Dip Me Banana elevates the simple snack to something a whole lot more substantial and special.
The choco banana seems like it should be about as simple as a dessert can be. It’s just a banana dipped in chocolate, right? Unless you buy into that “Fruit is nature’s candy” philosophy, you could even make the argument that a choco banana is really only half a dessert.
Ah, but what if you wanted to tip the scale more towards undebatable-dessert elements? That’s how you end up with Dip Me Banana, Tokyo’s first gourmet chocolate banana specialty shop.
The press release photos, seen directly above and below, had our mouths watering when Dip Me Banana opened last month on Takeshita Street in Tokyo’s Harajuku neighborhood.
So with a slot having just opened up in our always-packed dessert calendar, we hopped on the train and dove into the crowds of the famously packed Takeshita to try one for ourselves.
But as we stood there, musing over the many, many different order options we had, we noticed something.
Since arriving in Harajuku, we’d been seeing the name “Noa” all over. There was a Noa Dance Academy…
…Noa Coffee…
…and even Gelato Noa.
The dance academy wasn’t a surprise, as Noa is the name of a Tokyo-based company that manages a chain of rental music studio spaces, like this one in the Nakano neighborhood.
But without our realizing it, they’ve also been expanding into the food and beverage world. In addition to the ventures above, they also have a soba noodle restaurant (Yoshi Soba), a Japanese-style sweets cafe (Yoshi Kitchaan)…
…a crepe shop (Sweet Box)…
…and they also run the Harajuku Churros stand.
But hey, there’s nothing wrong with diversifying your offerings, right? After all, Mister Donut, Japan’s favorite donut chain, is actually owned by Duskin, whose original primary field was office cleaning services.
Ordering at Dip Me Banana is done by filling out a check sheet with your choices. The first one to make is whipped cream or no whipped cream, which also determines the price (all bananas with whipped cream are 770 yen [US$5.10]) and all without are 660). Your next choice is chocolate base, either regular or white chocolate. For toppings, you pick from choco caramel crunch, color chocolate spray, coconut, crunch chocolate with nuts, sugar sprinkle, Oreo with marshmallow, corn flakes with choco spray, or Oreo and nuts. Finally, your sauce options are chocolate, caramel, milk, coconut, and strawberry.
It was a lot to think about, but in the end we went for a whipped cream chocolate chocolate caramel crunch caramel sauce banana, which is the longest-named chocolate banana we’ve ever ordered…
…which is fitting because it’s the biggest and most decadent one we’ve ever had, too!
As something that’s served on a stick and often sold at festivals and amusement parks, places where it’ll be eaten while walking around and simultaneously doing other fun things, you could make the argument that choco bananas sometimes feel more like a snack than a dessert. That’s definitely not the case here, though, as this is a substantial sweet treat that demands a certain amount of attention and care in eating, lest you spill all of the mouthwatering accoutrements on yourself. Not only could all that chocolate and sauce make an awful stain on your shirt, it’d be a crying shame to miss out on even a spec of that sweet deliciousness.
▼ They say you shouldn’t cry over spilled milk, but dropping choco banana toppings like these would be a tear-worthy blunder.
As such, Dip Me Bananas’ choco bananas are really best enjoyed in a stationary state. That’s probably why the Noa Coffee directly above the choco banana shop allows them as carry-in items as long as you also order a drink, but whether you take them up on that offer or not, this is a dessert worth making your way to Harajuku, and then stopping your steps for a while, to enjoy.
Location information
Dip Me Banana
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 1-16-6
東京都渋谷区神宮前1丁目16-6
Open 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Website
Top image: SoraNews24
Insert images: PR Times, SoraNews24
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Dining and Cooking