About food in Japan

Ruri, Ginza (瑠璃, 銀座) - cafe with Japanese-Western sweets

It is rate to find a cosy space with nice cups of tea and cakes in Ginza, as many of cafe in central locations are always busy and filled with guests. Ruri (瑠璃), who's name represents "lapise lazuli" in Japanese, was newly opened in 2010 just a few blocks away from Ginza 4-chome crossing. In spite of the central location, the space and surrounding are calm and can be a good oasis while enjoying shopping at luxury boutiques.

 

What is great of Ruri is not only the modern Japanese taste interior and decorations but also sweets selections offered on the menu, Due to the cafe's owner company, Mon Chou Chou based in Osaka, Ruri cafe provides several selections of Mon Chou Chou sweets including very popular "Dojima Roll" (堂島ロール).

 

Dojima Roll (堂島ロール) is made with fresh cream from Hokkaido and wrapped with soft sponge cake. The sweet is awarded as Grand Gold Quality by Monde Selection in 2010 and it is greatly appreciated by Japanese clients. People are always making a queue line for Dojima Roll at Mon Chou Chou stand in major department stores in Tokyo. Some cases it is sold out.  

 

Here we do not have to make a long line to get a piece of cake rather we can have it with tea at the comfortable cafe space.

Maccha roll is exclusive to the cafe Ruri. Sponge cake and cream is made with maccha, Japanese green tea. Sweet beans paste is inside of maccha cream. It makes combination of Japanese traditional ingredients and Western-style roll cake.

Casuteran, natural honey is used for and served with fresh cream and sweet beans paste to dip.

Ruri has not only cafe space but also sweets gift shops attached where we can find these fancy cakes and other sweets in gift box for take away.

 

Cafe name: Ginza Ruri

Website: http://www.ginza-ruri.com

 Mon Chou Chou official home page: http://mon-chouchou.com

************* UPDATE 9th September 2013 *****************

Unfortunately Ginza Ruri Cafe was closed.

Some sweets mentioned above post, such as Dojima Roll are still available at boutiques of Patisserie Mon Cher in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo.

************************************************************* 

Save the sake (酒) in Tohoku

Tohoku (東北) region, where it got the most serious damage by the natural disaster, big earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 and followed aftershocks, has also been famous for sake (酒, 日本酒) production. As we can imagine, sake breweries in Tohoku are suffering the damage on their production facilities, product and/or ingredients stocks etc. Consequently the damage on breweries also impacted negatively on sake whole-sellers in Tohoku. Sake lovers across Japan, maybe around the world feel distress at the situation. To order sake from Tohoku at restaurants is a part of contribution to recovering from the damage.

Here I introduce two activities based in Tokyo to support sake breweries and whole-sellers in Tohoku region for promoting their products and giving information about the situation. 

SAVE KURA MIYAGI

A bar in Shibuya, called Kukai, is taking initiative to connect between sake whole-sellers, producers (can be expressed as KURA /蔵, sake stockage) in Miyagi prefecture and consumers through bars and restaurants in Tokyo and surrounding area. Its partner restaurants and bars purchase sake made in Miyagi from local whole-sellers to offer the products on their clients. The participants restaurants show the logo sticker (like the image right) on the site. 

Some of partner restaurants, bar are...

Kukai (公界), Shibuya / bar /  http://news.kukai.biz/

Seikoen (清香園), Shibuya / BBQ /  http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a491700/lang/en/

Padrino del Shozan, Venus Fort Odaiba / http://shozan-international.com

Los Barbados, Shibuya / Arab-African cuisine / http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~los-barbados/

The participants will be introduced further on the website. 

http://blog.livedoor.jp/savekura/archives/4581270.html

 

Save the Tohoku no sake (東北の酒)

Ms. Kaori Haishi,  a sake sommelier and journalist, launched the website since April 2011, as one of Tohoku sake lovers. She voluntary organizes the site to support damaged sake breweries and to share informaiton related sake in Tohoku. What is very good for this blog readers.... the information in English are also AVAILABLE thanks to her language skill. The site contents include introduction of Tohoku breweries, photo reports from devasted area, warm supporting messages from sake lovers as well as sake retailers, sake producers across Japan. 

Save the Tohoku no sake  http://save-sake.com/top

Let's enjoy sake from Tohoku region and support them for recovering!