to eat in japan
Finally got our hands on these limited to a 100 per day handmade organic baked doughnuts, after we got cheated by google maps (ok la it's half our fault for not double checking the location too) 😂 Don’t come expecting the usual deep fried sort of fluffy doughnut texture as these are cake based. It’s way more dense and dry but taste wise, was still a rather decent sweet treat. These freshly baked cuties contain no additives and preservatives, weren’t greasy or overly sweet. Loved the attention to detail though, the touch of almond as ears was a lovely surprise!
📍フロレスタ鎌倉店 Floresta Nature Doughnuts
1-3-4 Komachi Kamakura Kanagawa, Japan
🚇 Kamakura Station
🕚 11am to 6pm Daily, Closed on Mondays
Daily Chico has a whole range of soft serve flavours and many ways of purchase - single flavour, double flavours, 4 in a cone, etc. But the most popular of them all is still their extra large cone with all 8 flavours topped on each other!! There’s chocolate, calpis, strawberry, coffee, matcha, vanilla, grape and soda. It tasted better than we expected, rather smooth and creamy yet not overly sweet, but it’s a one time try for me. Some flavours tasted better than the others and somehow we found scooping them all up and eating together to be nicer than having them individually.
📍デイリーチコ Daily Chico
Nakano Broadway B1F
Nakano 5-52-15, Tokyo-to, Nakano-ku
🚇 Nakano Station
🕙 10am to 8pm Daily
Definitely not a yuzu fan because I don’t fancy the acidity in many yuzu flavoured dishes, but this here was different. Came by to this affordable ramen joint thanks to @that_dex’s recommendation! Really enjoyed the refreshing chicken based broth with just the right amount of yuzu to help cut any possible jelak-ness. Noodles here are the thin kind and you’ll get bamboo shoots, half an ajitama egg, seaweed and a slice of charcoal grilled chashu, which although was not the melt in the mouth sort but still tender with a good bite. It was a super easy bowl to slurp down! AFURI would be a great supper option as well.
📍阿夫利 AFURI
3-63-1 Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo
🚇 Harajuku Station
🕚 10am to 3am Daily
Lots of hype about this place everywhere and I’m so glad we made a trip down. Really couldn’t decide which to get till we spotted this Taste of Maine on the counter menu. One set but it lets you have a taste of all 3 seafood and please, it was SO worth it! Halved butter rolls topped with chilled shredded crab meat, lobsters and shrimps - all so fresh and very lightly seasoned in lemon butter, keeping the natural sweetness and flavours all locked in. Luke’s kept it simple and this simplicity worked best!
📍Luke’s Lobster (Omotesando)
6-7-1 Jingumaee, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
🚇 Harajuku Station
🕚 11am to 8pm Daily
Walk down the Harajuku shopping street and you’ll spot people either holding on to a crepe or one of these churro shaped croquant chou stick. These sticks are made fresh daily and piped on the spot with smooth custard cream. The crunch on its slightly crisp exterior all thanks to the chopped almond bits made it fun to eat with the varying textures. It’s not the cloyingly sweet sort too, so it’s easily gone in a blink of an eye!
📍ザクザク Zaku Zaku
1-7-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 CUTE CUBE HARAJUKU 1F
🚇 Harajuku Station
🕙 10am to 8pm Daily
Had many snacks while we were roaming around the endless alleys in Tsukiji Market and this was probably my favourite. Can’t remember the name of the stall but it’s just opposite one selling colourful fruits on sticks dipped in liquid nitrogen. A very unassuming stall with just a table filled with sticks of warabimochi but oh my, these soft cubes were too gooooood. We got the mix stick of soybean, roasted green tea and black sesame. Each cube had their distinct flavour, all with that roasty fragrance and delicate texture with a good bite. $1 a pop? GIVE ME MORE!
📍Tsukiji Fish Market
Hidden in a corner among the residential area, you’ll enjoy the whole vibe of this quaint little cafe even if you’re not a fan of Totoro! We came by just for these cream puffs and had the difficult decision to choose among four, each differentiated by its head accessory (how cute!). The classic Custard Cream Puff had a lovely chilled filling that was smooth and delicate with just a touch of vanilla bean sweetness, while the seasonal Peach Cream Puff had small cubes of peaches - really good! The profiterole-like puffs though, had potential to be way better. They were fairly crisp and flaky but also a little too dry, bordering on being a tad hard.
📍Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory
5 Chome-3-1 Daita, Setagaya, Tokyo 155-0033, Japan
🚇 Setagaya-Daita Station
🕥 10.30am to 7pm Daily, Closed on Tuesdays