Queen Victoria Gardens

Experience a bright new batch of hand-made, edible art from Minako Asai on opening weekend.   

Following her hit workshops last year, Minako Asai is back with a new season’s worth of beautiful Japanese confectionery. From 11am until 3pm on opening weekend, we’ll be filling the kiosk with a batch of her hand-made wagashi that’ll only be available at MPavilion.  

Served with green tea, these treats are made simply from ingredients like bean paste, mochi, sugar and yuzu. They blush with colour and present intricate details inspired by nature and art. Minako got her first taste at age four, growing up in the Japanese city of Nagoya, and she never forgot it. Since starting out with a market stall in 2018 and building up her business MinnieSweets she’s become, perhaps, the city’s biggest wagashi advocate. Now she’s here with an exclusive batch, in time for the summer season.  

Limited batches available, while stocks last.   

Menu

• Ichigo Daifuku 苺大福: Fresh strawberry (Ichigo 苺) wrapped in handmade white sweet bean paste (shiro-an 白餡) and wrapped in soft mochi.  (Cannellini beans, white sugar, glutinous rice flour, strawberry, potato starch.)

• Sakura Mochi 桜餅: A sweet that represents the taste of spring. Smooth adzuki sweet bean (adzuki-koshian 小豆漉餡) centre with sticky rice (doumyoji 道明寺粉), wrapped in an edible pickled cherry-blossom leaf. The rich sakura aroma and flavor will take you to Japan.  (Adzuki beans, glutinous rice, white sugar, salted pickled cherry blossom leaf, food colouring)  

• Nerikiri 練り切り: Nerikiri is the most modern style of wagashi 和菓子. Almost too beautiful to eat, nerikiri are designed to engage your five senses. 
  Design: Kingyo 金魚（Gold fish) is Adzuki flavour  
  Design: Ajisai 紫陽花（Hydrangea) is Yuzu flavour 
  (Cannellini beans, white sugar, glutinous rice flour, Adzuki beans, yuzu juice, food colouring/dust)  

All items are plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free.

Collaborator:  

Minako Asai is the owner and creator of MinnieSweets, creating delicious, authentic and seasonal Japanese confectionery (known as “wagashi”) by hand. After a career working in the incredible food hall of one of Japan’s largest department stores, Minako is on a mission to make Melbourne known for wagashi, and runs workshops, demonstrations and events to further educate and promote this overlooked part of Japanese cuisine.