Mamaron: Korean Style Macarons Arrive In Tokyo

Their cafe style is chic and very relatable with young ladies, which is maybe why their cafe is always full.

“Macarons”, pastel colored, sweet, crunchy and melts in your mouth. Although mostly known to be a French dessert for a lot of people, it’s origin is pretty much a mystery. The earliest record of it being made in the Arab Empire, then later brought to Italy and finally France by Catherine de’ Medici. As the years passed, it’s beautiful pastel color has become a popular item for desserts. It’s featured in almost all cafes from countries over the world including South Korea. 

As South Korean trends come to Japan, it also brought a new kind of macaron with it named “Tuncaron” which promises to be bigger, chunkier and have more fillings. Join me today as I visit the first Tuncaron cafe in Tokyo’s Shin-Okubo district: Mamaron.

The inside of the shop mixes chic and elegance in its interior. With its velvet chairs, beautiful, exquisite chinas and golden plate decorative; you can really tell that the owner spent enough time planning and deciding them. The cafe is a bit narrow but it has a calm and relaxing atmosphere so you don’t feel suffocated inside. 

The cafe offers a variety of drinks and “Tuncaron” style Macarons. Tuncaron came from the root words  ‘tuntunhada’ meaning fat or chubby & ‘macaron’ which perfectly sums up it’s lovely aesthetics because instead of the usual macaron you get, Tuntuncaron looks plumper and has more filling of your favorite cream in the middle. 

Tuncaron amassed great popularity in South Korea in the recent years and just arrived in Japan, with it’s first shop: Mamaron, being opened July of this year. There’s been a sudden influx of South Korean cultural trends coming to Japan due to the influence of the Korean wave; and Tuncaron is just one of them. 

When you open the most popular social media sites in Japan such as LINE and Twitter, you’ll see a lot of teenage people and young adults posting about Tuncaron and Tapioca teas, with the Tapioca boom being very active nowadays. So, will Tuncaron be the next boom? Only time can tell. 

TRIVIA

• Catherine de’ Medici Brought Macarons from Italy to France.
• Macarons were made in Venetian monasteries since 18th century.
• Macarons originated from the Arab empire which first started out as a sweet cookie made from nut flour and honey.

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