Nagoya’s new idol, is Piyorin Halal?

Nagoya’s must buy cake, Piyorin.

Since it came to the market in 2011, Piyorin became a new idol from Nagoya! Piyorin is a cake sold at the cafe called Cafe Gentiane (カフェ ジャンシアーヌ).

The most impressive thing about Piyorin is “How it looks”. It is a small yellow chick, with brown eyes and orange beak and wings.

Everyone who gets out of the ticket entrance of JR Nagoya station see a long queue of people who are trying to get this sweet. Some of you may also try to get this sweet, but wait a minute, is this Halal?

The answer is not. Let’s see what are the ingredients of Piyorin.

How is Piyorin made?

Let’s see how it is made first.

Piyorin is made from three layers. The outermost layer is crumbles made from sponge cake. The second layer is a type of sweet called Bavarois, which is a French sweet like mousse, made from fresh cream. The innermost part is pudding!

As you can see, all the ingredients are so soft that taking Piyorin back home is extremely difficult. Actually, this is called as “Piyorin Challenge”, because only few people can take them home without destroying the shape.

Do you know the secret why Piyorin has vivid yellow color? That is because the sweet is made from eggs of local’s special chick, called Nagoya Cochin. This chick is luxurious, and their meat and egg are used in the pricy restaurants around the region.

The egg is very nutritious, which is why it is giving this vivid yellow color.

So, is Piyorin Halal?

The answer is, unfortunately No. There is no description about ingredients, however, it clearly says on the website that they are using rum to flavor crumbles, and gelatin for pudding and bavarois. This means that both alcohol and pig / animal originating ingredients are used.

Is there any recommended item for Muslims?

There is a souvenir called Piyorin Sable, a kind of biscuit. However, as butter is now replaced with margarine, we cannot tell if the margarine is plant-based or not. As we have confirmed in June 2023, it was confirmed that the sable is using plant-based margarine and it is free from animal-derived ingredients and alcohol!

Piyorin itself is not Halal and quite difficult to take back home, so choosing Piyorin sable can be an option for Muslim travelers.

Credit: https://market.jr-central.co.jp/

Where can we buy these souvenirs?

Piyorin and other souvenirs can only be bought at Piyorin Shop at JR Nagoya Station.

Please be noted that the product we have introduced is not made Halal or Muslim-friendly, so there may be a small risk of contamination.  We are here to translate the label and not judging if the product is Halal or not, please consume at your own risk.