Tokyo
Chicken on logo = must be specialised = tasty, but when we stepped in, we were prepared to be disappointed cos they were all sitting on the counter. Thank goodness it turned out to be good! Would be perfect if it was more crisp, but anyhoo the chicken was so juicy, the batter so light and thin and we loved the use of herbs here. Best part of it all was the pairing with the giant slab of cream cheese!
Having chanced upon this little shop Gomafukudo in Kamakura specializing in all things sesame, of course we had to. Essentially smooth milk soft serve, topped with fragrant white sesame. There's also black sesame if I'm not wrong If you ever happen to be here, get their sesame cube - low calories, purely sesame packed in a little cube that wasnt sweet, and darn good, with supposedly loads of health benefits.
Still very much in love with this no matter how many times I've had it, glad it's very accessible there - you can find this at various kiosks or cafes. Melts super quickly but with such velvety smooth, milky goodness and that fragrant langue de chat cone, you'll want to devour it quickly anyway!
2nd dinner of another night saw me wolfing down the ShackBurger (680¥) - tender, flavourful beef patty with fluffy buns that turned out soggy pretty fast. Still good, but Shrooms for the win!!!
I surprised myself by picking the vegetarian option as my favourite. Fried, super juicy portobello patty with lovely oozy melty cheese when one bites into it. Ok, we added bacon to it but honestly felt it was tasty enough without.
Glad we settled on this after looking at sooooo many other places (don't think just go probably difficult to find a bad restaurant). This was a fun one to eat! Served just like a typical chirashi bowl with diced tuna, salmon, roe etc., topped with uni, the first way is to scoop a portion out and eat as it is, setting most of the uni aside.
We might have looked a bit confused prodding at the bowl as the friendly chef took it over and started us on the second way of eating - by mixing the uni in, effectively giving it a more creamy texture. And it was tastier though sadly I wasn't a fan of the uni by itself which had a strange earthy taste(?!) maybe the domestic one will fare better.
Lastly, dashi was added to the remaining portion, also known as ochazuke! Very comforting to end it off because the dashi was so good!
Most people come here for the signature Ganso Kaisen Hitsumabushi or the gorgeous 5-colours of cholesterol uni bowl. But if you have to order something else, the Kaisen-don (1,580¥) is a safe bet for the freshest taste of the sea. Tuna, white fish, octopus, salmon&roe, herring, crab and shrimp. And the bed of sushi rice was perfect. Even the roe wasn't overly salty so each burst was happiness in my mouth. If I had to pick a favorite, definitely the scallop that was so plump and sweet!!
This bakery is definitely a must-try in Hakone! Twice I've been here and they always have new fresh bakes. Go for the ones that are fresh out of the oven. Previously I had the red bean paste bun but this time round it wasn't as fantastic cos it was cold.
This curry egg bun came piping hot, fluffy with crisp crunch of Rice Krispies, encasing Japanese curry with egg within. Loved the different textures you can get in one mouthful, and the bun held really well - didn't even become soggy. Probably (almost) makes for a meal because this was exactly what we had for lunch. Even @cweizhi who usually don't like jap curry gave in and got one for herself! 😂
If you've got the time, hang out at the granite tables right outside the bakery for the gorgeous lake view, watch the world roll by and get a free foot-bath in the hot spring water before embarking on more walks! Your feet will thank you.
With no concrete plans on how to spend the last day, we went looking for totoro, housed in a cafe within a quiet residential area. Couldn't help overexcitedly gushing over its cuteness in the shop. Pity the choux was a little too dry and hard, but otherwise, the cream was delish. Especially the seasonal peach which had bits in it! (Pretty pricey at 400¥ onwards for takeaways though)
Their savoury soufflé omelette fared much better - fuwa fuwa - with a choice of savory risotto which texture wasn't great but was very tasty.
Failed attempt to Cafe Gram led us here, sorta. Overall slightly disappointing. Looks fluffy but it wasn't. Saving grace was that giant heap of cream - so light and exactly what sweet dreams are made of.
Cutest organic baked doughnuts! And they turned out slightly better than expected - not greasy and surprisingly not too cloyingly sweet, but the texture was too dry. (From 210¥ for the animal versions)
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