food

Bluebottle coffee and Beignets in Tokyo

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If you haven’t had beignets, you haven’t lived.

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Soft, light deep friend pastry goodness dusted in powdered sugar. The only beignets that matter are those from Cafe du monde (and yes, I’ve had them in both Tokyo and New Orleans).

But Bluebottle Coffee (now in Tokyo), do their own take on beignets. They were more doughnutty, than actual beignets. But they were incredibly light. Like eating air despite their calorie density. And they were come with butterscotch sauce instead of the coating of powdered sugar. Much prefer the powdered sugar.

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And recently, I’ve taken to liking coffee. I don’t mind the odd cappuccino or cafe latte – ie lots of milk and coffee to mask the actual taste of coffee. Will never be able to do straight black coffee.

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They take their coffee very seriously at Bluebottle coffee.

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Their two new joints in Tokyo are always crowded having only recently opened in Tokyo.

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Bluebottle coffee: Minami aoyama branch:

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Mercer brunch in Tokyo

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I’ve written about Mercer Cafe before having been there for dinner.
The food is really good there and the stylish cafe is sophisticated and cozy. Who doesn’t love a big open hearthen fire inside the cafe.

The place is famous for its french toast so I had to go back and try their brunch menu.
The brunch plate menu comes with a serving of french toast. I went the salmon and scrambled eggs option.

The food is well presented and it was lovely enough. Not sure that it was french toast to die for, but yes, it made for a nice brunch and I am slowly running out of new places to visit for brunch in Tokyo. The scrambled eggs though were divine. Very creamy.

From Mercer brunch
From Mercer brunch
From Mercer brunch
From Mercer brunch
From Mercer brunch
From Mercer brunch
From Mercer brunch
From Mercer brunch
From Mercer brunch

Yummy eats from Mercer Cafe

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Mercer Cafe is known for their brunch pancakes. Am still yet to try them.
I did however go there for dinner at the end of last year. Super cozy place with delicious comforting food.

They had a fire hearth in the middle which was perfect for a winter’s night.

From Mercer Cafe
From Mercer Cafe

Surprisingly wasn’t so busy on the night we went – I think a Tuesday or Thursday night.

The scallops were delicious. It’s hard to resist scallops when I see them on the menu:

From Mercer Cafe

I don’t normally drink coffee or cappuccinos but over the last 6 months or so, I’ve been finding I drink a lot more of it. I usually opt for cafe lattes or cappuccinos and I have to have a fair bit of sugar. Basically I like it milky and sweet, coz I am generally not a fan of coffee.

From Mercer Cafe

The dessert was pretty good. I can’t go past a tiramisu:

From Mercer Cafe
From Mercer Cafe
From Mercer Cafe
From Mercer Cafe

The apple crumble was good too. Love the hot / cold contrast:

From Mercer Cafe
From Mercer Cafe
From Mercer Cafe

And creme brulee:

From Mercer Cafe

Great place for dessert and coffee. Did eat mains as well, but ate before I took photos. I must have been hungry.
And no, I didn’t eat all those desserts on my own! They were shared amongst three.

Really must also go there for brunch!

Tokyo brunch: Ruby Jacks

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Great brunch to be had at Ruby Jacks. It will set you back some money but well worth it if you’re in the mood to splurge.

On weekends, they offer a brunch course menu, but with drinks ended up quite pricey.
The brunch course came with starter options, a main dish and tea/coffee. I added on a bottle of wine to share and an extra cocktail. And dessert. So yeah, I guess that adds up.
It’s a fancy venue though. Service was exceptional.
Although pricey, would totally go back. Great service and the food was top notch.

Had the fried prawns as a starter:

From Ruby Jacks brunch
From Ruby Jacks brunch

And I went the steak sandwich for mains. They do have more breakfasty options, but this place is a grill bar, so supposedly do good meat – steaks and the like. The lamb looked really good.

From Ruby Jacks brunch
From Ruby Jacks brunch
From Ruby Jacks brunch

The dessert was amazing. Carrot cake – my absolute favourite. Served with peanut butter ice cream, which was genius, not to mention delicious.

From Ruby Jacks brunch
From Ruby Jacks brunch
From Ruby Jacks brunch
From Ruby Jacks brunch
From Ruby Jacks brunch
From Ruby Jacks brunch

Dumpling central – Din Tai Fun, Taiwan

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One can’t go to Taiwan and not go to Din Tai Fung – the dumpling mecca of Taiwan. I’ve actually been to Din Tai Fung in China and Japan, but Taiwan is home to the original Din Tai Fung : award-winning dumplings. The lines at all the Din Tai Fung outlets are crazy. I went to the Taipei 101 Tower outlet.

From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung

Be prepared to wait:

From Din Tai Fung

Take a number, they said:

From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung

The dumplings are prepared with surgical precision in the operating theatre:

From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung

I ordered the shorompo (soup dumplings):

From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung

And a wonton soup:

From Din Tai Fung

I was thinking that the dumplings would be overrated, but they REALLY were that good. Even the broth for the soup was just so clean. So pure. So tasty. The perfect meal:

From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung
From Din Tai Fung

But dem shorompo need to be eaten with safety warning. You’ve gotta watch out for when the soup inside the dumpling squirts on your face. I’m sure it’s happened to us all. I have since learnt to pierce the dumpling and let the soup run into the spoon first. Ate at Din Tai Fung. Taiwan done. Next stop airport. Just kidding. Plenty more stuff was seen and eaten in Taiwan.

Andaz afternoon tea, Tokyo

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It’s been ages since I last partook in afternoon tea in Tokyo.
On Sunday, I did a final one for the year – in Tokyo that is.
Although I’ve got a few international high teas on the itinerary.

I got around to checking out the newly-opened Andaz Hotel (part of the Hyatt group of hotels). The hotel is within the new Toranomon Hills building that only opened in June this year.

From Andaz afternoon tea

Andaz Hotel surpasses the Ritz Carlton Tokyo as the highest venue in Tokyo (and Japan for that matter) for high tea.
The Andaz Lounge is on level 51. It was a little tricky to get up there but finally did.

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

Once your eventually find the elevators for the hotel, the express lifts go from level 1 directly to level 51.

Window seats command excellent views over northern Tokyo including the Tokyo Skytree. Although I had requested window seats upon booking, priority is given to large groups (minimum of 4 people, although 6 is ideal). As a party of two, we were bumped out and seated at a regular table. The place was pretty busy with lots of afternoon tea-goers so reservations are recommended.

Afternoon tea is available at the Andaz Tavern from 2-6pm

From Andaz afternoon tea

The afternoon tea includes unlimited tea, although their range isn’t that big.

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

You can get through quite a few teas, because a lot of teas are actually served by the cup and not by the pot.

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

Everything is very new and the decor quite nice – but typical of a skyrise hotel lobby lounge.

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

First tea I had was puerh tea and my favourite of the day. Ended up ordering this about 3 times.

From Andaz afternoon tea

Tea is served by the cup and not by the pot.

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

Here are the afternoon tea stands:

From Andaz afternoon tea

Presentation was nice. But only two tiers, you say.
Fear not, the scones were served on a separate plate.

From Andaz afternoon tea

I like to go overboard on the photos. This will be no exception:

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

Yummy deletable goodness:

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

The savoury goods are always my favourite.
And I’m always a sucker for quiche.

From Andaz afternoon tea

I do think the menu is a little bit lazy.
Using the same pastry pieces for the savoury and the sweet, granted that the dessert version has custard and creme inside them, but still. They just made lots of those eclair pastries – which weren’t even that great.

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

I also ordered houji cha and that came served in a pot.

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

And also ordered English breakfast tea which was rather disappointing – not served in a pot. Was brewed on the weaker side. Milk was served warm which was nice.

As for the scones – typical Japanese/American scones. More like dry biscuits. Oh how I miss Aussie scones.

From Andaz afternoon tea

Notice anything remiss about the scones?….

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

A distinct lack of strawberry jam is what is missing.
Blasphemous.

I had to ask for jam – specifcally, strawberry jam.
And they came back saying that they had no strawberry jam.
A hotel that does not stock jam is not a hotel in my book.

Instead they gave as an assortment of jams – none of which included strawberry. We got honey, orange jam, cherry jam and raspberry jam.

A little disappointing to say the least.

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

Here is my scone with not strawberry jam:

From Andaz afternoon tea
From Andaz afternoon tea

Here is also a glimpse of the view not from our window seat:

From Andaz afternoon tea

The tavern/lounge by night, which by the way would make a very nice venue for cocktails.

From Andaz afternoon tea

A little on the pricer side at just under 5000yen (by the time you include the tax and service charge).
Wouldn’t say it was a value for money.
Pros – unlimited tea. Con – limited range of tea.
Great views, but only if you’re lucky to get a window seat (only bigger groups allowed window seats).
Food was ok. The menu was uninspired and no strawberry jam.
Still an overall pleasant experience, but money better spent elsewhere.
It’s a recommended venue if you want to say you’ve been the highest high tea in Japan.

The outside sculpture:

From Andaz afternoon tea

Afternoon tea in Fukuoka

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Hisashiburi afternoon tea. It’s been ages since I’ve done an afternoon tea in Japan. Did one recently, but not in Tokyo.
I went to Kyushu for the long weekend last weekend and caught up with an Aussie friend from my Fukushima days who now lives in Fukuoka. Met him and his wife and his new baby for a nice afternoon tea in Fukuoka at the Grand Hyatt hotel.

The hotel is in Canal City, one of the shopping districts near Hakata.

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

Here is the hotel:

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

The back entrance:

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

The afternoon tea was pleasant enough. The hotel was pretty nice too, considering it ain’t no Tokyo.

All your tea essentials:

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

They only had about 4 to 5 teas on offer and very standard ones (English breakfast, darjeeling, early grey, assam). I went the assam, with hot milk in a jug.

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

On offer was the Caramel afternoon tea set – a seasonal tea menu for autumn. It was actually pretty good.

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

You can’t really go wrong with caramel.

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

Everything on this plate was delicious:

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

The vanilla ice cream was amazing with a hint of caramel. The caramel sponge cake roll was so moist and fresh fruit added a hint of citrus to offset all the caramel sweetness.

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

The sandwiches were neither fancy nor gourmet, bu they were decent enough:

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

Only one scone and a small one at that. But we essentially got two plates of desserts.

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

Notice something missing in the above two plates?

I’ll give you a minute to think about it.

Notice the absence of jam! No jam for my scone. Tsk Tsk.

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

The hotel was quite nice and there was also a live pianist who did some decent cover music:

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea
From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

The Terrasse Lounge:

From Grand Hyatt Fukuoka afternoon tea

It was a nice afternoon tea. My first one in a while. No tea sampling but free hot water refills allowed. Service was good, and it was excellent value for money. Approx. 2000yen plus tea. Given there are probably limited afternoon tea options in Fukuoka, it’s probably the best option. We whiled away a few leisurely hours there. A pleasant day indeed. Need to save up my pennies for a some very pricey afternoon teas that have been locked in, coming up in a couple of months.

Michelin star dining: Alain Ducasse, London

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Have a throwback Tuesday post for you.
Unforgiveably overdue.

Rewind 2 years back when I did the Trans-Siberian and ended up in London to visit my best friend.
A whirlwind 3-4 day stay in London which consisted of mostly just eating and not a lot of sightseeing. Granted, I have been to London before.

Best friend organised an awesome treat, knowing what a foodie I am, had booked lunch for us a the Michelin star restaurant of Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. I actually visited The Dorchester two days in a row – once for high tea and again for the lunch.

The Alain Ducasse experience, as it is, is very impressive. Service was impeccable. Most of the waitstaff are actually from France.

Enjoy the photo journey below.

Hotel lobby – this shot (I took) is actually pretty similar to the one that is on their website. It’s incredibly hard to get a frame without anyone walking through it.

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

We are escorted to our table:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Wine is ordered, of course:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Yummy bread is served to whet the appetite:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

This was like mochi bread balls: super light and airy:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

And fancy butters:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

First up, is the cold soup (fret not, it’s meant to be cold). The soup dish (shaped like an egg) is pretty cool:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Fish and potatoes for main. But these ain’t your ordinary fish and chips.

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Besties enjoying good food:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

And this dish was yum:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

We were seated closest to the outdoor window area which gave a lot of natural light rather than indoors where the mood lighting is more dim.

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Food was excellent and service was amazing.
Dessert was plentiful.
We had chosen a dessert each but were also served a petit four arrangement – we didn’t really need to order dessert.

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Little gold nuggets:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Petit macaroons:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

And chocolates:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

I had to try a bite of everything!

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

And these as well. And these were all the desserts we didn’t actually order!

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

I went for the chocolate dessert:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

And Em went the berry dessert:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Teapot servings won my heart, as did the teacup design:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Good times. Hard to believe this was 2 years ago:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

The cutest teacups ever:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

The dining experience was pretty awesome. But the food wasn’t even the best part. The highlight was going backstage into the kitchen of a Michelin star restaurant. I’ve only had 2 Michelin dining experiences – one in Tokyo and this in London, and each time, I’ve been able to meet the chefs. In Tokyo, I got a snapshot with one of the chefs but no entry into the kitchen. Here, we got to go a little tour backstage. Felt like such a kitchen roadie/foodie(?). Was a huge expected delightful bonus.

The pastry corner:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Woohoo, backstage:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

As Em so eloquently phrased it, I was as happy as a pig in mud.
Also got a photo in the kitchen with the head maitre’d but I won’t post that up but everyone was super friendly and obliging.

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Whilst we were seated near the windows, this is what the inside main dining area looks like:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

The cordoned off, private table:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

And to top off this wonderful experience, we got a little goodie bag to take home. I wonder if this is standard at all Michelin restaurants, because I also received a goodie bag at Rabuchon in Tokyo as well.

Some sweets to take home:

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Wonderful experience shared with a great friend.

From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester
From Alain Ducasse, The Dorchester

Am very tempted to dine at his Tokyo restaurant now.

Afternoon tea in Yogyakarta: Phoenix Hotel

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I’ve been a bit disappointed that I’ve done so few high teas this year, especially in Japan. Most of my afternoon teas have been overseas lately. I just haven’t gotten around to writing up reviews. I still have a few from a couple of years ago (gasp!) that I need to write about.

On my quest to do high teas around the world, I racked up another one in Indonesia way back in April/May this year during Golden Week. When one thinks of Indonesia, I’m sure one does not associate it with high tea, least of all in the city of Yogyakarta. Stayed one night at a fancy hotel where we didn’t leave it for the duration of our stay. We enjoyed the pool, room service and the afternoon tea spread.

Afternoon tea was at the Phoenix Hotel.

Nice courtyard views:

From Phoenix afternoon tea

Nothing more relaxing than afternoon tea.

From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea

Fancy sweeteners: an assortment of sugars.

From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea

Interior views:

From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea

What I liked about this, was that there were two plates of savoury foods:

From Phoenix afternoon tea

I loved the food in Indonesia. Up there with Thai food.

From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea

Yummy savoury morsels:

From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea

Portion servings were perfect.

From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea
From Phoenix afternoon tea

The perfect scene:

From Phoenix afternoon tea

All round a very good afternoon tea especially so by Indonesian standards. Pleasant surrounds, good food and customer service was satisfactory.

Ekki Brunch, Tokyo

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Indulged in a massive carb-laden brunch yesterday. But I totally deserved it. I swam my first ever 10km swim race on Saturday (race report to come), so Sunday was spend putting all the calories back in.

The Four Seasons Hotel, Marunouchi is my number one spot for Afternoon Tea (have been there twice). Of all my high tea reviews in Tokyo, this one is my favourite. Was keen to try out their brunch.There weekend brunch offering did not disappoint. The food and service is really awesome. A pleasant experience is always had here.

Totally went all out on the calories. The weekend brunch set consists of your choice of appetizer, main dish and then the chef’s dessert, along with tea/coffee and a basket of complimentary breads/rolls. Wine was extra but hell I had just swum 10km the day before so I had a little celebratory drop.

I went the scallops for appetizer. Can’t resist scallops whenever they’re on the menu. Served with a sweet potato puree. My friend had the foie grais with mango chutney. Both were really delicious. The foie grais is a good choice though. Great flavour combination and a generous serve of foie grais. The scallop dish would have been perfect had it been served with three scallops rather than the two. But maybe that’s me being shellfish 😉

From Ekki Brunch
From Ekki Brunch

The brunch is certainly filling, especially with the complmentary bread basket dipped in olive oil and salt. Was torn as to what to order for mains – there were several options but narrowed them down to two. Was in need of some meat. The Wagyu burger with truffle fries or the Aussie lamb. Went the burger and fries and went the whole hog with the extra topping of bacon and cheese.

From Ekki Brunch
From Ekki Brunch

Yum yum. Divine. Wagryu burger was perfectly cooked and awesome portion for those with big appetites like myself.

From Ekki Brunch
From Ekki Brunch

And who needs ketchup for your fries when you have a truffle oil mayonnaise instead. Fancy burger and fancy fries.

This is a burger with height:

From Ekki Brunch

And if that wasn’t enough food, the brunch set also includes the chef dessert. An orange sorbet with yoghurt and orange and hazelnuts. And a whole pot of English breakfast tea. Was dying for a cuppa. Hadn’t had one in nearly 48 hours.

From Ekki Brunch
From Ekki Brunch
From Ekki Brunch

Everytime I go to the Four Seasons, Marunouchi, I can barely fault them. Food and service is also top notch. Brunch is about 4000yen for a 3 course meal. Alcoholic beverages extra and they’re not cheap. I deserved to induldge a little though. And for the record, I did not eat dinner that night. Was sooo full.