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| The UNAGI PIE |
Unagi is the Japanese word for eel. You know the long fish that doesn't look like a usual fish.
Hamamatsu is apparently popular for its unagi dish and unagi pie.Yeah, you heard it right. Unagi pie. Eel pie.
I was puzzled the first time I heard about unagi pie. To have a pie made of eel doesn't very appealing to me but it seems intriguing.
In reality, unagi pie is just a usual cookie-like snack coated with unagi powder. It doesn't taste fishy.It doesn't taste like an eel. It's sweet and cookiesh.
You can find how unagi pie is done in the Unagi Pie Factory Hamamatsu. It's located in the west of Hamamatsu, off the busy central area.
Here's the complete address: 748-51 Okubu-cho, Nishi-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka, 432-8006.
It's not an accessible place by public transportation. You can take a taxi from Maisaka Train Station.
So what can you see in the factory?
You can see how the unagi pie is done, of course. There's an overlooking area where the workers make the pie. There's also an audio-visual area relating the history of the factory.There's a cafe and a souvenir shop.
The best thing about going to the factory is getting free unagi pie samples! Upon checking-in, the receptionist will hand you free unagi pie samples. Then you can also get free unagi pies in the souvenir shop. You have to fall in line though.
There are three kinds of unagi pie: the plain and sugary one, the one with honey and peanuts, and the one with a bit of wine. The last one is more expensive than the other two. It's called VSOP unagi pie.
It takes less than 30 minutes to go around the whole factory.
The Unagi Pie Factory is worth visiting if you're already in the area.
