Please Tell Me This Isn't Really a Dessert Straight Out of a Manga...

Drove 40 minutes from Washington D.C. for soufflé pancakes ‼️ Never expected this level of disappointment 😭 No clickbait here—this time, it was so bad it almost made me cry‼️ I’d been eyeing this Japanese soufflé pancake spot forever… 👉 Okaeri Japanese Cafe 👉 14215 Centreville Square, Centreville, VA 20121 So we made the trip specially…and wow. Not only were the pancakes flat and under-fluffed, but the taste was just…indescribable. ————————- We ordered the matcha 🍵 and taro 🍠 soufflé pancakes: • The matcha was kinda bitter, and that white thing on top? Mochi. Not what I expected. • The taro was sweeter than the matcha, but still pretty bland—no real taro aroma, and it didn’t pair well with the pancake texture. Seriously starting to wonder ‼️ if I ordered wrong. Maybe the original or strawberry 🍓 would’ve been better… The chocolate soufflé pancakes at the next table did look pretty good though… 🔥 We also got a black sesame latte ☕️ It was…okay. Tasted like a regular drink with black sesame paste or powder mixed in (can’t remember which). Hojicha ice cream ❌ Vanilla ice cream + hojicha powder…such a weird combo, I was speechless… Strawberry cream sandwich 🍓 It looked so pretty, like those aesthetic Japanese fruit sandwiches…but tasted so underwhelming. The strawberries weren’t sweet, and with one bite, cream squirted everywhere. So messy and not worth it. Please tell me other fruit sandwiches aren’t this disappointing 😭 ⚠️ Overall, totally not worth it. And it wasn’t even cheap—we spent around $50-60. Have you been here? Did you have a better experience? Or do you have a go-to spot for fluffy soufflé pancakes? Share your thoughts below! 🥞👇 #SoufflePancakes #DessertTherapy #DMVFood #DMVDessert #VAFood #WashingtonDCEats #VirginiaEats #CafeHop #JapaneseCafe #FoodFail #SweetTooth