Tag: coffee

Aesthetic Food Finds in Nagoya Vol. 3 ft. Meijo Park

A trip to Nagoya is never complete without trying all of the delicious food available.  This aesthetic food adventure takes us to many dessert cafes and restaurants that have just re-opened after the emergency state ended.  We also drank at Meijo Park near Nagoya Castle which is one of the chillest spots I’ve found in this city with awesome scenery.  All of the places I visited this weekend have a lovely atmosphere and I can’t recommend them enough!

I’ll be expanding this list as I find more places, but feel free to suggest any you recommend in the comments!  Please see Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 for reference.

Amelie Cafe

When I first saw the pink refrigerator door that serves as the entrance to this cafe, I was already enamored by its aesthetic.  Amelia Cafe, located on the 3rd floor of the PARCO building in Sakae, has a large range of fulfilling dishes and beautiful desserts.  I ordered the vegetable and seafood salad while my boyfriend ordered the massive curry that had a volcano of cheese fondue in it.  I had never seen such a wild combination but it tasted amazing!!  We also ordered the strawberry and Orea milk bottles topped with whipped cream and chocolate to go along with our orders.  At that point we were already feeling full, but we couldn’t leave without defeating the final boss: The Rainbow Cake Pudding Parfait.  It surprisingly had a light texture so we finished it off in now time.  Hungry protagonist unite!  Next time I come here, I would really like to try the waffles and tiramisu coffee drinks.  The portions are huge but the food is actually quite cheap.  This is a good place to eat with groups and also the ideal date spot.  I’m really lucky that my boyfriend found this place!

Holland

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Tom Nook ain’t got nothing on these cupcakes.

Around the time that Animal Crossing for Switch was released, these guys popped up in my recommended desserts feed on Instagram.  Though I don’t play the game because I value my free time, who could pass up the chance to try tanuki cupcakes!?  Holland is western-themed desserts and confectionery shop near Kanayama Station in Nagoya.  They sell individual sweets and customized cakes for a pretty affordable price.  The tanuki cupcakes come in strawberry and chocolate flavors.  They had both a wafer and cake-like texture underneath the frosting.  Honestly they hit the spot after traveling over 2 hours here from Tokyo.  I am excited to see what other fun cupcakes they design in the future!

Cafe One

Cafe One in central Sakae delivers breakfast of the champions with it’s signature nekopan.  Or should I say breakfast of the champio-nyans?  Whatever you want to call it, it’s mouthwatering and delicious.  I had ice cream milk coffee that was decorated to look like a cat with a mustache and a cookie tail on the side.  I instantly felt energized after consuming all that ice cream and sugar.  My boyfriend ordered neko melonpan that had no face but was thicc and tasted amazing.  I ordered the nekopan with almond eyes that was covered in peanut butter and marshmallow toppings with chocolate whiskers.  Honestly is was a bit overwhelming but was also some of the best bread I had ever tasted.  There are many flavors of nekopan available here so I’d love to try more in the future!

Dean & Deluca Deli

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Nothing says a balanced diet like nekopan and freshly chopped salad.

After consuming all of that sugar, we walked around for a while and decided we should eat something healthy for lunch.  Not too far from Cafe One is the Dean & Deluca Deli where you can order sandwiches and fresh salad for a healthy meal.  They offer juices, desserts, and takeout options here as well.  I decided to get the vegetable salad with avocado, grilled pumpkin, potato, lettuce, quinoa, and carrots.  It was a good balance to what I ate for breakfast and gave me a lot of energy for the rest of the day.  My boyfriend had the chicken sandwich and said it had his stamp of approval too.  This place is win-win for both vegetarians and people who like meat because it has a number of options.

Poket

Poket is a Hawaiin restaurant that just moved to the bottom floor of ASTIR Hotel in Sakae.  They are relatively new but have a really vibrant and welcoming atmosphere.  Poke Bowls are the specialty here which you can order with salad or rice as your base.  I customized my bowl to include sauteed octopus and vegetables.  For dessert, I decided to try their one of a kind “banana soft” which is vanilla ice cream that is carefully placed inside of a fresh banana.  The result is extremely photogenic and Instagrammable.  Bananas sure have evolved a lot!  The drink menu has Japanese drinks, Hawaiin beers, and pineapple sours.  I definitely felt like we were in a tropical place even though we are currently in the middle of the rainy season in Japan.  I would definitely come back here again to try more variety of of Poke and see what other crazy desserts they come up with!

杏ZU

For once I wasn’t the one that found this restaurant—full credit goes to my boyfriend for taking us here.  杏ZU specializes in vegan Chinese food but has a non-vegan menu too.  I decided to ordered the vegetables boiled with yuba tofu (vegan option).  I also tried some Chinese wine on the rocks.  It was bitter but tasted just right paired with the food.  My boyfriend got a chicken dish that was served in a delicious rice cracker.  What makes this place stand out from other Chinese restaurants is the seasoning they use in their cooking.  I tasted a hint of lemon in mine and it was very healthy because they didn’t use any butter in it.  I would really like to come back here and try some shrimp dishes in the future.  This place will be on my watch list.

Iceland Market

This mysterious restaurant popped up in my Instagram feed one day and got me thinking… just what is an Icelandic Market doing in Nagoya!?  I looked at their menu and decided I would try their bread bowl with shrimp soup.  The other choices were tomato curry and Nagoya spice because that’s totally what people eat in Iceland.  Though not completely authentic, this was the best bread bowl that I’ve ever had in Japan!  My boyfriend had a hot dog wrapped in bacon which he said was pretty good.  This restaurant is about 40 mins from Nagoya Station and is quite small, but it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for something different.  I definitely enjoyed the theme.

Meijo Park

Situated next to Nagoya Castle, Meijo Park is one of the ideal places to drink or have a picnic.  Unlike other parks and gardens in Nagoya, it doesn’t have an entrance fee and is open 24 hours.  It feels like something out of an RPG because it has a giant windmill that looks like it holds secrets, a sundial that could possibly turn back time, and comically huge sunflowers everywhere.  Not to mention the adorable stray cats.  You could definitely use this place in a game map.  Anyway, my boyfriend and I spent 2 hours drinking here before Final Fantasy VII trivia night at Critical Hit.  We also tried the new Blue Hawaii donut at Lyrical Coffee Donut which was better than their matcha series.  I later came back here to watch the sunset and see the moon before I left for Tokyo.  This place has a wonderful aesthetic because all of the trees block the city lights.

That’s all the aesthetic food finds for this week.  I’ll have more to write about when I visit Nagoya again later this month!  Thank you for reading.

Aesthetic Food Finds in Nagoya Vol. 1

Here is a collection of aesthetic food finds in Nagoya, Japan (Volume 1). ♥

This country has no shortage of of aesthetic foods so I will continue to share cafes that I stumble across in future posts!  Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, most dessert cafes in Nagoya remain open as of March 2020.

Ai Cafe

On the very first day of my recent trip to Nagoya, my best friend and I decided to rise up to the challenge and order all 3 bears on the “Spring Fair” menu at Ai Cafe.  This included sakura ice cream bear soda, strawberry bear toast, and a whopping king bear parfait.  This challenge is not recommended for the weak due to the large amounts of aesthetic food you will receive—we were completely unprepared for the massive pink ice cream and extra thicc toast and waffle dishes all shaped like bears that stared back at us.  But with careful strategy and pacing, we defeated them all and washed them down with a Kenshiro Coffee.  The staff was super accommodating to take the time to make this for us.

A professionally Tweeted summary of the 3 bear challenge:

Interestingly enough, Ai Cafe’s closest station is Gokiso Station, which I made a hilarious Japanese pun of: ごきそさまでした！

You may not think it’s funny, but I do.

Psychedelic Pattern Smoothies at Tuwl’s

While exploring the charming little shopping area of Osu Kannon, we stumbled upon a very small smoothie stand called Tuwl’s that sells psychedelic pattern smoothies.  Unfortunately this place does not seem to be on a map yet, but it’s easy to find if you are walking towards the Taito Station.  The smoothies are not only intricately designed, but they also taste out of this world.  You can choose the fruit juice you want with a base of seeds, tapioca, or granola.  I chose avocado juice with the seed base and was happy to find it was mixed with chopped strawberries too.  My friend got the raspberry banana version which looks very similar to mine but has a different taste and pattern.  All I can say was that the smoothie trip was worth it and it’s worth trying at least once.

Lyrical Coffee Donut

At one point during my trip to Nagoya, I thought I woke up in an alternate universe where coffee and donuts were “lyrical”, flowers grew from the ceiling, and it was snowing in Tokyo during sakura season but still sunny and pleasant in Aichi Prefecture.  However, I learned that this was just every day life at Lyrical Coffee Donut (almost).  This little cafe and flower workshop is tucked away near Kamejima Station making it still somewhat central to Nagoya.  We ordered the sakura and coconut donuts (which we shared with our son, Waddle Dee), and also tried a floral jelly drink with the sandwich set.  It tasted beyond delicious, and because it was sakura season the flower donuts were quite popular.  I hope to come back here and try some more variety in the near future.

Yama Coffee

Not wanting to completely break our bear diet, we set off to Yama Coffee near Osu Kannon to try the infamous marshmallow coffee set.  The marshmallows come in various shapes and sizes, but I had my heart set on the panda ones because they were the most aesthetic.  I was delighted to see that they had added pink ones to the set to commemorate sakura season.  I ordered a latte and they drew a macha leaf pattern on it which added to the panda theme.  I feel like I can never drink coffee without marshmallows again because they add a perfect fluffy texture that packets of sugar can’t obtain.  Yama Coffee is a coffee experience that I think everyone should have.

Queen’s Healthy Diner

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Soy Chicken is Best Chicken.

After experiencing a sugar-induced coma from consuming all the bears, we realized we should eat something a little more healthy for dinner.  My friend introduced me to Queen’s Healthy Diner which is not far from Sakae Station.  This little diner is owned by a nice woman who prepares much of the food all by herself.  I had a vegan salad and soy milk macha drink with alcohol, and my friend ordered the soy karaage (fried chicken) with homemade mayonnaise.  I have to say that they karaage was by far the best thing on the menu.  It tasted like like fried tofu and had the texture and appearance of karaage but was much healthier and easier to digest.  In addition to this, there are vegan burritos, pizzas, and pastas available.  This restaurant is every vegan in Nagoya’s dream come true.

Ogura Toast at Cafe Gentiane

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I’m not sure who exactly came up with the strange idea to spread azuki bean paste on top of buttered French toast, but it somehow became a popular dish in this region after the first World War movement.  Bean paste isn’t the first thing I’d think to add to my toast, but it surprisingly makes a delicious topping.  The texture is a bit thicker than jam or jelly, but it’s just as sweet and usually comes with a side of butter or whipped cream as well.  This dish is dubbed “Ogura Toast” and can be found all over Nagoya and other places in Aichi Prefecture.  Since we were short on time, we settled for a place called Cafe Gentiane in Nagoya Station, but you can find Ogura Toast in a lot of other cafes here.  You really can’t go wrong with French toast in Japan because it has a lot of rich variety.

Now Closed: Little Baby Dogs

When I first attended World Cosplay Summit dressed as Futaba from Persona 5 in 2017, I stumbled upon a small ice cream place in Sakae called “Little Baby Dogs“.  The beautiful chocolate-dipped ice cream cones and heart-shaped toppings made this place a real charm (not to mention the name).  Unfortunately this shop is now closed, but my memories of cosplaying and eating ice cream here will last forever.

Bonus: Balllls

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http://www.balllls.com

Have you ever had a craving for Balllls?  Though most tapioca places in Japan seem to be closing due to the trend dying off, Balllls Tapitera in Osu is actually just moving to a new location.  I look forward to its grand re-opening and seeing more strange places like this in the future.

Thank you for reading Volume 1 of my aesthetic food journeys in Nagoya.  If you have any recommendations, please drop them in the comments!  I will be writing more volumes in the future.

3D Latte Art at Reissue Cafe (Tokyo)

Yesterday I had the pleasure of trying my first 3D latte in Tokyo, and boy was it amazing! Reissue was apparently the the first coffee shop to start this trend, and the latte artists there are extremely talented. They have a menu full of anime-inspired latte art to choose from, or you can request your own! I requested one of Yamper from Pokémon, and I think they did a very good job of bringing him to life:

If you’re not a fan of coffee, you can order hot chocolate or warm soy milk instead. The have green tea, caramel, and raspberry lattes as well. The shop is very popular, but fortunately I was able to walk in and sit down without a wait time.

When I first moved to Tokyo several years ago, I ordered a Goku latte as well from the same cafe. Once again, their precise lineart drawn in chocolate syrup was amazing:

Address

Tokyo, Shibuya, Jingumae 3-25-7

Adventures in Adelaide (Southern Australia)

Since a huge part of why I traveled to Australia was to see wildlife reserves and nature, my friend and I decided to fly to Adelaide for 4 days from Melbourne since this is the place where he grew up.  Like Perth, Adelaide is considered to be one of the smaller and more remote cities of Australia, but it actually has a number of unique attractions worth seeing.  Not only is it one of the two places in the country where you can hold koalas at the Cleland Wildlife Park, but it also has a yearly event called the Fringe with a number of theater and festive events.  Though my time here was very short compared to Melbourne, Adelaide left a huge impression on me and I hope to visit here again in the future!

After landing, the first thing I noticed about the city was the beautiful trees and architecture of the houses.  Though the spring season had just begun, the temperature here was much warmer than it was in Melbourne.  We were staying with a friend who conveniently lived near the airport so it was fortunately convenient to get around by using Uber and the trams.  Since the weather was in our favor we decided to go to Glenelg Beach and soak up the sun for a while.  This beach is perhaps one of the most popular because it is near Jetty Square that is filled with shops and boutiques.  I enjoyed the laidback atmosphere here and managed to relax a lot.  It was just what I needed to rejuvenate myself.

All of the food we had here was absolutely amazing.  I had a delicious chai latte sprinkled with cocoa powder at a cafe called Cibo, which I highly recommend.  Though I currently reside in Japan, I was curious to try the sushi here so we decided to eat at the conveyor belt sushi chain Kintaro.  Surprisingly, their sashimi selection was quite tasteful, and I enjoyed the heaping amount of sauce they put on my avocado crab sushi.  Next up were the Japanese Wasabi Doritos we found at Coles Supermarkets.  They were almost overpowering, but worth it for the meme factor.

We spent a lot of our time here catching up with friends, watching anime, drinking at home, and relaxing, but we were still able to see a lot of the city in the time that we spent here.  My friend went through his anime figure collection and found his Rei Ayanami piece that was actually the top of a pachinko machine in Japan, so it was definitely worth the trip.  One of my favorite landmarks here were the silver balls, or “gintama” as you would say in Japanese:

Apparently they are quite a popular meetup spot in central Adelaide–kind of of like a miniature version of the bean in Chicago.  We also visited an anime store called Shin Tokyo which surprisingly had quite a good selection of goods (way better than where I grew up in Michigan), and hilariously I found stuffed kangaroo balls at a souvenir shop nearby.  There was also something mysterious for sale for $15.  This city seemed to be full of humorous content for some reason:

Another awesome place I highly recommend checking out is called MOD.  This is a futuristic museum with interactive exhibits that will help you discover “hedonism”, or the pursuit of happiness.  They had various happiness simulators here; including one that gave you believable compliments to boost your confidence, and another that had classic games like Solitaire and Minesweeper that would auto-win the game for you with just the press of a button (but it seemed like a fair game at first).  They also had surveys regarding what makes the ideal workplace, and we found some interesting results (see the picture of the coffee cups for reference).

I jokingly called this museum the teamLab of Adelaide, because some of the exhibits have similar concepts with lighting and projected images.  I was actually really impressed with the technology they used for their giant globe that you could spin and interact with.  You could create your own character using touch screens to live out various scenarios through the Symbiosville simulation.  In this exhibit, you will learn through trial and error how to keep you and the people around you happy.  I think this is a vital skill in life.

In my next blog entry, I will talk about my experience hanging out with kangaroos, koalas, and other wildlife in Adelaide.  I hope that more people will make the journey out to this city, because it truly is an interesting place!

Making the Most of a Rainy Day in Kyoto at Cozy Coffee Cafes

With its historic temples, crowds of people wearing colorful kimonos, and perfect view of the mountains from its central station, Kyoto is hands down one of my favorite cities in Japan.

However, a rainy day can definitely damper plans! Instead of going hiking in the mountains and risk being stranded in a downpour, I decided to check out the local cafes and stumbled upon Alpha Foods & Drink near Nijo Castle. This is a relatively new cafe with a hipster vibe that will definitely brighten your day!

Mimicking the weather, I decided to order the “clouds over coffee” cotton candy drink. You can choose other drinks like hot cocoa, banana milk, and soy milk coffee (which I chose). The cotton candy stick is creatively balanced so the steam from the drink will slowly melt it in for a subtle sugary taste. Additionally, you can choose to eat the cotton candy separately if you prefer or request a cold drink instead.

Another reason to come to the cafe is to meet the owner’s extremely adorable miniature schnauzer! She was an extremely polite yet energetic dog that sat quietly on the couch but was friendly when I approached her:

My Japanese friend also took me to this extremely charming % Arabica Coffee store in Higashiyama which is unique to Kyoto but is gradually expanding due to its popularity with the locals. He claimed it was one of the best coffee shops in Japan due to the founder exporting coffee beans and owning his own coffee farm.

Was it really worth the hype? Yes, it was! Usually I don’t always try coffee shops with large crowds like this one, but the wait time wasn’t too bad. However, I tried the iced coffee latte, and was extremely impressed with not only the taste but also the cup design:

Overall, I had an amazing time exploring both of these places even though the weather wasn’t favorable. Both of these drinks were cheaper than Starbucks and more delicious too! I’ve been to Kyoto nearly 5 or 6 times, but there are always new things to explore each time I come!