About food in Japan

Belgium chocolate - Galler CHOCOLATE - THE

It is not easy to find a cozy table for a cup of tea or coffee in Ginza without making a que on weekend afternoon. Galler CHOCOLATE - THE is my favourite place in Ginza to forget the bustle of the shopping and entertaining town.

The cafe-restaurant by the established Belgian chocolate house, Galler, is located on the second floor of Seibu department store, just a hundred meter away from busy Yurakucho station.

What should not be missed iteam is of course sweets with Galler chocolate.

A great pair of Belgian speciality - chocolate and waffles is a recommendable menu.

Chocolate and sweets are not a single feature of the cafe. Flower decoration and piano playing music at the cafe are also by Belgian famouse professionals.

While taking a rest from hassle of shopping in Ginza, enjoy Belgian specialities at the cozy tea room.

Cafe name: Galler CHOCOLATE - THE
Address: Yurakucho Seibu Department store Fasion-kan (pavillion) 2nd floor, 2-5-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Website: Galler Japan (Japanese)
            http://www.galler.co.jp

An-mitsu (あんみつ Japanese traditional sweets)

An-mitsu(あんみつ） is a Japanese traditional sweets. It could be a kind of "parfait" in Japanese style.

Literally "an"(餡、あん） is sweet bean paste that is often seen in Japanese traditional sweets. "Mitsu"(蜜、みつ） represents sweet syrup made from sugar.
So in a bowl of "an-mitsu", the bean paste and syrup are the biggest features. But we cannot miss also "kanten"(寒天、かんてん）, Japanese agar (gelatin jelly made from a plant) for an-mitsu.

In addition to these three main ingredients in an-mitsu, other attractive filling maybe added; fruits such as a pice of orange, strawberry or cherry, cream (like one in the photo), "shiratama"(dumpling). Then the sweet bowl is "upgraded" to something with more attractive names - "fruits an-mitsu"- "fruit cream an-mitsu"  or "fruit shiratama an-mitsu" etc etc

Mihashi in Ueno is a traditional sweets house known for the an-mitsu and other traditional sweets. Eat-in and take-away for some products are available.
It is located just a stone throw from the Ueno park.
Why do not you take a break with the traditional sweets after enjoying Sakura (cherry blossom) at the famous park?

Cafe name: Mihashi
Address: 4-9-7 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Website: http://www.mihashi.co.jp

 

Mos burger - モスバーガー

Mos burger is a casual hamburger restaurant chain in Japan.

I wonder if we should call it  "fast food".  Like the global giant, McDonald's, we can find typical menu such as hamburger, fried potato there.  However speed of preparing food is not their priority. The chain is proud of making a hamburger by hand after a client orders it.

Price is not its sales point but quality and safety of ingredients are. At some units, you are able to find name and place of farmers on a black boad in front of the restaurant. These on the listed are who raise lettuce and other fresh vegetable for the Mos burger unit.

You could have to wait for your order for longer time and maybe have to pay a little bit more at Mos burger than at other firstfood restaurants. Instead you will surely get a fresh and tasty hamburger.

A three days ago, the "slow food?" restaurant chain celebrated its 37th birthday.
The first unit opened in a residential area of Tokyo in 1972 and the company added 100 units within 7 years from the first one opening.

Now there are over 1000 Mos burgur shop across Japan and 100 more in Asian countries/area such as Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Its first and still the most famous product is "Mos burger"(Yen320). Meat sauce(like Bolognaise sauce) and chopped onion between a slice of tomato and hamburger are unique points.

My impression was "It is fantastic" when I had it for the first time and I was a high shcool student. I do not know how many times I ordered the product since that time...

Mos barger is also known as the first restaurant which offered "Teriyaki burger" and "rice burger". Both are now often found at other restaurants and even on shelfs at convenience shops or supermarkets in Japan.

A point to be kept in mind is another uniqueness of the chain.
It rarely opens the restaurants in a prime location, for example area around major train stations such as Shibuya, Shinjuku or Ginza. It rather exists in residential area or a place a bit far from a train station. Don't miss a sign of another "M" logo in red!

Restaurant name: Mos burger
Website: http://www.mos.co.jp

 


   

Sanbancho cafe

It is located on a calm small street just behind busy Yasukuni-dori in central Tokyo.

By time, the cafe restaurant offers different type of use.
For business people in the area, breakfast and lunch on weekday are peaceful break time. On the evening, it will be a good place to chill out with pasta, pizza and glass of wine, after a whole day hard work. A few times in a month, live music events are taken place on the evening time.

On Saturday, it is a nice stop for lunch and tea time while people stroll in the area, Chidorigafuchi of Imperial Palace and Yasukuni shrine. Dogs are also allowed to take a break there with their masters. For the second cup of coffee and tea, it offers at a half price, except for lunch time. So enjoy reading a book, chatting with friends as long as you want, but do not worry about your drink run out from your cup!

What I had ... a special Saturday lunch plate with a cup of carrot soup. The tasty food is not simply "cafe-food" rather it is professional work. We cannot ignore the point.

Another thing we cannot miss to check is "Yao Sanbancho", small vegetable market held in front of the cafe. You will be able to find fresh seasonal organic vegerable there.

Smokers seats are also available at the cafe. It is kind to everyone...

Cafe name: Sanbancho cafe
Address: 28-4 Sanbancho Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Website: http://sanbanchocafe.jp/

   

Japanese tea cafe(日本茶cafe) - Suruga

Japanese tea(日本茶) is one of the most popular drink in Japan. We often make it at home with a tea pot and leaf or have it through a pet bottle at office and outside. But it is not so many cafes feature Japanese tea at their shops.

The Japanese cafe Suruga is run by a Japanese green tea producer "Surugaen" in Tokyo. So they are specialists of Japanese tea. At the small cafe in Daikanyama, a popular fasion town where small boutiques stand around, some selections of Japanese tea and Japanese traditional sweets are available.

My order, a Japanese tea is served by cup with leaf dipped in hot water. A sand clock tells me how long I have to wait for the hot drink.

Of course, some pieces of sweets, rice cakes in my case, cannot be missed along with the fresh tea.

 

Cafe name: Suruga

Address: Daikanyama Plaza 2E 24-7, Sarugakucho, Shibuya, Tokyo

Bakery cafe in Tokyo station - Burdigala Express

Burdigala runs several bakery stores and restaurants in Tokyo and Osaka. It opened a cefe inside of the Tokyo Station last year.

From seven o'clock in the morning, a nice pair of cafe au lait and French pastry or sandwiches are available at the station. The cafe is crowded in the morning by travellers with big suites cases and guide books. How nice it is as a departure point of a journey to have breakfast there while we are waiting for a train or friends.

Today's my breakfast is "croque monsieur", ham and cheese hot sand. All menu can be taken away for having on a train or in office, if you do not have enough time to sit on a seat at the cafe.

Cafe: Burdigala Express
Location: B1 floor JR Tokyo station

Laduree, the French patisserie finally arrived in Tokyo

The prestigious patisserie in Paris opened its branch in Tokyo finally.
Laduree was considered among famous patisseries in Paris as the last one that has not been arrived yet in Tokyo. Pierre Herme, Jean-Paul Hevin, Dalloyau, Fauchon; they are names we can find in Tokyo.

There had been rumors for last few years about with which company the icon of Paris patisserie would work in Tokyo.

Laduree's first cafe and boutique in Tokyo is located on the second floor of Mitsukoshi department store in Ginza. The estabilished retailer is not a surprise for Japanese as a partner of Laduree. At the corner of Ginza 4-chome crossing, where two luxury brand shopping streets meet each other, it is the best location to be the most prestigious tea salon in this country.

I had been waiting for a chance to visit the tea salon since it opened two month ago.
Just after the opening, people had been making a long que for long hours!
It depends on time and day whether the salon seats are full or not.
But at least a long long que(around one hour or longer) is still daily event for the boutique to buy macarons and other Laduree sweets.

The price difference between Paris and Tokyo is tiny.
The flavour is almost same even though it is less selections in Tokyo.
It is not a bad idea to enjoy taste of Paris in Tokyo.

Cafe and boutique name: Laduree
Address: Ginza Mitsukoshi 4-6-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Italien cafe - Sol Levante

Sol Levante is a cafe featuring Italian sweets.
It is located in Omodatesando, just a block behind the busy 246 street. In spite of that, the residential area is very calm.

The cafe offers a sweets boutique at the entrance, where we can find various but all traditional Italian sweets such as biscott and Polentina.

Today my purpose to visit here is behind the boutique counter.
The cafe space has ample seats, looking at the pastry kitchen through the glass wall, to taste these Italian sweets on site with Italian style cofee prepared by "barista".

Its special dessrt for summer is a set of three kinds of jelly, which I had.

                           
Left: Jelly of Spumante with berries
Right: Jelly of mango and passion fruites

Right: Jelly of espresso

What is common across three is the richness of taste.
They are not simply jelly of coffee flavor, sparkling wine, fruites but rather they are coffee  itself of loose solid form, pure of fruites or Spumante as well.
These glasses will promise the feeling of satisfaction.

Restaurant name: Sol Levante
Address: 3-10-14 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0061
Website: http://sollevante.jp

Museum café - SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART

Traditional taste from an old town in Western Japan is available at a museum café in central Tokyo. The café in SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART is operated by a traditional “fu”(麩, wheat gluten cakes) producer, Fumuroya, in Kaga (Kanazawa, the old town in West part of Japan.) The café is decorated accoding to its theme “Japanese modern”.

The café provides Japanese sweets, a few selections of lunch and some local specialities of Kaga region. Here we can discover different ways of serving fu. The traditioanal Japanese food is used for almost all sweets menu. That is not usual for us, people who are not familier with food in Kaga. I ever saw and had fu only as dumplings in clear soup. This is the first time for me to have fu in sweets.

 A few of crisp pieces are on top of ice cream.　Menu: "Fumuroya" parfait

 

 

Sugar coated and dried pieces are served with a cup of tea.

 

 

Only 30 lunch box are ready everyday.

The big soup boul with a lot of fu dipped is of course the feature of the set.

 

SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART does not always offer expositions related Japanese culture, although what we can find there is always high standard collections.

The cafe is accessible even without an entrance ticket of the museum.

It is recommendable not only for the museum visitor but also for  a short break during shopping in  Roppongi Midtown complexe, where the museum is also located.

Cafe address:  SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART Tokyo Midtown,  9-7-4 Akasaka,

                            Minato-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.suntory.co.jp/sma/

 

French café – AUX BACCHANALES

AUX BACCHANALES is a real French style café in Tokyo.

We can enjoy only café au lait or French cuisine lunch, dinner, a grass of Perrier, French style sandwiches, whatever with a fresh breeze at the open-air terrace seats. It opens from morning to late evening without a break. So it will be ideal place for late lunch time after shopping or early dinner before going to theaters.

My favorite menu there is “Steak tartare”(raw beef steak) with fried potato. Japanese people are familiar with raw fish but not with raw meat. Because of that, the menu is hardly found at other restaurants in Japan, even if they are called French café, restaurant or brasseries. So the café staff always ask the client who orders Steak Tartare “Raw meat of beef will be served. Is that ok for you?” Then I reply “Yes, of course!”

I can never miss the good combination between soft fresh meat and spices mixed with French fries.

 

AUX BACCANALES is located in Ginza and other major spots in Tokyo; Shinagawa, Akasaka.

Restaurant name: AUX BACCHANALES (Ginza)

Address: Gallery Center build. 1F 6-3-2 Ginza, Chu--ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.auxbacchanales.com