In the Tohoku region of Japan, a common souvenir item you will see is their regional specialty, the Kamome no Tamago, which translates to “egg of seagull”. In English, they frequently refer to it as a “Seagull Egg”. Like most regional specialties, you will have to physically be in Tohoku (Iwate Prefecture is the safest bet), look online (https://saitoseika.co.jp/), or pass through international departures at the airport to find it. Like most of the other regional products, it has a short life; this one typically has 30 days from the date of manufacture.
Although they claim that the motif is seagulls playing outside, the choice of what is normally a rather stationary egg seems to not be the clearest expression. It does look remarkably like an egg, other than that it is much softer. Perhaps it is the spirit of the soon to be, or the liveliness of the seagull that is inside the egg.
The Seagull Egg is definitely something I would think old people would like because it is not too sweet. The white bean paste (dyed yellow with gardenia, as is traditional) has a mild flavour. It is not unlike all the other bean paste desserts one normally has. I consider it overall unexceptional in flavor but fun in story and shape. Have it with some black tea, and the mildness will suddenly feel much stronger.
If you are interested in other variants, such as apple, chestnut, banana, etc., it is possible to order those Kamome no Tamago online from https://saitoseika.store/.
Great article. Just wondering– Whats the texture like?
Kamome no Tamago is a rather soft dessert, including the outside. The outside coating of white chocolate is soft enough that one could scrape into it with one’s fingernail. The sponge cake part is soft, because the outside coating protects it. However, it was a little harder than an ideal Western sponge cake. It was more like castella, actually. The interior is really like any other bean paste. This one happens to be the sort that sticks to itself rather than the sort that crumbles. It is very easy to bite into.