one of the other things that commandeered my attention at the japan centre on regent street was a humble plastic takeaway container fastened with a length of curling ribbon. the cookies within were a most enchanting shade of green.

i know, i know. they are just a simple maccha sablé, and i could google a bunch of recipes and make my own. well, fine. maybe i will, now that these are gone. they were rather pleasing: a good crunch on impact, and then a mass of buttery crumbs on my tongue. they were mild in taste to begin with, but after eating four or five in a row, the verdant bitterness of the maccha kicked in. really, a smart regulatory measure to keep me from eating the whole pack in one go.

i was actually more intrigued by the other box that i pulled from the shelf: the buckwheat cookies. they were nutty in flavour, almost savoury, and surprised me with the most satisfying little crackly bits, courtesy of the grains of toasted buckwheat scattered through each biscuit.

there were also black sesame cookies on the shelf, but i thought it best to leave them. these were very persuasive biscuits. you may be lulled safe by their spare decoration and their homely good looks, but take them home and they’ll have their wicked way with you.