{ Açaí Cafe }

2013, Jun 13

Have you heard of Açaí? It’s a berry from Brazil that is a dark colored fruit and is known to be rich in antioxidants and fiber. It’s a super food that has many health benefits and has become popular here in Japan.

Açaí Cafe happens to be located inside of Shibuya Hikarie’s ShinQ B3F location and there’s always someone picking up a drink or snacking on their Acai Bowls (which you can eat there). Since this was my first time trying Açaí, I didn’t know what to expect, but I’d have to say it’s not bad at all. It feels like blackberry + blueberry combined and although the color is not so appetizing, the Açaí Banana juice was easy to drink and it felt good for the body.

Most drinks are: Regular size 450yen, Large size 550yen. When you get a drink, you can add the waffle bowl for only 300yen extra (instead of paying the full 450yen) so we decided to try that as well. I’d have to say the waffle bowl was nothing exciting. If you want the full experience, I would go for the Acai Bowl for 570yen or the Acai Special Bowl which comes with more fruit for 670yen.

If you’re feeling like you need to detox, or lacking in antioxidants and fiber, grab your quick fix of Açaí at Hikarie.

Address // Hikarie B3F, 2-21-1, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6434-1875
Website // http://www.frutafruta.com/acaicafe/

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{ Birthday Party }

2013, Jun 11

We had a Birthday Party!

It was a potluck dinner party and everyone either made something or bought something. We had such a great turn out and generous amounts of yummyness. I mean 3 cakes + my fav waffles? We were beyond satisfied ;)

In our busy lives, you sometimes forget the importance of feeling special once in a while. It really is nice to feel loved every now and then. We are grateful♡

xoxo,
Maki

{ Fureika — 富麗華 }

2013, Jun 8

We decided to splurge a little and celebrate our birthday’s together (both Miss E and my bday are only a day apart!), so we went to try this highly-rated Chinese restaurant in Azabujuban. From the moment I stepped in the door, I just had a feeling that it was going to be good as the staff presented themselves very well and the service was great from beginning to end. We made reservations for 1pm and the place was completely full when we arrived. (The picture above is taken after the lunch service was over and we were one of the last few guests to leave).

The food? Simply delicious. All of us chose the 3300yen lunch course which includes an assorted appetizer, 3 steamed dim sum + 2 deep-fried dim sum, stir-fried prawns, fried rice, and a dessert of your choice. Everything was well seasoned (almost on the strong side) and tasted authentic. If anything, the portion was a bit on the small side but we all enjoyed our meal.

The best part? Miss E had called ahead to the restaurant to make a little surprise for me with a Happy Birthday music performance by the restaurant and a special dessert plate! We had a lovely time and definitely would recommend coming here if you want good Chinese cuisine.

Address // 3-7-5, Higashiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5561-7788
Website // http://www.chuugokuhanten.com/storefureika/

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{ Sync }

2013, Jun 4

There are many curry houses and different varieties and types of curry in Japan, which makes it difficult to consider one as your favorite. I’ve been in a curry phase lately and have been trying a lot of good places but I think I’ve finally found one that really stands out from the rest. It doesn’t really fit into any of the typical categories of curry but something about it is just so comforting and tasty.

It’s located in an random side alley in Gakugeidaigaku, and this tiny curry house seats only 8 customers at a time. The best thing on the menu is their Chicken Curry. The Curry set includes a salad, brown rice, and curry with 3 toppings of your choice for 1500yen. It’s soupy, flavorful, spicy, hearty, and homey all in one! Aside from the toppings of your choice, the curry also has generous amounts of tender chicken mixed in.

The topping choices are: eggplant, mini tomato, okra, caggabe, shimeji-mushroom, spinach, onsen-tamagao (egg), flavored egg (dipped in nam pla), homemade fried garlic, zucchini, camembert cheese, potato, cilantro, pumpkin, and mushroom. My favorite ingredient hands down is the camembert cheese. It might sound like a strange ingredient for a curry, but it really melts into the spicy curry and it’s just SO good.

They also sell banmi sandwiches and bagels too. Seems like the owner of this place also owns Star bagels so that’s probably why they sell it here? The sandwich pictured above is the “Honey Lemongrass & Chicken” banmi sandwich (500yen).

This is not a place to come with a big party but if you are looking for a hearty comforting curry with a friendly owner, I highly recommended this place. They also do take out orders.

Address // 2-8-21, Takaban, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3760-0655
Website // http://www.spice-you-up.net/

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{ Oreno Italian Jazz — 俺のイタリアン }

2013, Jun 1

If you haven’t heard of the “Oreno Italian”, “Oreno French”, aka “Oreno” series, you might be missing out on one of the most popular casual restaurant dinning sensations in Japan right now.

The concept of this restaurant is to serve top notch food with high quality ingredients for an incredible price. The lead chef and owner, Toshihiro Yamaura, used to work for a 3-star Michelin rated restaurant and then decided to open his own idea of serving beautiful and tasty food for an affordable price so he hired fellow talented chefs and got it started. What’s the catch? There’s a two hour time limit and you have to stand through your dinner. The restaurant is barely making money on the cost of the food itself, but by enforcing the time limits they can get through 4 rounds of service and serve 160 people in the restaurant per day. When standing and eating, people will naturally leave before their 2-hour time limit and the service keeps on schedule. There is a limited number of sit down tables but it’s incredibly difficult to make a reservation. I think the best way to make reservation is to just go to the restaurant and ask for one at the location itself but keep in mind that you can only make a reservation up to a month in advance.

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Monthly Archives: June 2013

{ Açaí Cafe }

{ Birthday Party }

{ Fureika — 富麗華 }

{ Sync }

{ Oreno Italian Jazz — 俺のイタリアン }

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