream cheese icing. 

Check out this recipe

Easy Pumpkin Flatbreads

These Pumpkin Flatbreads are a fall favorite perfect for a fall lunch or dinner alongside soups, stews, or roasted vegetables. You can also enjoy them on their own as a snack, with a dollop of butter or a drizzle of honey.

Check out this recipe

Greek Yogurt Bagels

These delightful Greek Yogurt Bagels are a fuss-free treat that delights with each bite. This quick and easy recipe requires just a handful of pantry staples: Greek yogurt, flour, salt, and baking powder. No yeast needed, no waiting around for dough to rise—just pure, instant satisfaction.

Check out this recipe

The Best Yogurt Flatbreads

Easy and quick Yogurt Flatbreads, where yogurt and cheese create a mouthwatering treat perfect as a side dish or appetizer.

Check out this recipe

Easy No Yeast Yogurt Doughnuts

Easy Yogurt Doughnuts – fluffy little balls of dough, served slightly warm and dusted with powdered sugar can make a great treat during the day or even for breakfast, alongside a good coffee or tea.

Check out this recipe

Homemade Flour Tortillas

These soft homemade flour tortillas are perfect for snacks, appetizers or main dishes. There is no comparison with the store-bought ones.

Check out this recipe

Greek Yogurt Buns

These Greek Yogurt Buns are one of my favorite quick bread recipes when I want something warm, soft, and homemade without waiting for yeast dough to rise. They come together with just a few simple ingredients and bake up beautifully golden on the outside while staying fluffy and tender inside. In less than an hour, you can have fresh homemade buns on the table.

Check out this recipe

Garlic Cheese Bombs

Easy garlic cheese bombs made from scratch. Flaky and soft with that gooey cheese interior they are totally irresistible.

Check out this recipe

No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

I am glad to share with you an amazing recipe for easy and quick homemade cinnamon rolls. This time, the recipe requires no yeast and no eggs, and you don’t need more than 15 minutes to prepare the rolls and have them ready to place in the oven. Is that fast.

Check out this recipe

Strawberry Scones

These strawberry scones are best served warm after just taking them out of the oven. The sprinkled sugar on top creates a crispy crust while the interior is soft and filled with strawberries. They're seriously hard to resist.

Check out this recipe

Pumpkin Biscuits

Biscuits are a perfect pairing for any dinner meal, alongside soups or at breakfast, served with eggs and bacon or just spread with delicious butter or fruit jam. These tasty, flaky, golden pumpkin biscuits are going to be wonderful to pass around your Thanksgiving dinner table.

Check out this recipe

Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Scones – High-Protein, Light and Savory

These Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Scones are my kind of comfort food, hearty, golden, and packed with flavor, yet surprisingly light. Made with less butter and cheese, they still feel rich and comforting, thanks to the cottage cheese that adds moisture and a gentle boost of protein.

Check out this recipe

Cheese Puffs-Gougères

Cheese Puffs – Gougères – light and fluffy appetizer, big hole inside, intense cheese taste. They are amazingly delicious and will literally be gone in seconds.

Check out this recipe

No Yeast Breakfast Pizza

With this no yeast pizza dough you can easily prepare homemade pizza any time of the day. It is quick, easy to prepare and ready in no minute. Pair this with homemade tomato sauce to make an unforgettable experience.

Check out this recipe

Skillet Cornbread

Spice things up at your Thanksgiving celebration with this jalapeño and sun-dried tomato cornbread. Studded with corn kernels and cheese, this corn bread turns out moist and fluffy and bursts with flavor.

Check out this recipe

Eggless Savory Scones

These Eggless Savory Scones are one of the best appetizers you can prepare for a friend gathering. Buttery, with a crispy crust and a soft crumb, filled with matured cheddar cheese, onion and ham for an amazing flavor combination, these scones are simply hard to resist.

Check out this recipe

Soft Sweet Potato Tortillas – Flexible and Perfect for Wrapping

Check out this recipe

Whole Wheat Carrot Biscuits

These Whole Wheat Carrot Biscuits are one of the best healthier biscuits you can ever try all year round. Flaky, buttery and with an amazing flavor, these biscuits are simply irresistible.

Check out this recipe

Cheddar Biscuits

Amazing cheddar biscuits – what not to like: buttery, flaky, garlicky and cheesy biscuits… one of the best combinations ever and they look really appetizing as well.

Check out this recipe

No-Yeast Eggless Strawberry Rolls with Cream Cheese Lemon Icing

If you love strawberry and lemon combinations you are at the right place. These No Yeast Eggless Strawberry Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing are a great summer treat that everybody will adore. They look simply amazing and totally irresistible.

Check out this recipe

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Biscuits – Healthy, High Protein Snack

These Pumpkin Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Biscuits have become a new favorite in our house. They’re soft, a little chewy, and full of that cozy pumpkin flavor everyone loves this time of year. They come together in just a few minutes, no fancy steps, no long list of ingredients.

Check out this recipe

Oatmeal Savory Scones

These Oatmeal Scones are a delectable fusion of hearty oats, tangy cheddar cheese, and crispy bacon. They feature a golden, crispy exterior that gives way to a tender, melt-in-your-mouth interior, creating a great blend of textures with every bite.

Check out this recipe

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Soft and flaky buttermilk biscuits perfect for breakfast, or as snack. You can serve them as they are, with jam and milk, or used to create small sandwiches.

Check out this recipe

Baked Mini Cinnamon Sugar Donuts (no yeast, no eggs)

Did you know you can prepare baked donuts as good as the fried ones without the guilt? These Baked Mini Cinnamon Sugar Donuts are amazingly soft and flavorful, kids’ favorite every time I make them. The recipe comes together in just a few minutes, using basic ingredients you already have at home. It is so easy and quick to prepare them as for these donuts you don’t even need yeast or eggs and they don’t require deep frying either.

Check out this recipe

My hope is that this collection inspires you to bake more often, experiment a little, and enjoy the simplicity of homemade bread without overthinking it. And maybe even find a new favorite you’ll come back to again and again. I really hope you try them.

Tag me on Instagram and share your creations with me. It always makes my day to see your versions and how you make these recipes your own.

Other recipe collections:

20 Yogurt Desserts
8 Easy Must-Try Zucchini Recipes
30 Irresistible Custard Desserts
20 Delightful Chicken Recipes
35 Mouthwatering Gluten-Free Desserts
25 Dairy-Free Desserts
20 Egg Recipes for Breakfast or Brunch
30 Best Caramel Recipes
20 Baked Cheesecake Recipes
15 No-Bake Cheesecake Recipes
60 Budget-Friendly Desserts
55 High-Protein Recipes
20 Muffin Pan Recipes
40 Best Back-to-School Recipes
30 Amazing Raspberry Desserts
20 High-Protein Desserts
25 Oatmeal Recipes
40 Refined Sugar-Free Sweet Recipes
30 Unique Layer Cake Recipes
30 Best Apple Recipes

The post 26 Easy No-Yeast Sweet and Savory Bread Recipes appeared first on Home Cooking Adventure.

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A flaw in the system makes this Starbucks breakfast less than stellar. 

They say the third time’s the charm, and that’s what happened to us when we attempted to try the super-popular sell-out breakfast at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo in Meguro Ward recently.

▼ The Reserve Roastery Tokyo

The premium breakfast set is so popular that despite visiting twice to try it we were unable to order it as it had already sold out, and on one occasion, it had sold out by 8 in the morning, just an hour after opening.

▼ The incredibly popular menu item is called Roastery Breakfast Mattina.

On our third visit, we almost punched the air like a Starbucks-loving Super Mario when staff told us the breakfast set was available. Placing an order for it immediately, it didn’t take long for our breakfast to be served, and we were able to take a good look at everything it contained.

It looked absolutely delicious, and despite there being no Starbucks branding anywhere, it really had a Starbucks feel to it.

What we received for our breakfast was:

• One croissant (or as Starbucks calls it, a Cornetto)
• Two types of bread
• One frittata slice
• One white sausage
• Salad
• Ham
• Minestrone soup
• Nocciola spread (hazelnut chocolate spread)

To readers living outside Japan, this breakfast might not seem all that special, but here in Japan, where breakfast options are notoriously slim, it’s a rare sight to find something like this outside of a hotel buffet.

▼ We began by tasting the soup, which was hearty and delicious, and a nice nod to the Italian influence behind this particular breakfast.

Next up, we took bites of the salad, ham and fritatta, which all met our approval, before trying the cornetto, which tasted good both dipped in the soup and with some of the chocolate hazelnut spread.

▼ Our favourite item on the breakfast plate, however, was the sausage.

▼ Juicy and flavoursome, it was a high-quality sausage that left us wanting more.

The entire breakfast was flawless in terms of quality and flavour, but as we finished it all, we realised there was one thing missing.

▼ A drink.

This is the major design flaw in the Starbucks breakfast, especially when you’re dining solo. As beverages need to be purchased separately, you end up having to queue twice – once at the Princi bakery counter at the back on the ground floor where the breakfast set is sold, and once again at the drink counter.

Though the two counters are close to each other, it can become a hassle when there are long lines of people waiting to order.

Adding to the hassle is the fact that the place is so popular it can be incredibly difficult to find a seat, so you’ll be faced with a list of priorities when dining alone.

If you’re in a group, one person can find a table while another person orders breakfast and someone else gets drinks, streamlining the process and eliminating stress. When you’re dining solo, though, you have to complete all these tasks alone, which isn’t all that fun, especially when you’re paying 2,250 yen (US$14.13) for the breakfast.

Having to order breakfast at the bakery comes with another set of challenges, as you’ll need a whole lot of willpower not to succumb to the baked delights on display.

So is the breakfast set worth the hype and hassle? Well, for Starbucks fans, yes. There’s definitely an air of exclusivity about it, due to its scarcity, so every bite will make you feel like an elite Starbucks customer.

It’s especially ideal for an early-morning meetup with friends, as long as you get there at 7 a.m. sharp so you can be confident the breakfast won’t have sold out. Solo diners who don’t mind expending some energy and juggling a few things will also enjoy the breakfast, but if you prefer to walk to the beat of your own drum, or want an alternative when it sells out, then this hack will be more up your alley.

Cafe information
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo / スターバックス リザーブ ロースタリー東京
Address: Tokyo-to, Meguro-ku, Aobadai 2-19-23
東京都目黒区青葉台2丁目19-23
Open 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website

Images©SoraNews24
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Honouring a centuries-old tradition with a modern twist. 

Every summer, people around Japan eat eel to regain energy from the tiring heat. It’s a tradition that’s been around for centuries, with people commonly consuming eel on the Midsummer Day of the Ox, or “Doyo no Ushi no Hi” as it’s known in Japanese, which this year falls on 26 July.

With so many retailers offering eel on this day, many look for ways to stand out, and one bakery in Kochi Prefecture has everyone’s attention with a new product called “Super! Eel Bread“.

At first glance, the new product looks like sushi, but look closer and you’ll see it’s actually a whole eel, wrapped in a strip of nori seaweed around a super soft bread roll.

The eel is the star of the show, grilled over charcoal in the traditional kabayaki (sweet soy-glazed) style by Kitahama Shoten, an eel specialty shop with over 85 years of history. The new bread, which uses locally-sourced eel, is said to combine the appeal of Kochi’s regional ingredients with the playful spirit unique to Komi Bakery.

According to the bakery, the Super! Eel Bread has been three years in the making, born from an idea by the store’s head of bread and sandwich production, with the aim of contributing to the culture of Doyo no Ushi no Hi as a bakery.

▼ Kazuto Nishiyama, Head of Bread and Sandwich Production and creator of bold ideas.

Nishiyama and his team have certainly succeeded in creating an eye-catching product that honours the tradition of Doyo no Ushi no Hi while adding a unique twist that appeals to modern tastes. Komi Bakery says it plans to continue developing new releases tailored to seasonal events while also supporting local industries.

The longstanding bakery is getting ahead of peak eel season by releasing the new bread in store from 21-23 May, with reservations required three days ahead thereafter, and sales on 26 July are limited to reservations only. Given that it includes a whole eel, the bread is larger than it seems, and is priced at 2,500 yen (US$15.73), or 3,500 yen for online sales, including delivery.

Related: Komi Bakery
Source, images: Press release
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