Monthly Archives: January 2012

{  fève  }

fève
fève

I’m currently snacking on fève, a Japanese snack store that recently opened in Jiyugaoka. My friend and I just happend to pass by this adorable store, and we were immediately drawn inside by the adorable decor.

The store’s concept is “Soy Beans x Sweets = Happiness”, and it is produced by Pastry Chef Hironobu Tsujiguchi. fève uses 20+ different types of soybeans and uses natural ingredients in their snacks. They put a lot of attention to detail in to each individual snack and the packaging for the snacks.

The top photo shows the flavor I tried which was a traditional snack called “Karinto”, but it has a little twist — rose-infused flavor with rose petals. It was delightful! Definitely a great choice for omiyage (souvenir) for your friends or family.

Address // 1-29-14, Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6421-4825
Website // http://feve-jiyugaoka.jp/

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{  Huit  }

Huit Nakameguro
Huit Nakameguro

Huit Nakameguro is a very chic french inspired cafe, and it’s easy to see why it’s a popular place amongst fashionistas in Nakameguro. It also helps that it has delicious food with a cute vintage decor. Everything we ate was quite good and as you can see from the photos the portions are larger than usual for Japan. This cafe is located along the famous Nakameguro river so you can get the added bonus of beautiful cherry blossoms lining the river outside the cafe during the spring time.

Address // 1-10-23, Nakameguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3760-8898
Website // www.ctn139.com/shop_huit.html

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{  Artichaut  }

Artichaut
Artichaut

Artichaut is a Michelin 1-star rated restaurant in Ebisu/Hiroo area (about a 10 min walk from Ebisu station). The decor of the restaurant is lacking but the great food makes up for it. We had the 2300-yen lunch course and I chose the beautiful organic Kamakura vegetable for my starter (pictured at the top). The dish is made with more than 13 vegetables and I was very impressed with how they melded them together so perfectly — it was an art piece that was too pretty to eat. The main dish, beef bourguignon, literally melted in my mouth. The dessert was very good as well.

The restaurant is very quiet and it doesn’t have many seats so it feels a bit like everyone can hear your conversation, but if you want delicious french cuisine definitely check this place out.

Address // 2-6-29, Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3446-9747
Website // n/a

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{  Quil Fait Bon  }

Quil Fait Bon
Quil Fait Bon

Little did we know, Quil Fait Bon tarts are actually quite famous in Japan. As soon as you walk into their cafe, it’s easy to see why they are famous. All of the tarts and cakes look absolutely amazing. It’s hard to resist the temptation to try everything, but somehow we managed.

The last time we visited their Daikanyama location, it was a 45 minute wait around 3pm. I couldn’t believe how popular this place was amongst couples and girlfriends. Needless to say, the tarts lived up to the hype. The seasonal grape tart & the mango tart were my favorite! (The mango tart is not pictured above). I also loved the sweet potato tart which was a seasonal tart in the Autumn time (shown in the bottom picture). You can purchase the tarts by the slice or a full tart/cake.

Address // 2-18-2, Ebisunishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5457-2191
Website // www.quil-fait-bon.com

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{  Dinner at Aila  }

Dinner at Aila
Dinner at Aila

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Note: According to their website, looks like Aila will be temporary closed/remodeling. They plan to re-open sometime between Fall 2014 to Spring 2015.
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Aila for dinner is very warm, romantic, and refined. The dinner menu and the food style  are completely different from the lunch service. Dinner is presented in the form of a course menu which includes an amuse bouche, appetizer, main dish, and dessert. Surprisingly, the appetizer I ordered (tomato gazpacho soup pictured towards the top right) was my favorite dish of the night – truly delicious! The main dishes were also good, but the desserts left me a little disappointed for some reason.

Overall, it was a good meal but if I had to compare their lunch and dinner, I would choose lunch without a doubt. Their lunch dishes are just too good to be true for incredibly low prices. I would still recommend dinner at Aila for a special occasion though :)

Address // 1-16-3, EbisuMinami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5721-6063
Website // www.rvs.jp/aila

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