Following on from Eating in Tokyo Part 1 – Tsukiji Markets…
Shibuya
We weren’t staying anywhere near Shibuya, but I had read that it was a major food destination in Tokyo. We had a free night of wandering and decided to make a stop there for some ramen. Of the ramen shops I had researched, Kiraku was the closest to the train station and the famous Shibuya crossing. It was also located in a slightly dodgy part of town, Dogenzaka, the red-light district. A problem I found with researching an eatery was that the real thing often did not have an English sign. Using googlemaps to get us to the right location was the first hurdle. I then had to search for a photo of the shop front to be sure it was the correct eatery. Thank you internet. Kiraku was a tiny eatery fitting about 10-12 people. The ground floor had a small counter with stools around the kitchen but could only sit about 6-8 people. When we arrived, one of the waiters (who spoke English) pointed upstairs so up we went. The upstairs component was slightly larger with communal tables and a small dish-washing space in the corner. The great thing about this place? There were only a handful of items on the menu. My sister and I both chose the classic chukamen (about ยฅ650) – a shoyu broth (soy sauce based) with slices of chashu, wontons, fried onions, slow-boiled egg, bean sprouts and hand made ramen.
Kiraku first opened in the 1952 so that’s 64 years of practiced ramen making. The broth was oily but fully of fatty goodness and flavour. The ramen was a lovely firm but chewy texture. The thin slices of chashu were a tad too fatty for me and not as tender as expected. Other than that, my first bowl of real Japanese ramen was pretty good ๐
We also tried French patisserie and bakery La Boutique de Joel Robuchon in Shibuya. I really wanted to try the actual restaurant but we didn’t have time, so I’m glad we had some time to squeeze in his patisserie. As it was about 8pm, 90% of the baked goods and pastries were sold out. We were there for dessert but again there weren’t too many options left. I chose the coeur rouge which consisted of chocolate mousse and sponge topped with a raspberry glaze. It was a nice-looking cake but tasted relatively average.
My sister ordered the mont blanc topped with chestnut cream (very common in Japan). It had a hint of liqueur in it and I liked the super soft and not too sweet chestnut cream.
Overall, I didn’t think La Boutique de Joel Robuchon was anything mind blowing so I was a little disappointed in all honesty.
Harajuku
After failing to find the cool kids dressed up in wacky Harajuku fashion, my sister and I made a stop at a cat cafe. We found one across from the train station at Harajuku called Mocha.
After travelling up in an old tiny elevator, we were greeted by a girl who informed us we had to take our shoes off and place them in a cupboard. There was a rotating slipper machine where we could put on (hopefully clean) slippers. From memory, the cost was about ยฅ300 for every 10 minutes in the cat cafe. Coffee and drinks could be purchased, as well as cat food if we wanted to feed the cats. We went in to find quite a few people happily patting and taking photos of all the cats.
It was hard to get a good shot of the cats as I found they kept moving around. But I do love the below shot. The kitty did not look happy.
We were lucky to be there for feeding time when all the cats came out. I didn’t realise there were that many cats in the cafe!
Mocha is more of a cat-petting place than a cafe for humans. It was great to see lots of play stations for the cats and people enjoying their company.
As it was nearing lunch time, we headed to the Kawaii Monster Cafe. A friend had sent me a link to this crazy eatery in Harajuku, and after looking at the photos, I knew I had to check it out. We got there as the cafe was opening for lunch and joined the queue of women.
The decor is like Alice in Wonderland fantasy on crack. You are first greeted by the Sweets-Go-Round, a carousel of unicorns and lambs on a revolving tiered cake.
There are four different seating areas such as the Mushroom Disco.
The Milk Stand had giant plastic heads of unicorns, rabbits and sheep appearing over some tables with large baby bottles hanging down. The website states this is a crazy baby room where the animals drink their milk. Very wacky.
Every corner of the cafe was heavily decorated with different prints, patterns and crazy lights.
A short video of the inside.
The menu was just as colourful with multi-coloured cakes and ice creams. Not exactly a place for a healthy lunch! I wanted the large crazy looking multi-coloured sundae but at ยฅ2300 (about AUD$25) I thought it was a bit steep for a sundae. Plus I needed lunch not dessert.
Instead I chose the colourful rainbow pasta (ยฅ1300) which came out looking like an artist’s palette of paint. It came with five different types of savoury sauces – garlic, tomato sauce etc. The pasta itself tasted more like ramen than pasta. It was rather odd eating ramen dipped into tomato sauce, but all part of the crazy experience I guess! My sister ordered the popcorn shrimp with Monster dips (the same sauces that I had) but I forgot to take a photo of it.
We were served by ‘Monster Girls’ dressed up in Harajuku style outfits. All were pleasant and were happy to pose for photos.
At roughly 12 noon, the lights turned off as the Kawaii Monster Cafe show began! The video below was taken with Hyperlapse so there’s no sound, but I can assure you it was loud.
I later regretted not ordering the super massive sundae described as the colourful poison parfait (extreme) on the menu. The ladies at the table next to us ordered it and it looked great! This was an experience I will never forget. Very random, crazy, over the top and very Harajuku.
After lunch, we strolled through Harajuku’s famous shopping street, Takeshita-Dori. It was just as packed as it looked.
Here I passed by a shop originating from Hokkaido, Croquant Chou ZakuZaku, selling choux pastries injected with custard. Staff inject the choux with custard as it is ordered so that the custard remains as fresh as possible.
The almond coated choux pastry was crispy and crumbly. The custard thick with cream from Hokkaido. A yummy cheap treat at about ยฅ220 each.
Next, is Eating in Tokyo – Part 3 – More Markets and Depachikas…
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