We are the Farm Ebisu : More than just veggies

I thought I was going to have a “healthy” vegetable dinner here but I ended up in food comatose.
We are the Farm is a farm-to-table restaurant which uses organic vegetables from its company farm in Chiba. The folks here take pride of their organic produce which are on display at the counter. The walls are scribbled with messages explaining the techniques and science of farming.



I was aiming for the Kale Caesar Salad ¥980 because I was tempted by its gigantic portion. The kale was crisp and fresh, drizzled in just the right amount of dressing that won’t leave the salad too dry after a few bites.

But I guessed my mind wasn’t functioning right as I was too easily persuaded by the waitresses who recommended me to try a few other signature dishes. I don’t remember having a whole onion to myself but I knew I could trust the  quality of the ingredients here and thus opted for the grilled onion. And yes, you get just one whole onion with just speckles of salt at the side.

 The onion was beautifully torched and glistening with on the surface. I was recommended to eat from the innermost to the outermost ring as the sweetness are concentrated in the core where the nutrients are transported to. Honestly, I couldn’t detect any significant difference between the rings, though the onions were tender, sweet. Oh and slightly oily.

But what left me with the deepest impression that evening wasn’t the vegetables, it was the meats. In fact, the mains of this restaurant are  dominated by meats. The signature grilled duck with mozzarella (¥2500) took me by surprise because I didn’t imagine duck to be so tender and tasty! It tasted like smooth sausage or I should say anything but a duck. The mozzarella is flattened into a crisp and made this look like an UFO! Portion was huge as well.


Delicious food aside, I would advise coming as a group to share as the bill could easily clocked up to ¥6000 for just 3 dishes. Do note that there is a compulsory order from the drinks list that start from ¥550.

LUNCH :

EVERYDAY >> 11:30〜14:30 (LO. 14:00)

DINNER :

MON. - SAT. >> 17:00〜23:30 (LO. 22:45)

SUN. >> 17:00〜23:00 (LO. 22:00)

東京都渋谷区恵比寿西2-8-10　ORIX恵比寿西ビル 1F

TEL : 03-5784-3877

https://www.allfarm.co.jp/we-are-the-farm

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Kyoto Modern Terrace 1960 : Best Matcha Opera

Kyoto Modern Terrace 1960 is a cafe restaurant that sits in the middle of many attractions that include Heian Shrine, Kyoto Art Museum and Okazaki Park. It can get quite crowded during weekends or public holidays.


I wasn't loitering in the area for any sightseeing purposes. I was there only for one thing. The limited edition Matcha Opera dessert. And boy, I was totally blown away with this. I've had many many matcha operas before but I haven't come across anything as perfect as this. 

The matcha opera is part of the collaboration campaign held between the restaurant and Souda Kyoto. Perhaps to promote Kyoto I guess. But for a cafe-restaurant which doesn't focus on desserts to churn out something of such high calibre, I am really curious to know the brilliant mastermind behind this creation. 

THE KYOTO MODERN TERRACE

CAFE & RESTAURANT

京都市左京区岡崎最勝寺町13 ロームシアター京都 パークプラザ 2 階

TEL  075-754-0234
OPEN  8:00-23:00

Nearest station: Higashiyama Station
www.kyotomodernterrace.com

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Cafe Pocher : My Tamago Surprise!

Opened only in Dec 2017, Cafe Pocher isn’t those prominent hipster cafes that are located in the city region but it is fortunately not too far from Kyoto Station—approximately 15min walk. It is part of a guesthouse-cafe concept produced by a Kyoto magazine. 

I didn’t have time for it’s most popular item, a  racelette cheese hotdog sandwich that looked sinfully delicious. But I discovered something that would suit my budget and taste. Dashimaki sandwich! It is one of the four flavours that is available for takeaway. I learnt from the staff that these prepacked sandwiches are highly popular on weekdays as breakfast for the working community. These are sold starting from 8.30am and may run out by 10am occasionally. 

So I “dabao” one even though I was doubtful whether it will taste good given the fact that it wasn’t prepared fresh but packed into a brown paper bag right from the fridge. “No reheating or microwaving is needed” answered the staff upon my further enquiry on whether I should reheat ( I always do that if possible as I love my bread hot and toasty). 

Little did I expect myself to be wowed by such a humble sandwich (¥360) an hour later on my Shinkansen ride. The purple pickled vegetables from Tsukemono specialist Isoism (Kyoto is also famous for its Tsukemono aka pickles) were sour and salty but the presence did not overwhelm the juicy egg omelette which was minimally sweet. Even though the buns were kept chilled, they were still fluffy and not dry. 

The pairing of pickled vegetables and eggs in a bun was such a brilliant and unique idea that I will never forget this moment in my life. 

Breezing through the countryside in a Shinkansen and gleefully munching on a delicious find.

Cafe Pocher 

Daily 8.30am-9pm

89-1, Harikoji-cho, Nishikujo, Minami-ku, Kyoto city, Kyoto, 601-8422, JAPAN.

〒601-8422　京都市南区西九条針小路町89-1

京都駅八条口より徒歩13分

https://toji-pocher.com/pocher/index.html

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Patisserie Asako Iwayanagi : In Love with Parfaits

“I can now die without regrets.”

That’s the conclusion after stepping out of this place, despite saying goodbye to ¥8000 over two visits.
That parfait, or I should say parfaits because the first one I had left such a mind blowing impact on me that I decided to return in less than 5 days. Crazy? Well, there was absolutely no regret.

The parfaits here changes monthly or even less than a month depending on the availability of the fruits and have become the most sought after item of the shop. BUT it doesn’t come cheap—ranging between ¥2500-¥3000. The Sakura-Yomogi Parfait costs ¥2700++ which means a whopping SGD33 before taxes!! And the Parfait Bijou Citrus. But trust me you won’t me thinking about your Yen when you dig in because it is WORTH EVERY SINGLE YEN.


Every flavour and texture of the Parfait is carefully conceived and experimented; just like a venerable master of Go making wise calculated moves in a game of Go. It’s superior in all ways, without any of the mediocre ingredients which some cafe parfaits often resort to fill up space. In the Parfait Sakura, there’s amazake, lemon, Sakura espuma, sake, Yomogi jelly, soba tuile....and for the Parfait Bijou Citrus, who would have expected citrus fruits to pair with milk tea and caramel?

I think the parfaits here are the unshakeable winners in this Parfait-loving country. Of course, it might be still early to conclude as there’s been a few more rising stars in the past one year. But for now, the desserts here have secured a place in my heart. Wait a minute, I think I've already fallen in love with the pastries here since last time.

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百春 Momoharu Kyoto : Back Alley Tamago Sandwich

Mention the word Kyoto and the word that pops up in my mind after “Matcha” is “Tamago”

The popularity of Dashimaki sando (egg sandwich) seems to have revived in recent years and the trend is more prevalent in Kansai than in Kanto region. As much as I love my desserts, I prefer my tamagoyaki to be savoury instead of sweet. Henceforth, the savoury dashimaki of the Kansai region is right up in my alley.

Hidden on the 2nd floor of a conspicuous alley of Nijou, Momoharu serves up its most popular dashimaki sando that uses at least 4 eggs and 2 slices of a typical 1kg loaf commonly sold at supermarkets. It’s a hefty amount of eggs and bread, but goes easier on your palate than La Madrague legendary Tamago sando. There’s no mayonnaise or other rich condiment/dressing, only homemade Demi glacé sauce slathered thinly on the warm fluffy bread. Salt (sorry, no pepper) can be added accordingly to one own’s preference.

The hand drip blended coffee (¥500) is another pickup but I don’t take coffee. The place is run by two ladies of different generations. This isn’t the oldest cafe in Kyoto serving dashimaki sando but one that allows you to enjoy your meal leisurely and watch the world goes by. 

百春 ももはる

京都市中京区常盤木町55  種池ビル2階

OPEN 11:00〜18:30
CLOSE 木曜日

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Grains de Vanille : The Kyoto Cake Shop Visited by Pierre Herme

Even Pierre Herme dropped by this shop twice, how could I have given this a miss?

Compared to Tokyo, Kyoto seemed to have fewer cake boutiques and dominated by more standalone cafes. But this doesn’t mean that there are no worthy ones around. Grains de Vanille has been on my list for the longest time because the cakes stood out amongst other competitors like Patisserie S and Grenier de Au.

The Japanese-French pastries here are less conservative than their counterparts in Kyoto but not too bold and wild to assume bright, neon coloring that most French pastries are donning these days. They are similar to those in Tokyo, such as Asterisque or Mont St Clair. It was a challenge to narrow my selection to only 4 items and luckily only 1 turned out to be a disaster. The seasonal item was menacingly sweet— a mental torture to consume.

However, I found the Cafe Escargot interesting because very few chefs would flavour the meringue and tone down the sweetness. This was a brilliant combination of the 3cs; coffee, caramel and chocolate. The pistachio mousse was tasty but I thought the black tea chocolate st honore stood out more with its intricate layerings of tea and Cacao.

I haven’t tried many patisseries in Kyoto but I think this shop can stand in line with Tatsuhito Satoi and beat Tendresse hands down.

住所：京都府京都市中京区鍵屋町間之町通486
電話番号：075-241-7726
営業時間：10:30～18:00 (dine in available after 1pm)
定休日：第2・第4火曜、水曜

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