Asaru Studio

The season 3 menu, which they have available till the end of August, also offered the perfect summer treat, Anmitsu. Chilled Kanten jelly drizzled with Kuromitsu and embellished with azuki beans, chewy dimpled shiratama as well as seasonal fruits (sweet red plum wedges, melon, and juicy shine muscat grapes). Not at all cloying, there was a fun medley of textures, and the fruits tasted real fresh. The choice of tea pairing, the gyokuro genmaicha was splendid too. Highly aromatic, the distinct toasty flavour of the genmaicha blended really well with the grassy and earthy sweetness of the green tea blend. Very smooth and not overly punchy.

And eventually at the end, during the 1-hour slot, I caved and bagged home some tableware since I could use the booking credits to offset purchases above $50. 

Part of the $30 U C H I experience

An impromptu decision to visit Asaru Studio on my birthday last month proved to be a wise choice as I thoroughly enjoyed the intimate space and the conversation I had with the two wonderful hosts. The reservation-only ‘u c h i’ experience ($30) gives one the time to browse the Japanese-inspired retail studio and some light refreshments (but I am really just there for the sweets). 

Up first was freshly whisked Tomoshiro no Mukashi Matcha (Extra Fine Matcha) from Rishouen Tea. Slightly frothy, the matcha was refreshingly light and mild-tasting. There was little to no bitterness and just a tinge of grassy aftertaste. Pairing with together with the tea was their housemade Castella. Fragrant and delicate, the texture was not that soft (neither was it dense) but instead a little sticky, kinda fluffy, and springy.

Came back to @asaru.studio for the new desserts and I enjoyed our visit here again a lot 😌

Uiro, a traditional steamed cake with sweet bean, matcha and red bean layers. They were slightly dense with a chewy texture and each flavour was distinct while complementing the other flavours at the same time. This is said to be very rare even in Japan because it's so traditional, there isn't much information of where is originated from but we found out that you can probably get it in some of the traditional teahouses in Kyoto. We had this with matcha and the slightly bitter notes helped to balance the sweetness of the wagashi.

We got to choose between soba cha and coffee next, I had soba cha with my warabi mochi. The soba cha was so fragrant and it was the best soba cha I had in my life (I haven't had that much soba cha so I'm not a good gauge but I loved it). The warabi mochi was prepared fresh and served warm with fragrant kinako powder. The warabi mochi was a lot softer than what we usually have and it was delicious too!

Can't wait to be back for more in the future! ☺️

Visited @asaru.studio last month and I loved how it felt like an escape from the quick pace of life in Singapore. Got to have a strawberry daifuku, matcha roll cake, coffee and matcha here during my one hour session and enjoyed the atmosphere along with the interesting conversations we had as well. They also sell unique items and I was attracted to the ceramic pieces here 😍 I enjoyed my experience very much 😌

The menu changes every 2 months so I'll be back soon!