Tokyo Brunch: Lauderdale

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Today’s brunch write-up is of Lauderdale, in Roppongi Hills. One of a few places that does a breakfast menu in addition to a brunch menu (as well as lunch and dinner). Brunch however is only available on weekends and public holidays. This is a popular place for brunch, and they are famous for their souffles. Each brunch main dish here comes with two free side dishes. These side dishes include savoury dishes and drinks. So you could work a combination of one drink and one side dish or two side dishes (and then pay for a drink separately). The side dishes are quite small so they won’t ruin your appetite. Having the insatiable appetite that I have, I opted for the free two side dishes, and ordered a pot of tea separately. The side dishes here aren’t that great. I ordered the fries and the homemade chili con carne.

From Lauderdale brunch
From Lauderdale brunch

Considering they are free accompaniments, don’t expect too much. The brunch mains though are very good here. Again the usual suspects are available – buttermilk pancakes, omelettes, eggs benedict, souffle and even a burger. I will say, that the brunch menu is somewhat limited. There’s no hot fry-up breakfast to be had here so if that’s what you’re after look elsewhere. On this particular occasion, I went the eggs benedict -they do two styles here. Bacon and shrimp guacomole and/or bacon and salmon. I think you can choose your combination, from memory. That is, one of each or two of your chosen one. I can’t remember. But I must have gotten one of each. I think the menu has changed from what I can tell on their website though. I think you need to order one or other other…but I can’t be too be sure on how it works. At the time of going there, which was last year, I got the eggs benedict – two ways.

From Lauderdale brunch
From Lauderdale brunch

One with bacon and the other with shrimp/prawns and guacamole.

From Lauderdale brunch
From Lauderdale brunch

Looks good, ay. It was pretty yummy too. The prawns were a bit awkward to eat though. Had to take off the tail and head and the shell, and then stick it back on the english muffin. The bacon one was better. There was something amiss with the flavour on the prawn and guacamole one that didn’t quite go with the hollandaise sauce. But I will say that the egg was cooked to perfection. Splat.

From Lauderdale brunch

If you’re ordering the eggs benedict, there’s also the third option of salmon which someone else got.

From Lauderdale brunch

You do not want to go out and dine with me. Coz I run around taking photos of everyone else’s food! (Don’t worry, I don’t approach strangers in the restaurant, but rather only food photos of the people that I’m with. Luckily, this is Japan and everyone takes photos of their food). A friend ordered the buttermilk pancakes, with banana and bacon topping. And they looked darn delicious. Just waiting to be drizzled with lashings of maple syrup.

From Lauderdale brunch

Lauderdale is famous for their savoury souffles which are cooked to order. I was glad someone ordered it, so I could take a photo of it.

From Lauderdale brunch
From Lauderdale brunch

I’ve been meaning to go back to this place again so I can order the souffle and the pancakes. Indoor and outdoor terrace seating is available. It can get quite busy here.

From Lauderdale brunch
From Lauderdale brunch
From Lauderdale brunch

I’d go to Lauderdale for your souffle and pancake needs. Better eggs benedict can be found elsewhere. And no hot breakfast fry-up available. Lauderdale is open all three meals of the day. Lauderdale brunch menu (Japanese and English) All menus can be found on the above link. Access: Roppongi Hills, opposite the Grand Hyatt hotel in Roppongi, near the shopping label area. Tabelog entry is here. They get a 3.49 out of 5 over there.

Tokyo Brunch: Las Chicas

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From Monday through to Friday of this week, I’m going to post up a different brunch venue around Tokyo where I have partaken in brunch. These five brunches took place over a span of about 12 months. So just to be clear, it is not what I am eating each morning. These reviews are a little bit dated…so my memory might be a little hazy.

Nothing says a lazy Sunday more than Brunch. Breakfast is not something you do ‘out’ in Japan. You’d be hard pressed to find anywhere that’s open to eat before 11am. There are only a handful of places that offer brunch, and usually only on the weekends, and usually they’re managed by foreign owners or have foreign chefs. Brunch is more a Western concept so the higher end Western dining establishment usually put on a brunch menu on the weekend. I usually go to brunch maybe once every 2 months or so. I love having me a nice fry-up on the odd occasion. And I like the WORKS. I’m talking bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, toast, mushrooms, pancakes with syrup washed down with an endless pot of tea. Needless to say, this is a heart attack on a plate…which is why I try not to indulge in brunch too often. (Ordering yoghurt and muesli is not my idea of brunch, people!).

So Monday’s review is of Las Chicas in Aoyama (Omotesando area). It’s tucked down a few quiet streets. To work up an appetite I recommend walking from Harajuku station (a solid 15 minute walk or so down Omotesando). This venue is a relaxed cafe, restaurant open for brunches, lunches, dinner, drinks or just a coffee or snack. The menu offers standard brunch fare – pancakes, eggs benedict, traditional hot breakfast, poached eggs, and an assortment of country skillets. I ordered the traditional hot breakfast fry-up which consisted of sausages, eggs, bacon and a hash brown. Totally devoured this up. This is kind of a treat in Japan where a Japanese breakfast mainly consists of fish, rice and miso soup (albeit a much more healthier option). But I do love a good sleep in followed up with a hot brekky.

From Las Chicas
From Las Chicas

I thought it was tasty enough. At the end of the day through, brunch offerings are generally not going to win any culinary awards, but this certainly satisfied my tastebuds. Would it be wrong of me to say that it didn’t quite fill me up though. It was lacking toast. And I need my carbs! I think food presentation was rather lacking here though. Someone else ordered the poached eggs on salmon, which also comes with a hashbrown. They could have jazzed up the plate a little.

From Las Chicas

Someone else ordered the pancakes:

From Las Chicas

And someone else ordered the country skillet which was basically like a potato frittata. There are a few different options for the country skillet.

From Las Chicas

I think I definitely chose the best item on the menu. For a no-frills place to do brunch, this place is ok. Indoor seating was nice and comfortable.

From Las Chicas

They also have outdoor seating which would be nice in summer. We went here in the winter, so they had gas warmers set up.

From Las Chicas
From Las Chicas

There are better places to do brunch in Tokyo, but for a traditional hot breakfast, I think this place is decent enough. There are other places that I would recommend if you’re going for better eggs benedict and pancakes. (I think brunch is there weak point). I think Las Chicas is better served as a cafe. They do pasta, sandwiches and I believe they may be the only place in Tokyo that do potato wedges with sour chili and sweet chili sauce (yum)!!!! But I’ve not tried them. It’s better to come here for light snacks such as wedges, nachos etc. Brunch here is about 2000yen – for a brunch main and a drink (tea/coffee). Menu and Map can be found here. Tabelog entry can be found here (for more food photos and reviews). They only get a 2.84 out of 5 on Tabelog. I’ll have a new brunch review for each day up until Friday.

Bvlgari: Box Afternoon Tea Set

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I wouldn’t know fashion if it slapped me across the face.. But I do know and love my food. On Sunday afternoon I found myself amongst the labels district in Ginza – the likes of Chanel, Coach, Cartier, and Louis Vuitton. This month’s afternoon tea was at Bvlgari. Ha, and you thought they only sold bags (or watches, or whatever it is that they sell)! This particular afternoon tea venue warranted in taking the SLR camera out for the day, so enjoy the glossy HD pics. My first preference for this month’s afternoon was at a hotel (they name of which will remain undisclosed at this point in time), but, alas, they were all booked out when I tried booking about two weeks ago. So back to the spreadsheet to find an alternative venue. I decided on Bvlgari. In addition to their fashion label, they own hotel, resorts and dining establishments around the world. They have a few different restaurants around Tokyo. I got confused and had originally made reservations for afternoon tea at the Bvlgari café in Omotesando. I realised that wasn’t what I wanted. And what I wanted was at Bvlgari il Bar in Ginza, so I asked to change my reservation. The afternoon tea at Bvlgari is at il Bar in Ginza (and not the café in Omotesando – counterintuitive, I know), so that’s where you’ll need to go. So I asked to switch my reservation venue. Now, il Bar does not take reservations, but they kindly let me do so on this occasion because I technically had an existing reservation. Bvlgari service – impressive. And it got better. On the main fashion label road in Ginza just down on the next corner from the Ginza Apple Store, you’ll find Bvlgari on the corner. Turn down the side street and there’s a separate entrance to gain access to the Bvlgari restaurant and Bar. We made our way to level 10 where you’ll find the Bar. Greeting service was excellent. And we were ushered to our (presumably Italian-leather) seats.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

I had been really looking forward to the Afternoon Tea at Bvlgari. I had seen pictures and I was suitably impressed. The drawcard here is the presentation and gourmet food – Italian influenced. My favourite cuisine. The Afternoon Tea here isn’t served on three tiers. It’s served in little boxes. Way cool! Our reservation was for 2pm, so our little posse sat down to check out the menu,. We all got a bit worried because afternoon tea wasn’t on the menu! Oh no, had I mistaken the venue again? Should we have gone to the cafe in Omotesando? Was I at the wrong Bvlgari place? The only thing on the menu was brunch. We asked for the afternoon tea menu and discovered that afternoon tea doesn’t start until 3pm. Ahhh. Bvlgari exceptional service to the rescue again. They allowed us to order it early, and told us it would take about 25 minutes to prepare for the four of us. No problem at all. An opportune moment to order cocktails whilst we wait. Make that a Cosmopolitan.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

Group photo with fellow gastronomads. (I would be the rather tanned-looking gal)

From Bvlgari

Not long after our cocktails were brought out, our Afternoon Tea boxes arrived. Wow. Speedy service. And the Afternoon Tea boxes were amazing! Ingenius. So clever and creative. And the food was divine. Gotta love the Italians for their love of food.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

The first box was the savoury appetizers.

From Bvlgari

Delectable morsels of food. Totally sapid (my new word for the day).

From Bvlgari

Mini capsicum stuffed with a risotto, cheese wrapped in smoked salmon, a zucchini and Italian meat sandwich, pancetta and a mini hamburger was a great way to ease into the afternoon.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

This mini hamburger was so tasty from such a tiny little thing. Anything miniature is cool. A fleck of gold to touch. It ain’t Italian without some bling!

From Bvlgari

The second box was like our own little bread box! With a scone, croissant, quiche and a biscotti.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

Desserts – another delightful treasure chest of sweets.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

There was the tiramisu macron…

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

Because it was difficult to take photos of the food inside the boxes, you’ll notice that I was balancing the food on the edge of the boxes. (Yep, unleashing the inner food stylist in me.) In the beautiful egg-shaped shot glass was a passionfruit and banana cream pannacotta with white chocolate on top. So smoothly delicious. And the remaining square was for the condiments. Cream and jam for the scone and croissant. A jam trolley was brought out to us, and we were able to choose our jams from a selection. – honey, apricot jam, strawberry jam, or chocolate. We were then handed a small bowl of our selected jam to complete the set.

From Bvlgari

Each of the four squares (boxes) make up one big square. Such playful presentation. Oh, and the boxes were stackable.

From Bvlgari

It made for one very crowded table.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

The food was amazing. Uber delicious. Beautifully portioned and presented. Belissimo. There is a nice selection of teas and coffees to choose from. I was suitably impressed by the selection – the usual favourites made their appearance (Afternoon tea blend, Assam, Darjeeling, herbal teas) along with some unusual blends too. Or coffee/hot chocolate if you prefer. I chose the Imperial Orange Pekoe Tea (which is a type of Ceylon UVA blend, I think).

From Bvlgari

No room on the table for our teapots so they had them lined up on a counter. The teapots offered quite the generous serving, which they will top up with hot water refills. (No tea sampling, but that was fine by me.) Tea supplier if you’re interested was Qi Botanical (Canada).

From Bvlgari

Oversized tea strainer…loved it.

From Bvlgari

The one flaw, the only flaw that caught my discerning eye was the packet sugar. They went to such lengths in quality everywhere else but the sugar must have been overlooked. They plonked down a container of packet sugar. You’d think they’d use sugar cubes or sugar granules. I don’t take sugar with my tea but still this was a small detail which stood out (in my eyes) amongst the decadence of everything else. (There’s a photo in the slideshow below). Can’t forget the obligatory photo of the scone with jam and cream.

From Bvlgari

The thing I saved for last was the Bvlgari Bvlgari signature chocolate token. Made with shochu and matsutake (a famous Japanese mushroom…I guess kinda like a truffle perhaps). It was super rich. I struggled to get through it. This single chocolate alone sells for about 1000yen (around 10buks).

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

The Afternoon Tea Box Set at il Bar (Bvlgari in Ginza) is superbly priced for excellent quality food and impressive service at 3600yen. (A champagne option is also available at champagne prices). Cocktails ranged from 1500-2500 yen. Generous serves. A great place for a leisurely decadent afternoon tea. We spent about 4 hours here. Let’s just say that the Bvlgari Box Afternoon Tea Set ticked all my boxes – great location (the heart of Ginza), delicious food (compliments to the chef), wonderful services (super attentive, polite, all English speaking too right down from the email reservation to even taking our orders and explaining the dishes in English – really considerate gesture even though they didn’t need to. There were 2 Japanese amongst us, plus me (Japanese competent)), and exceptional value. They totally deserved the little inadequate thank-you email I sent them. Here are some photos of the atmosphere and decor at il Bar. Even though it’s a Bar, by day it functions more as a cafe-lounge. They do a Brunch Box Set which I am also keen to try. It was crowded pretty much the whole time we were there. I took most of these photos once a lot of people had left. At night, it’s more a bar. They do drinks, cocktails, as well as dinner.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

View over Ginza….

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

Glasses (one of every shape) on the Bar counter. I thought this was cool.

From Bvlgari

They don’t take reservations at il Bar….so good luck in getting a spot. Afternoon tea menu is from 3pm – 6pm. Brunch available during the daytime. On the floor below is the Bvlgari il ristorante. Impressive. Here are some shots looking down into the dining area from the Bar.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

The Bvlgari building in Ginza – shop on street level.

From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari
From Bvlgari

Bvlgari Tokyo restaurants website can be found here. Afternoon Tea is offered at il Bar. You can download the menu sample there. If the il Bar Afternoon Tea Box set is too much, you can try the smaller version at their cafe in Omotesando. It consists of one of the small box squares only rather than the full set. It includes tea and coffee. Don’t get confused between the Ginza and the Omotesando venues. You can read the Bvlgari il Bar reviews on Tabelog as well (Japanese). Bvlgari il Bar in Ginza is in the heart of Ginza. Closest station exit is Ginza subway line, Ginza station – exit 12. It’s right next door to the Matsuya department store, opposite Chanel. From il Bar, we could see across into the Chanel restaurant. Who knew that all these high fashion labels did food as well. That restaurant looked fancy too. My tagline for this afternoon tea would be: “Bvlgari Afternoon Tea: Food over Fashion.” Really, I must stop outdoing myself on finding outstanding places to do afternoon tea in Tokyo. Enjoy the complete photo slideshow.

Afternoon tea in Nagoya (Marriott Associa hotel)

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It’s been a while since I’ve done an afternoon tea…actually not since my birthday high tea at the Ritz. But fear not, I have one planned for this weekend. In the meantime, here is one to tide you over. When I was in Nagoya over Golden Week, I did an afternoon tea there at the Nagoya Marriott Associa hotel for a friend’s birthday. It was standard. Not bad, but not awesome either. But pretty good by Nagoya standards, I’m betting. It’s been over two months now since I went there…so my memory is a little sketchy. The hotel is in the JR tower attached to the Nagoya JR station. Follow the signs within the station. It’s on level 15, same level as the Nagoya station skywalk observatory lookout point.

From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea

It’s a very nice hotel with a busy lobby area.

From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea

In the lobby lounge, called ‘Scenery’ is where afternoon tea is served.

From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea

It was quite busy. Reserve in advance.

From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea

A tea party for four.

From Nagoya Marriott Tea

Here was the top sweets tier:

From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea

It looked very cute!

From Nagoya Marriott Tea

And then there were some sandwiches. Not impressed with the mayonnaise over the tomatoes. The Japanese love mayonnaise! They even put it on pizza!

From Nagoya Marriott Tea

The sandwiches weren’t too impressive.

From Nagoya Marriott Tea

But the scones were pretty good though. Scones are such a comforting food. Nothing better than scones with jam and cream and a cup of tea.

From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea
From Nagoya Marriott Tea

The table always gets really crowded at afternoon tea – cups, pots, saucers, plates, cutlery, serving tiers…

From Nagoya Marriott Tea

No tea sampling here. Just choose your one tea blend. Everything was very futsu here. But if you want to partake in afternoon tea in Nagoya this is probably your best bet. Although I did go to one other cafe in Nagoya and also ordered the afternoon tea set there too. Tea set at the Marriott Nagoya is 2500yen. Info here. This weekend, I have another fancy afternoon tea planned…and an even bigger afternoon tea surprise event next month…which I have been keeping secret for a long time now. Can’t wait until the end of August when I can reveal!

High Tea at the Ritz , Tokyo

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I died and went to heaven last Sunday. Heaven is level 45 of the Ritz Carlton hotel. When I die, that’s where I’m going. For my birthday this year, I decided to do the creme de la creme of high tea experiences. I had planned to do this since way last year and had been saving this venue in particular for my birthday. That’s right, High Tea at the Ritz Carlton in Tokyo. Pure indulgence. The Ritz Carlton high tea tops in terms of views and price. Tea at the Ritz is the highest place to do afternoon tea in Tokyo. On level 45, there is no higher place to indulgence in tea and scones, topping both the Park Hyatt (level 41) and the Mandarin Oriental (level 38). I have done my research (I have a high tea spreadsheet) and there is no higher place in Tokyo at least to partake in afternoon tea). It is also the venue that comes with the highest price tag for afternoon tea in Tokyo. It’s hard to justify paying 75 buks for an afternoon tea on any given Sunday, but considering it was my birthday treat it was worth going there, so I went with a couple of other foodie friends for a very small birthday soiree. Warning: Photo overload. The Ritz Carlton is in Roppongi Midtown. The entrance floor mat:

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

From the ground floor, you’ll need to make your way to the hotel lobby which is on level 45. The lift will take you straight up, bypassing all other floors.

From Tea at the Ritz!

High Tea is at the Lobby Lounge.

From Tea at the Ritz!

Table setting:

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Traditional classic decor with some contemporary trimmings. Bright pink menu!

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Lots of nice little touches. An assortment of jams…

From Tea at the Ritz!

Strawberry, Apricot, Orange marmalade and Honey.

From Tea at the Ritz!

Tea strainers:

From Tea at the Ritz!

Lots of little details here make it a great tea experience. One of these highlights were the tea sampler. This was the first place I’ve been to in Tokyo/Japan where they brought out a tea leaf sampler box. Here you can smell and look at the tea leaves. Genius. Very few hotels offer this. The only other venue where I’ve seen this was in Sydney at the Wentworth Sofitel from memory…maybe.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

A decent enough selection of a dozen different blends.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

We settled on the Ritz Carlton hotel blend (a chocolate black tea blend), English Breakfast tea (a favourite and a classic), and the Strawberry and champagne blend. The downside to tea at the Ritz is that you can’t sample all the tea blends like you can at other tea venues. You can choose a tea blend per person. So between the three of us, we could choose 3 teas. They are served in really large teapots that serve 5-6 cups. We shared the three tea blends. Hot water refill for the teas is available though, so still lots of tea consumed. I probably had about 8 cups of tea (at least 2-3 cups of each tea). That’s still a lot of tea. Would have been nice to try some of the other blends though. Another of the highlights here which I really appreciated were tea warmers! I’m embarrassed to say that I had never seen a tea warmer until that day. It was such a great touch. It was so nice and surprising to have a sip of hot tea every time I lifted my cup. I am so used to the tea getting lukewarm as is normally the case at afternoon tea. I never even knew tea warmers existed. I so want to get me one! Up until now, I thought people only used tea cozies/tea warmers to keep teapots warm. Tea warmer:

From Tea at the Ritz!

The teapot sits on top and the candle inside keeps the tea really nice and hot. Love it! A really great touch which made it a really nice tea experience.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Inside the tea warmer is a tealight candle. Hence why those candles are called tea light candles, I suppose. Genius! Ahhh, a relaxing cup of tea.

From Tea at the Ritz!

Sitting in the soft plush sofa soaking up the ambience….bliss. It was raining, grey and overcast outside, so it was nice to be inside enjoying a most decadent high tea. Onto the food – there are two high tea options here. The (regular) Heavenly High Tea (standard price) OR the Ritz Carlton High Tea. We, of course, went the very indulgent Ritz Carlton High Tea (7500yen). Crab meat, foie gras, salmon…bring it on.

From Tea at the Ritz!

Voila, the piece de resistance!

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Dessert tier:

From Tea at the Ritz!

Canape tier:

From Tea at the Ritz!

Scones:

From Tea at the Ritz!

The canapes were divine! Tasty morsels of some of my favourite foods – scallop, crab meat, prosciutto! Topped off with delicacies such as caviar and foie gras.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Check out at the crab meat topped with caviar, wrapped in mango.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Lots of sweets…

From Tea at the Ritz!

Bird’s eye view.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Salt caramel macron.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Scones…

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Live pianist too, and men enjoying high tea.

From Tea at the Ritz!

Tami and Kaori, also arranged a little birthday cake for me as well. (The Ritz has an upgrade plan where you can order a little celebration cake).

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Yay. Happy Birthday to me.

From Tea at the Ritz!

Here are some photos of the Lobby Lounge and atmosphere.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Indoor water feature.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Amazing views from the 45th floor!

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

The bar…

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Loved the artworks!

From Tea at the Ritz!

In case, you were wondering (but probably not) the tea brand used at the Ritz Carlton Tokyo is Lupicia, specially blended for the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Here are some photos of Roppongi Midtown where the 5-star hotel is located.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

Looking up… the Ritz Carlton hotel.

From Tea at the Ritz!
From Tea at the Ritz!

A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. A very indulgent, extravagant afternoon tea. A standard afternoon tea is also available with less decadent canapes (and dessert and scones) for about 3800yen. They even offer a kids afternoon tea called the Teddy Bear Tea set! Fancy that – kids doing afternoon tea at the Ritz! Highlights at the Ritz – great views, gourmet food, beautiful blissful atmosphere (exactly what I want heaven to be like), tea warmers, and tea leaf samples, unlimited seating session. Only downsides were: slow service, no unlimited tea sampling and it was a tad too pricey at 7500yen (plus 13% tax added on top of that). That being said though, was very worth it. A memorable experience and birthday partea to remember! Details, including menu, of High Tea at the Ritz Carlton Tokyo can be found here.

Sakura Afternoon Tea at Chinzan-so (Four Seasons hotel)

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It’s been a while since I have done a high tea write-up. A couple of weekends ago, I did a spring-themed sakura (cherryblossom) afternoon tea at the Four Seasons Hotel – Chinzan-so.. There are two Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo – one at Marunouchi (which I have done before) and another at Chinzan-so. Chinzan-so is actually a Japanese garden in Tokyo, near Edogawabashi. In the precinct of the Chinzan-so Japanese garden is the Four Seasons hotel, as well as Chinzan-so dining function centre. As I discovered, it’s a very popular place for weddings. I must have seen at least half a dozen weddings there. We had planned on doing this particular afternoon tea for a while now but decided to postpone it in light of the events that had taken place in Japan over the last month. My past high tea reviews – I usually critique them, and I will continue to do so. A little part of me feels a little guilty to be critiquing the service and quality of afternoon tea when so many people are suffering right now. But I don’t want to change what I have done in the past. I’m still in Japan, where I have been for the last several years, and I will continue to not only enjoy what this country offers but also to continue to help where I can in rebuilding Tohoku. …so without further ado, I shall recall the afternoon tea had on April 9. Weather was unfortunately not so great for hanami, but perfect to be inside enjoying afternoon tea. The Four Seasons Chinzan-so hotel is a very elegant, traditional hotel. It is absolutely palatial. Fit for royalty. Totally different from the Marunouchi Four Seasons. That hotel brand knows how to diversify. They couldn’t have been two more different venues. The downside to this venue, is that they don’t take bookings at all. We got there at 1.30pm and were told it would be about a 90minute wait. So we decided to go for a walk around the Chinzan-so Japanese garden and along the Edogawabashi riverline. After killing an hour, we then went back to the hotel to wait, only to be told we’d have to wait some more. After a total of 3hours, we finally were seated at 4.30pm. Talk about an epic wait. We were starving by this time too. Not impressed by the waiting time nor the service here. Big points lost there. They just kept telling us to wait. After three hours had passed we approached them again. Initially they told us we could have a table but only for an hour. What! A three-hour wait only to be kicked out after an hour. They don’t take bookings nor are their seating sessions. Then they told us we could stay longer for an hour only if we were willing to wait some more first! What! We queried this, and then out of thin air they ushered us into a vacant window seating area with no time limit. 4.30pm, hungry and after waiting for hours, we finally got ourselves seated in for an afternoon tea.

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea here is in the Le Jardin Lounge, so called because it overlooks the Chinzan-so garden (Jardin is French for ‘Garden’).

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Inside the menu, this was written…

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

We opted for the champagne set. We figured we had deserved it. It had been a month of tension and stress in Japan. People stopped enjoying themselves, cooped up inside homes, stressing and in state of fear and gloom. We decided to indulge a little. Nothing says indulgence more than a glass of Moet.

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Looking in…the glass is half-full.

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

And then the piece de resistance – the three-tiered platter of treats arrive.

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Savouries…

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Sweets…

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

And scones…

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

The food did not last long.

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Portions were small but very flavoursome. The food was good, and cherry blossom-themed. Here, you try as many pots of tea as you like, always a major plus.

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Plenty of teas to sample. A very decent selection of exotic, unusual blends.

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

The afternoon tea experience here is very traditional, very classic. Very nice indeed. Waiting time – expect it. Service – ok. Very courteous slow, although service is on the slow side. Food – flavoursome but standard. Not mindblowing but still very good. Atmosphere – plenty of seating, but very busy. Decor is very nice. Value – debatable. The set with champagne is 4950 (4500 + 10% tax). Without champagne is 3500yen from memory, and then add tax to that. Definitely not one of the cheaper afternoon teas on offer in Tokyo, especially when service is not up to par. Still a lovely experience for die-hard tea lovers like myself. Keep in mind unlimited tea and unlimited seating session (when you actually get a seat).

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea
From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Given our long wait to get in, it was only fair to outstay our welcome. We had wasted half a day trying to get a seat, so we didn’t leave until around 8pm. Given that weren’t seated until 4.30pm and by the time we got through the food and about 4 or 5 pots of tea, we took our time. Crowds had gone home by this time so we leisurely had afternoon tea with an unlimited seating session. We spent seven hours at this hotel and we weren’t even guests of the hotel. We made our way back towards the station through the Chinzan-so garden which was lit up – perfect for taking this photo…

From Chinzan-so Afternoon Tea

Chinzan-so Four Seasons hotel changes their menu with the seasons. No bookings accepted. Take a book and be prepared to wait, or get there really early (which doesn’t really make it an afternoon tea). Access: Alight at Edogawabashi station (via subway). Take exit 1A. You’ll see a riverline walk (Edogawabaashi river park route). Walk along that for about a good 10minutes until you reach the Chinzan-so Japanese gardens (free entry). Walk through the garden precinct, and follow the Four Seasons sign. (When walking along the riverline, continue to walk along it and don’t be tempted to walk up any of the stairs, even though your iPhone map looks like it’s telling you to get up to higher ground. Ignore your iPhone directions.) Chinzan so Japanese Garden – free. Popular wedding photo spot.

Down Under: Clovelly and Coogee

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I am going to take the focus off Japan for a bit, and write up a few posts about my trip back home to Sydney. Australia is where my peeps are at – family and friends. I usually try and make a visit home once a year (or every 18months or so). The last three years I have tried to coincide trips back home around friends’ weddings. The first couple of days back in Sydney were spent doing unexciting errand-y stuff. The Sunday I arrived back was a write-off. Slept and rested after the events of Japan. Monday and Tuesday were spent doing stuff like doctor’s appointments, renewing driver’s licence, supplies (medicines/toiletries) shopping, and trying to rest up and letting the body recover. From the Wednesday onwards it was full on with all systems go, and the fun factor cranked up for the rest of my Sydney visit. On the Wednesday, I spent the day chilling out with Nell. It was a gorgeous sunny day so we took a drive out to Clovelly for a spot of sunshine and snorkeling. I am super keen to do more snorkeling. I had never been to Clovelly, so I was in for a treat. Great views from the clifftops. Couldn’t have asked for better postcard-perfect weather.

From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee

Clovelly is an interesting spot. It’s not a proper beach per se, and there’s a lot of rock and concrete. It’s almost like a cove of sorts that is home to a lot of marine life, and is a popular Sydney snorkeling spot. People were out sunbaking (tsk, tsk) on the concrete:

From Clovelly and Coogee

There’s a seaside pool bath (natural saltwater swimming pool) to rack up a few laps. (Sydney has a lot of these pools. They are free to the public and generally chlorine-free. Sea water is used):

From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee

And there’s a bit of sand to make it a small bay beach.

From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee

The water was super clear and warm. And I saw so many marine life and lots of fish, even a big blue grouper! There were more fish here than at an aquarium. Felt like I was in a fish tank. My new purchase sometime this year is going to be a water camera. Spent a few hours snorkeling and warming ourselves in the sun. Such indulgence after a Japanese winter.

From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee

The rocks in this snorkeling spot are super mossy and slippery. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

From Clovelly and Coogee

It’s a nice little spot, Clovelly is. Especially for snorkeling and seeing lots of fish, and great views too.

From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee

For lunch we then ventured around the corner to Coogee beach.

From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee

On my Sydney Food to-eat list, was fish and chips. As a lover of puns and word play, I saw this great place.

From Clovelly and Coogee

Awesome name. But no, we didn’t eat there. I really wanted to eat potato scallops and we tried every place in Coogee and no one had potato scallops. Just not on the menu. What! No potato scallops! Outrage. Was super disappointed. Seriously unAustralian. Alas, for lunch, we settled on a real hamburger (which we shared), and a seafood mix (fish, calamari rings, prawn cocktails) which we shared, and some hot chips. Washed down with a Lemon, lime and bitters. A real hamburger with beetroot. (I love beetroot).

From Clovelly and Coogee

Fish and chips:

From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee

An ice-cold lemon, lime and bitters:

From Clovelly and Coogee

Headed down onto the sands of Coogee bunch for a swim. Water was deliciously warm. Water was so clean. Was great to be back in the ocean. Sydney beaches are so beautiful. The best in the world. No one does beaches like Australia.

From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee
From Clovelly and Coogee

Aussie thongs a.k.a flip flops.

From Clovelly and Coogee

It’s a hard life, but someone’s gotta do it.

(Marunouchi) Four Seasons in one day: Best afternoon tea in Tokyo

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

I died and went to high tea heaven! On Earth, they call it the Four Seasons. I’ve done afternoon tea before at the Four Seasons in Cairo, Egypt. Was a totally different experience to the one I just experienced in Tokyo. Wouldn’t it be great to try afternoon tea all around the world at the Four Seasons hotel! There are two Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo. One at Marunouchi (Tokyo station) and another at Chinzan-so. I’ve been wanting to do a man-ly afternoon tea for a while now, that is, an afternoon tea with some guys, what I like to call “Masculini-Tea”. Typically afternoon tea is viewed as a girly thing to do, but really, it’s something that can be enjoyed by guys too.

I decided to organize a tea event with my team from work. In my little department at work, there are four of us, plus our manager. I am the only female. We had originally planned for our get-together as a little bonenkai last December, but ended up postponing it to a shinnenkai. One of our team members couldn’t make it. In addition to the 4 of us, the EA to the MP came along (just for a pot of tea before heading off early) and a former employee. My work colleagues are awesome for agreeing to do an afternoon tea. I thought there would be resistance, but there were totally up for it, and I dare say, even excited about. I decided on the Four Seasons at Marunouchi for a few reasons. It was close to where we work, so everyone could get there using their teiki and hopefully not get lost getting there, also it was a venue which I thought would be the most appropriate for guys (no florally china, no three-tired platters etc), and we also happened to get a discount of 25% (a special offer to employees at our law firm).

Move over the Peninsula, I think this might be the best place to do afternoon tea in Tokyo. The food here was pretty darn good! So gourmet, so delectable and filling! It was more like an amuse bouche degustation. I was so excited to be there. I had been looking forward to this one for ages. Let me start from the beginning. The afternoon tea takes place at the Ekki Bar and Grill. Reservations highly recommended. The place was pretty much booked out.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

The set on offer was the Winter Afternoon Set. I got mine with the glass of champagne.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Then our platters of food were brought out to us. There was so much food. What I loved about it here, is that they do a very modern take on afternoon tea. Here you won’t find a traditional afternoon tea. There are no sandwiches and no three-tiered platters. Instead there is an assortment of delightful, delicious savoury goodies which are brought out to us on trays and plates. Let me take on you the culinary journey that is afternoon tea at the Four Seasons. Feast your eyes on this:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

There was the mini Wagyu burger (wagyu – need I see more. It did lack a little something though):

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Delicious melted cheese and ham toasted panfried sandwich with truffle oil (yummy):

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

The snow crab croquette which was scrumdidilyumptious. A shame it was so small. :

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Mini salmon tart. So good. Again, it was a shame it was that small.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

The teriyaki chicken wrap (was a little bland):

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

These savoury treats kicked arse over regular cucumber and salmon sandwiches anyday!

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Already starting to get full, there were the sweets to get through. An amazing assortment of sweet treats on offer.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

There was the pistachio macaroon:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

A sweet called the White Dome:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Fruitcake:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

The cassis marshmallow:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Panna cotta:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

And churros (whoever would have thought churros for afternoon tea. Not sure how Victorian royalty would feel about that. But how awesome are churros. Anything deep fried and coated in sugar is a definite winner). There was even a dip for the churros!:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Total bliss:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

I do have to admit though, that the sweets probably looked better than they tasted, but all still very edible and filling. At some point during all this eating and indulgence, they also brought the scones out. These are served separately, and come out warm. There were 2 different types of scones, served clotted cream, and our individual strawberry jam jars. Surprisingly, a lot of afternoon tea venues I’ve been to don’t serve strawberry jam. They serve other jams like raspberry or cherry and I am always disappointed. Strawberry jam is the BEST, so I was in my element here. The strawberry jam had real whole strawberries in it. Everything here was pretty amazing. The ultimate place for afternoon tea.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

It was a struggle to get through this feast. Another huge bonus point here is the very impressive tea selection. Most tea venues will offer about 6-10 different teas. Here there are a whopping 23 teas to choose from, as well as coffees and hot chocolates – all of which you can try as many different beverages as you like, and as much as you like. I went through 3 pots of tea and a hot chocolate. The teas were very standard in taste, but the variety on offer was commendable. I had my regular favourites – Assam and English Breakfast tea.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Also ordered the hot chocolate made with 66% cocoa -perfect because it wasn’t too sweet. Just enough bitterness. The hot chocolate is served with “condiments” which turned out to be a mini platter of marshmallows, chocolate curl balls and cream.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

A pot of tea on its own (without ordering the afternoon tea) will set you back 1500yen which is steep. It is definitely worthwhile to get the afternoon tea set. The teapots hold generous servings of tea – 3 cups per pot. And the pot are tea plungers, which are really cool. No need for the strainer. Check out the very extensive tea and beverage menu here (all nomihoudai). There is a tea to please everyone – black teas, chinese tea, Japanese tea, herbal teas, iced teas, and coffees as well. I do love how they also list who their tea suppliers are:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Ended the afternoon with lemongrass and peppermint tea. I have recently discovered lemongrass tea and I love it. It’s hard to buy in Japan though. The only problem with peppermint tea blends, is that the peppermint is always so overpowering and drowns out all the other flavours. Still, a nice tea to cap off the afternoon, and aid digestion.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Exotic honeys from Hungary and France too, to sweeten the herbal teas or served on scones. (we had to ask what these were):

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

I really liked the detail in the sugar cube arrangement (like a chess board):

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

On the seventh floor of the building, it offers views but not very exciting scenery. It mostly looks over the maze that is Tokyo station and the railtracks below, and nearby office building towers.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

The interior is pleasant enough. Modern, clean. Full of ladies, apart from our table of men. It’s a shame that the afternoon tea takes place in a main dining restaurant rather than a nice lounge with plush comfortable sofas. However the design is simple, contemporary and sophisticated unlike other Four Seasons’ hotels which can be extremely ornate and traditional.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Service here was very good, although you do have to constantly flag them down. Winter afternoon tea menu:

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Price for afternoon tea at Ekki is 3900yen. With champagne it is 4900yen. 10% service charge will be added as well. With a 25% discount though, this made it excellent value. For about 4000yen, I had all that gourmet food, plus a glass of champagne plus as much tea and hot drinks as I liked. Excellent value, even without the discount. Well worth paying for and definitely one of the better afternoon teas available in Tokyo. Another bonus here, is that being the Four Seasons hotel, they change their afternoon menu every season, with some of the treats being a staple all-year round! It looks like I might have to make it a thing to visit in every season. I am pretty sure the mini wagyu burger though is standard all year round though. They also offer limited afternoon tea for special occasions such as Valentines’ Day and Christmas. I checked out their upcoming Valentines afternoon tea – it includes a lot more chocolate and strawberries and even chocolate fondue! Will also have to try the Four Seasons afternoon tea at Chinzan-so. From what I can gather, it is more traditional. Floral teaware, 3-tiered platters. Whilst the Marunouchi hotel has a more modern Western feel, the Chinzan-so is more Japanese and traditional. I’ve heard there’s a garden there too. This place perhaps tops all the other venues in Tokyo for afternoon tea. It definitely wins, in terms of food quality, originality and creativity, value, and extensive tea selection. Will perhaps need to re-visit my ranking sheet and re-assess. For now, it is definitely in the top 5 afternoon tea venues in Tokyo. Seating session is 2.5hours, but I didn’t see people getting ushered out at 5pm on the dot. I found that 2.5 hours was just perfect though, because everything was so satisfying and so filling. My work colleagues were awesome sports for partaking in afternoon tea. It was nice to spend a cold winter’s afternoon together. I think they enjoyed it. After all that food, I was glad I had arrived on an empty stomach and had swum 2km that morning to appreciate it all.

From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea
From Four Seasons, Marunouchi: Afternoon Tea

Four Seasons at Marunouchi afternoon tea at Ekki Bar and Grill. Details at their website.

Scenes from Dahab

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

I’ve got the travel bug again. I love traveling and going overseas. I keep thinking and planning for my next trip. Destination: Not sure yet. Tossing a few around in my head. Am hoping to make a few overseas trips this year. Have decided to live vicariously through some of my photos of past holidays. I never did get around to finishing posting up photos of my Egypt (and Israel and Jordan) trip. During my time in Egypt, I spent a fair bit of time in the Sinai/Red Sea region, in a resort town called Dahab (better than Sharm El Sheikh). Dahab means ‘Gold’. Was a gem of a place to relax and snorkel.

Here are some scenes from Dahab:

From Scenes from Dahab

One of the (three) hostels I stayed at:

From Scenes from Dahab

View from balcony:

From Scenes from Dahab

Now this is what I call a banana sundae:

From Scenes from Dahab

At the markets:

From Scenes from Dahab
From Scenes from Dahab
From Scenes from Dahab
From Scenes from Dahab
From Scenes from Dahab
From Scenes from Dahab
From Scenes from Dahab
From Scenes from Dahab

The Red Sea:

From Scenes from Dahab
From Scenes from Dahab

The Red Sea/Sinai region is famous for partaking in water sports such as snorkeling and diving. Dahab despite being ridiculously hot (37-40 degrees celcius in summer) it’s also very windy, which also makes it a windsurfers’ paradise.

New Year, more tea

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

Another year, another afternoon tea party. A shinnenkai Tea Party.

From Tea at Hotel Okura
From Tea at Hotel Okura

So I did another afternoon tea over the weekend, and I must say it was very easy to rank this one. Quite simply, because it went straight to the very bottom of my list of afternoon teas in Tokyo. The venue in question – Hotel Okura. It promised to be such a nice experience. Disappointment it delivered.

From Tea at Hotel Okura

It’s not situated in a convenient location. The hotel is in the boring Toranomon embassy district, a 10min walk from the closest subway station. I got lost getting there and ended up close to 30min late because I couldn’t figure out how to get there. Entrance into the hotel is a little confusing too. They have a hotel annex – the South Wing, so be sure to go to the right hotel building. Entrance was hidden by a carpark. Not a visibly-labelled hotel.

From Tea at Hotel Okura
From Tea at Hotel Okura
From Tea at Hotel Okura

As for the hotel itself. It’s very 70s. From the decor, right down to the 70’s dressed bellhops out the front of the hotel. Afternoon tea takes place in the Orchid Room, where needless to say, orchids adorn the table. Table setting is very pretty and florally. The Orchid Room is a dining room with a buffet set up in the middle for the lunch crowd. Felt a little odd to be doing afternoon tea in the middle of a buffet room. Most hotels usually offer tea in the cafe/lounge bar. No view to speak of either.

From Tea at Hotel Okura

The whole afternoon tea experience was very disappointing. I don’t know where to begin. Don’t let these glossy photos fool you. Sandwiches were really plain, bland and dare I say even, quite disgusting. Way too much butter. More butter than filling. And very ordinary. I declined to eat all my sandwiches.

From Tea at Hotel Okura
From Tea at Hotel Okura

The scones were ok. More like biscuits (in the American sense, that they were very very dry). Scones to Australians should be big, round, and buttery fluffy.

From Tea at Hotel Okura
From Tea at Hotel Okura
From Tea at Hotel Okura

Cakes were also very 普通.

From Tea at Hotel Okura

Food on the whole was a little skimpy here compared to other places. The 不味い sandwiches were plentiful, but only two cakes. Most places tend to be quite generous on the dessert side. As for the tea, the selection was standard. The usual Ceylon, Assam, Earl Grey, English Breakfast and a couple of other herbal blends. However, you can only choose one choice of tea. So no tea sampling. They do however, give you fresh pot refills of your selected tea. With our group of six, we each chose a different tea, that way we could each sample eachother’s tea.

From Tea at Hotel Okura

Time session ended promptly at 5pm without warning except when we were given our bills and ushered promptly out. Because the afternoon tea is in the main buffet dining room, dinner service needs to be prepared. My standard criteria for an afternoon tea session is 3 hours – minimum.

From Tea at Hotel Okura

Save your 3200yen, which is what tea at the Orchid Room will set you back. Complete photo album here