About food in Japan

FIAT cafe - Italian cafe in Aoyama, Tokyo

The Italian automobile maker offers a cozy cafe in the central Tokyo,

Aoyama known as a stylish town.

Mid-August weekend, in the central Tokyo business districts it is calm and has few people. I like to stay in Tokyo during such time, as the cosmopolitan city becomes more relaxed and less crowded.

The upper floor of FIAT show room, FIAT cafe provides not only fine Italian cafe menu but also cozy sofas by top funiture designers.

Especially its lunch sets are reasonable, for example, with a pasta plate, salad buffet and a cup of cofee + dessert. Each of lunch set has named from FIAT cars such as Fiat 500, Fiat Grand Punto...

Even for those who are not interested in automobile, it is an oasis in central Tokyo to take a rest or to have reading with nice espresso. 

Cafe name: FIAT cafe

Address: 1-4-5 Kita Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Nearest subway station: Aoyama 1chome, Gaien-mae

Website: http://fiatcaffe.jp

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Delicatessen (デリカテッセン) - Gourmet cafe and grocery shop

Delicatessen is a part of a luxury hotel, Park Hyatt Tokyo known for scenes in the American film "Lost in translation." Some people might hesitate to step into one of the best hotels in Tokyo. The hotel main part is on the 39th or above floors, while Delicatessen is situated far low on the ground floor. It is easily accessible from public space of the building even without going through the hotel's main entrance. The cafe is not a place where we have to mind casual appearance so much. We are rather able to visit it more freely as ordinary casual cafes in town.

At Delicatessen, fine international deli food are available with high quality beverage menu. Not only pasta, pate, sandwiches, salad, Japanese sushi rolls also can be found.  (Photo: Sushi roll with cucumber and fish eggs) Peaceful time will be guaranteed for a break or lunch in the middle of Shinjuku, at the foot of skyscrapers.

Selected grocery foods from the world fill all dimensions walls of Delicatessen. After taking a rest with a cup of fresh aroma cappuccino, let's shop around the space!

Cafe name: Delicatessen

Address: 1st floor Park Hyatt Tokyo, 3-7-1-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo

Boutique's direct link : http://tokyo.park.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/services/shops/index.jsp

   

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Fukumori (フクモリ) - food from Yamagata

Fukumori is a cafe restaurant located in Bakuro-cho, East part of Tokyo. The area is known for the textile industry office and storehouses where it is quiet with less people after office hour. However when we visited the unit on the weekday evening, all tables were occupied and the atmosphere was vital. The inside of the cafe cannot be imagined from the silence of outside.

What cannot be missed to mention about Fukumori is that the cafe is produced by three ryokan (Japanese traditional style accommodation) in Yamagata prefecture, North East region of Japan. It works not only as a cozy cafe for people working in the area but also as a showcase of local specialties from Yamagata. The menu list amazed us with the wide variety of fine ingredients harvested in the region; vegetables, rice, fruits, eggs, pork and beef, fish and sake... It was hard to choose which one we should try.

For example... the fast starter, above photo is tofu with "dashi"(local specialty, diced cucumber, eggplant and a few kinds of Japanese herb leaf, seasoned with soy sauce). The fresh green color stimulates our appetite even in hot summer.

Konnyaku balls(dumplings made from Japanese potato)

Cake sale (French words meaning "salty cake") baked with pieces of sausages

Steamed "Sangenton" pork with mushrooms

*Sangenton - a brand name of Pork

The sesame sauce is also tasty.

Yamagata beef tataki with Japanese mustard and wasabi

Simple but it is possible only with high quality fresh meat

 

Liquor made from the most famous specialty of Yamagata, apple

Even after those plates, there are a lot of dishes we missed. Next time surely we will have to do hard decision, because we liked all plates we ordered tonight and would like to try them again...

At the end of the unforgettable dishes, we knew where the restaurant name came from. Fuku (福) is luck and mori (盛) is heap. A heap of luck (福盛)...the name tells the truth, I believe.

Restaurant name: Fukumori (フクモリ)

Address: 1-2-10 Higashi-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Website (Japanese only): http://fuku-mori.jp/

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Dairy products from Hokkaido - Machimura Farm (町村農場) at Marunouchi

Hokkaido region is known for high quality dairy products (milk, butter, cheese, yogurt etc). Machimura Farm (町村農場, Machimura Nojo), which was founded in Hokkaido in 1917, provides its original dairy products at Marunouchi, business district in very heart of Tokyo. So we are able to enjoy fresh high quality ice cream, cheese cake, milk yogurt etc from Hokkaido, while we stay in Tokyo

The boutique by Machimura Farm is located on the basement floor (B1) of Shin-Marunouchi Building, just in front of Tokyo station. Its first boutique outside of Hokkaido offers chances to taste its fresh products with 12 seats there. Have a break with parfait, cakes or a glass of milk ?! while you are having shopping or working at Marunouchi area. The boutique also provides options to bring their products away.

Shop name: Machimura Farm Marunouchi (町村農場 丸の内)

Address: B1 floor Shin-Marunouchi building, 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Website (Japanese only) : http://www.machimura.co.jp

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nakata.net.cafe - where to enjoy World Cup 2010 South Africa

Hidetoshi Nakata, a former Japanese football Player, opened a unique football cafe until the end of World Cup 2010 in Harajuku. This is the third attempt for him to provide an option to enjoy world class football games at a cozy place, followed the last two World Cup in Japan-Korea (2002) and in Germany (2006), where Nakata played on the pitch.

After he ended his career as a professional football player, he traveled around the world then across Japan. He discovered a lot of fantastic food and traditional products, while he is traveling in Japan. The cafe is a place not only to enjoy football matches but also to discover "the beauty of Japan".

How nice isn't it?

If you are traveling in Tokyo during World Cup games, visit the cafe to support your favorite team and also to enjoy high quality Japanese pork, sake, eggs and other ingredients.

Restaurant name: nakata.net.cafe

Address: 1-22-6 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Nearest station: Harajuku

Official website: http://nakata.net/jp/cafe/

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M & C cafe - Cafe in a book store

Maruzen (丸善) is one of the established book store in Tokyo. The flagship store is in the shopping complex Oazo, situated in a central business district and just in front of Tokyo station. The large book store occupies four floors of the shopping center and offers huge selections from books both in Japanese and non-Japanese languages, stationery to art gallery. M&C Cafe on the 4th floor is also one of the book store services.

The cafe's specialty is Hayashi rice (ハヤシライス) which is considered that the book store's fonder made the name for the first time in Japan. The hayashi rice is cooked carefully according to the cafe's traditional recipe. The stew is made from several kinds of vegetables and is served after cooked for long hours.

I ordered "Hayashi Ome-rice" (Omelet with rice and Hayashi sauce over it) to enjoy two best Yoshoku (洋食) foods at the same time.

The cafe is a good place to take lunch or a break with a cup of coffee during shopping and strolling in the book store. In addition, one side of the cafe is facing to Tokyo station and railways through a large window of toe-to-ceiling height.

Enjoy the traditional Hayashi as well as the view of running trains in Tokyo at the book store cafe.

Related story: Yoshoku (洋食)- Kurofune-tei(黒船亭)

http://aboutfoodinjapan.weblogs.jp/blog/2009/01/yoshoku---kurof.html

Cafe name: M & C cafe

Address: 4th floor Marunouchi Oazo, 1-6-4 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Brasserie VIRON - French style brasserie cafe in Marunouchi

VIRON is the name of a French company in the flour milling industry. The flour by VIRON is often used as an ingredient of high quality breads and cakes in France. The brasserie in Japan proudly serves breads, French style cakes and sweets made from the VIRON flour from France.

Needless to say about breads for lunch or taking out, the tarts also can be a reason to visit the brasserie. During the time between lunch and dinner, you are able to enjoy a nice pair of tart and "cafe au lait" at sunny terrace tables close to Tokyo station.

 

Restaurant name: Brasserie VIRON

Address: 1F TOKIA Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

 

SAKURA (さくら) from STARBUCKS COFFEE

In Tokyo, for last several days, we felt Spring just around the corner.

It becomes warmer day by day, little by little... Cherry blossom (さくら, sakura) season is still a month away but at Starbucks coffee shops in Japan, we can feel SAKURA already.

 SAKURA steamer is steamed hot milk with "SAKURA" flavour. It is a pitty that we cannot see milk in subtle pink color in the cup though...

The scent of sakura surely comes from the pink powder on the top.

Other seasonal products, SAKURA cream flappuccino, cakes and special design tumblers are also available at STARBUCKS COFFEE in Japan until mid-March 2010.

Official site: http://www.starbucks.co.jp/sakura/index.html

Macrobi cafe

Japanese have great parties with tons of traditional food plates, box during new year holiday. Days after the joyful moment, ladies start thinking a change and loosing their weight as soon as possible...

Macrobiotic cafe might be a choice to help such ladies being back to a good shape.

"Macrobi cafe" in Shinjuku offers small portions of food, called "Suhi cake", made by genmai (brown rice 玄米) but look like a piece of cake. Plenty of choices such as mix of vegetables, pork cutlet, traditional Japanese ingredients are given for topping on genmai cake. Wether it is lunch time or tea time, the small piece in colors with sweet taste will give you delight of eating and of filling stomach. 

Restaurant name: Macrobi cafe

Address: 3rd floor In the Room Shinjuku, 3-1-26 Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku, Tokyo

*It is announced that the interior shopping complex "In the Room"(the cafe location) will be close at the end of February 2010. I am not sure how the cafe will go or not. At least I am sure that similar type of cafe will appear in somewhere Tokyo again soon.

 

Tamaya, Zushi

Today, it is "Marine day" in Japan.

I would like to introduce my favourite cake shop in a beach town not far from Tokyo.
Zushi beach is only one hour train ride + 10 minutes walk from Tokyo.

It is nice to be able to enjoy sea breeze without taking long hours journey or overnight stay from Tokyo. Just spend a day on the beach and refresh yourself before going back to the concrete jungle for dinner or noisy nightlife.

On the way from the beach to JR Zushi station, please do not forget passing by Zushi shopping avenue (Shotengai, 商店街） in order to get souvenirs of the beach town.
The cake shop Tamaya (珠屋） is one of "do-not-miss" spot there.
It has a half century long history and serves as a pastry shop, cafe restaurant in Zushi.
The cakes are mainly traidtional Western style ones or from the master's original ideas.
They might not be mod but surely show respects to traditional works. They are not too sweet and are likely to be loved by anyone from young to old.

My most favourite one is Swiss Roll.

It is very simple roll cake that reminds me my childhood days. Apricot jam on the top creates good harmony with the basic roll cake and butter cream.

Savarin is wrapped in aluminium foil. It was dipped in liqueur syrup and butter cream with pieces of marron is sandwiched. By making it cool in a fridge, the tast is enhanced.

This is also good for a gift to make a set with fine cake.
The original tea bag is in a small pack of cute illustration.
It is a product of collaboration with an unique tea shop in Tokyo.

Tamaya also runs cafe restaurant on the location, where not only sweets but also lunch menu are provided.

Shop name: Tamaya 珠屋
Address: 1-5-8 Zushi, Zushi city, Kanagawa 249-0006
Website: http://www.tamaya1950.com