Ladurée Salon de Té in Nihonbashi, Tokyo

By | April 15, 2014
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Ladurée has always been one of the cafes I have wanted to try for so long. When I went to Japan, it was undoubtedly in my itinerary. The branch we visited was the Salon de Té in the Mitsukoshi department store in Nihonbashi. The store I actually wanted to try was in the Mitsukoshi Ginza branch, but my mom mixed it up with the Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi. She’d make a bad tour guide. :))


A wide array of beautiful pastries

These red pastries are eye-catching

Initially, I only wanted to buy some souvenirs and a box of macarons, but we went inside the salon for some tea. The interior of the salon is really beautiful. It’s got some sort of a Victorian vibe to it.





Clockwise from the top: Ispahan, Butterfly, Saint Honoré Rose Framboise

Saint Honoré Rose Framboise (¥1004, ¥907+tax) Rose petal, rose water Chantilly cream, raspberries compote with fresh raspberries on puff and choux pastries

Butterfly (¥1015, ¥918+tax) Macaron biscuit, poppy mouselline, citron flavor and fresh strawberries

We also bought some souvenirs and macarons (which I will write about next). I will be honest that the price could be a little over the top. We paid ¥15,000+ (Around $150) for two key-chains, 6 macarons, 3 pastries and some tea/coffee. This is a luxurious place afterall — but is definitely worth it for such a luscious delight.

LADURÉE NIHONBASHI MITSUKOSHI
Honten Honkan B1F, 1-4-1,
Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
〒 103-8001
Tel: 03-3274-0355

McDonald’s celebrates spring in Japan

By | March 22, 2014
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In celebration of the 2014 cherry blossom season, American fast food giant, McDonald’s has released a limited edition hamburger yesterday for the Japanese market called the Sakura Teritama.

The hamburger features a teriyaki pork patty with a fried tamago, lettuce, sakura radish mayo sauce and topped with a pink sesame bun.

In addition to the spring-inspired hamburger, McDonald’s Japan also served limited edition beverages called the Sakura Cherry McFizz and the Sakura Cherry McFloat starting March 14. The drink consists of carbonated drink with cherry-flavored syrup. Also, for the real spring feel, one of their stores near our place looked like this.

This is the Sakura Teritama. I don’t want to show what the burger looked like because honestly, it was far more uninviting than those shown in the ads, but it was good nonetheless. And yes, the buns were pink. Because where else in the world would you find a burger with floral sauce and pink buns?

You can still get your taste of the Sakura Teritama (if you’re in Japan) until March 23.

Häagen-Dazs Japan 30th Anniversary: Sakura and Rose flavors

By | March 17, 2014
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On February 3rd, Häagen-Dazs Japan got all pretty and floral when they released two new flavors to commemorate their 30th anniversary: Sakura (Cherry Blossom) and Rose. Floral flavors can be a bit hard for some people to wrap their heads around, and while sakura is quite common in the spring, rose is a bit of a stretch for some.


These 100mL tubs the size of my palm retails at ¥284 each (around $3). The verdict?


Both flavors are ice cream slathered with a jelly-like sauce at the top. When I first saw it, I thought it looked a bit like a sherbet. The sakura flavor is more on the fruity side. Raspberry sauce was marbled into the ice cream, making it taste like a combination of cherry and bubblegum. The cherry sauce on top is a bit sour. The sakura is overpowered by the fruitiness of the ice cream. Regardless, it was really delicious.


The plum sauce gave the rose tub a really gorgeous crimson. However, when I tasted it, I was overwhelmed by the flavor. It reminded me of shampoo and body wash. Since we often connect the smell of rose to thing like air fresheners and shampoo, it’s really hard to associate it with food after knowing it in those contexts for so long. Nonetheless, it was still good—but in a weird way.

The packaging is very pretty, with lots of pink and a light, pearlescent sheen making you feel slightly less bad about spending too much money on too little ice cream. It’s a luxury item, and it wants you to be well aware of that fact. It’s not all flash and shine though, as the ice cream really is a step above your average pint.