Public House

Today was another meeting with my regular language exchange partner / friend. Since I did such a fantastic job choosing the last place, it was his turn again to choose a cafe. He found a place that I personally would have given up on. It was a little further than I usually go because of the fact that I have the worst sense of direction ever. But he led the way and we were all good.

So, the name of this place is Public House and it's on the 3rd floor of the Shibuya New South Exit, which is apparently used solely for the Saikyo line. It's a rather large cafe with the typical wooden motif going on. The smoking section was quite separate from the non-smoking section, so that was really nice. We were sat in the far corner next to the lounge area, which was reserved for a later group of people. Free wifi was offered here, but my friend and the staff couldn't get it to work in our corner. That's okay, I came to the rescue with my pocket wifi device!

Anyway, I was feeling a bit peckish, so we ordered some mixed nuts (they're not on the menu; you have to ask) and then I got a cappuccino, of course. My friend went with Iced Mint Rooibos Tea. The cappuccino was simple and came with a cinnamon stick, which is a touch that I do like. I give them presentation points, though I do prefer cinnamon powder because it smells and tastes a bit stronger. Basically the drink was good, but not so special.

So this place was really nice. It was comfy and quiet. Based on the smell, I will guess that the food tastes amazing there. It sure smelled delicious! The drinks cost about the same as everywhere else and the non-smoking section wasn't smoky. So, all in all I'm saying, this is one worth checking out.

Order: Cappuccino (500)
Review: Great place for language exchange or brainstorming


Hours: 7:00~24:00
Non-smoking / Smoking Sections
Website: http://www.cafecompany.co.jp/brands/publichouse/
Access: Shibuya Station (JR New South Exit's building or a few minutes walk from JR east exit)
Address: 3-29-17 (3F) Shibuya, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo

Tsubakiya Coffee

I had another language exchange meeting today, but this time was a first meeting. The person I met found a cafe in Ikebukuro for us to go. It's a small local chain with a few shops in various places throughout Tokyo. He said that he had never been to the Ikebukuro branch but the other ones were good so, "let's go!"

So, this shop is called Tsubakiya Coffee. And it's definitely different than the other places I've been. The female uniforms were maid style and the service was impeccable. I actually felt a bit uncomfortable by the level of service. There was no refilling of water, for example. No, the waitresses replaced your empty glass with a new full glass of water. But before they did that, they'd wipe the table to make sure it was dry first. This kind of service isn't bad, but it was a little much for me. I'm used to a more homey feel, I guess.

Anyway, aside from the service, the place is comfortable. Not in that relaxing or cute sort of way. More like a restaurant actually. According to the website, the theme is supposed to be Ginza in the good old days, and they're trying to give people a sense of old but chic luxury. But at any rate, it was nice. My language exchange partner and I both ended up ordering the "Mix Sandwich" with hot coffee. The sandwich wasn't that great, but it wasn't bad either. It was nothing to write home about. But the coffee was good. Usually I go with cappuccinos at new cafes, but this was a plain coffee kind of place. I even drank it black! What!? And while I'm not actually a fan of black coffee, I wasn't complaining.

Anyway, while this is a place I would have never come to on my own, and I have no real intention of coming here again, it was a pretty good place for a first meeting. So if you've got some sort of language exchange or business meeting, I might suggest Tsubakiya Coffee to you.

Order: Mix Sandwich and coffee set (1500)
Review: A decent place for a formal first meeting.

Hours: 9:00~23:00
Non-smoking / Smoking Sections
Website:http://www.tsubakiya-coffee.com/
Access: Ikebukuro Station (a few minutes from the East exit)
Address: (B1F) 1-6-4 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo

Analog

So, if you think another language exchange meeting with my friend means another cafe adventure, you're right. Today was my turn to pick the cafe and our destination was Ebisu. As you may recall from the previous posts, we'd decided to start avoiding places that allowed smoking. But all the cool looking cafes that looked like we could chill for a while were smoking. Not even a nonsmoking section! What to do?

Well, what I decided was to pick two places and if one was too smoky, hopefully the other would be okay. I chose two, Ark and Analog, that were pretty close to each other and were actually run by the same company. After meeting my friend and taking a peek at the two places, we settled on Analog.

Analog is on the 4th floor of a building not far from the station, just off the main road. After climbing up four flights of stairs, we entered a pretty snazzy area. The lighting was dim, though not too dark, and it felt a bit like walking into an attic filled with old furniture. (Being as how this place, along with Ark and a few other places in Tokyo, are run by Attic, I'm sure this atmosphere was by design.) It was hard to choose where to sit because the seating areas were all so different. There even appeared to be "rooms" or separated areas. We went with some big comfy chairs that were in the section a couple stairs higher than the first bit.

The place wasn't crowded at all, a few couples or random people here and there, so the smoke wasn't really an issue. Once in a while when the people sat kind of near us lit up a cigarette, it got a bit smelly, but nothing worth getting irritated with. Also, with it not being so crowded, it wasn't noisy either. Although that might also be due to the design itself, or the fact that it was just that type of cafe. I even spotted one girl napping in one of the oversized arm chairs. If I had been there alone, I might have been tempted to do the same.

As for the drinks, I went with a cinnamon cappuccino and my friend went with a cafe latte. They took a little while to come out. Not excessively so, but they took long enough for me to notice. But once the drinks were brought out and placed on the table, I decided the time spent waiting was definitely worth it. The drinks were beautiful. The cappuccino was piled high with froth and cinnamon, and the latte had a really lovely design in it. I don't know about the latte in terms of taste, but the cappuccino was really good.

So, the final verdict here is that, if I hung out in Ebisu, I would come here often. I'd have some coffee and probably the occasional nap. But this was probably my second or third time in the area after living more than two years in Tokyo. So as it is, if I'm in the area again, I'll probably check out Ark instead.

Order: Cappuccino (¥650, I think)
Review: I wouldn't mind if this became a regular hangout.

Website: http://www.atticroom.jp/analog-ebisu/
Access: Ebisu station. (2minutes on foot)
Address: 1-8-3 Ebisuminami (4F), Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Respekt

Today I had a language exchange meeting in Shibuya. The two of us like cafes so on occasion we abandon Starbucks and find a new place to check out. Today we headed towards the Harajuku direction and went in to Respekt.

Respekt is located near Streamer and Glorious Cafe Chain. So naturally is attracts the same kind of rather young and hip crowd - the musician and hipster looking crowd, not the young kids with host and hostess hair that hang out at the other end of the station. The place is pretty nice, but I have a really bad cold right now, so that fact that there's no barrier between the smoking and non-smoking sections was not earning this place any points. It's a really smoky place. Many of the cool cafes are, I know, but it's definitely a negative point for me. Especially right now.

So, due to my cold, I decided to skip the coffee and go with tea - Rooibos Mint Tea, to be exact. My friend ordered coffee and we split a Tirimasu cake. The tea was really good. On top of that, there was about 2 cups or so per pot and the hot liquid was very soothing on my throat, so I ended up ordering a second one. The tirimasu was also quite good, but we couldn't help but laugh because the tiny portion came in a massive dish. Who are you trying to fool with that?

So, I did get some time to look around during restroom breaks and such. There's a counter at the window with computers that I guess can be used for a fee. There's lots of tables and chairs as well as sofa seating. All in all a comfy place with some nice features. If it wasn't for the smokiness, I would have really liked it. It seems like a good place to study or relax.


Order: Tirimasu and Coffee Set (¥850) and two orders of Rooibos Mint Tea (¥650ea)
Review: Chill but way too smoky for someone with a bad cold

Website: http://www.cafecompany.co.jp/brands/sus/respekt/index.html
Access: Shibuya Station (About 1 or 2 minutes from Exit 13)
Address: 1-11-1 (2F), Shibuya, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo 150-0002

Mr. Friendly Cafe

So the last stop on my friend's and my mega cafe adventure was Mr. Friendly Cafe in Daikanyama / Ebisu. This is another one of those places that I'd been dying to go to but just didn't have the chance to go out to. After we left Rosalie, we decided to walk towards Ebisu since I needed to take the Hibiya line to Roppongi that evening. Well, wouldn't you know it, Mr. Friendly Cafe just happened to be on the way! Lucky!

So, I found this in one of my many cafe magazines in the hotcake section. But the unique point here is that the hotcakes are miniature Mr. Friendlies. So cute! I was surprised to find that this is the only location because it's been around for a while and there's a ton of merchandise - cookies, mugs, T-shirts, figurines, bags, etc, etc.

Even though I had just had half a piece of cake, I couldn't pass up the chance to eat those tiny little men. So I order a seven-piece regular set with a coffee. Since I was eating in, I also got to choose a topping. I went with caramel, though I wish I had gone with whipped cream instead. All well, there's always next time. Wait - what? Next time? Yeah, if I'm ever in the area again, I'll be popping over here again. I want to try a sundae or something next time. But anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. My friend ordered the mango yogurt smoothie drink and then we took out seats.

The seating area was small and inviting. Most of the light came in through the huge window which faced the road. The place wasn't really anywhere near the main road so, while it wasn't particularly interesting, it wasn't unpleasant either. And the light was quite nice. There was a rather large stuffed Mr Friendly in the corner of the bench seat that I promptly sat next to.

After a few minutes our drinks and mini hotcake men came out to us. After getting a few pictures, we dug in. (Since I'm such a nice friend, I of course let my friend have a few pieces.) The little Mr Friendly hotcakes were yummy on their own, but I'm a fan of pancakes in general so that doesn't say much. And the caramel dipping sauce wasn't terrible, but like I said, I wish I had made a different choice. My cafe latte was pretty good, and I learned later it was organic coffee, so I guess that's good. My friend's mango yogurt drink tasted an awful lot like a Mango lassie, which is of course not a bad thing either.

I definitely enjoyed coming here. It's a place that plan to come to again. I even bought some Mr Friendly cookies for another friend on the way out. (I'll be honest, I bought myself one mango cookie too.) Out of all the places we went today, Mr Friendly Cafe was definitely the top.

Order: Seven-piece hotcake set (¥263) and  Cafe Latte (¥420)
Review: They'll be seeing my face again.

Website: http://www.mrfriendly.jp/index.html
Access: Daikanyama Stations (a few minutes walk)
Address: 2-18-6 Ebisu Nishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Rosalie

So, after the iffy cafe in Gakugeidaigaku, my friend and I decided to move on to Daikanyama. This place is also well known for having oodles of cafes. While walking around we happened to notice a rooftop seating area. After climbing up the stairs, we realized it belonged to Rosalie, which as it turned out was a bit of a cafe. We peeked inside, but didn't sit down, because we wanted to sit outside.

The inside was really nice from what we could see. It was clearly designed for the young female crowd. That seemed to be all there was! It made no difference to me, but my friend was in hog heaven. Until I made him join me outside. If I had to say, I would say that the motif was rather Victorian, but I didn't get a real good look, so it's hard to say exactly.

As for the rooftop seating area, it was nice and simple. We sat at a table next to a hedge, so the two of us pale people could get some shade and protection from the sun. We couldn't really get the overhead view from our spot, but my guess is that the view below is just the street, so it's no big deal. But just being out in the sun was enough to make me quite happy.

So, since we had just had some coffee, we decided to go with something different at this place. My friend had a lychee and pineapple smoothie, and I had the citrus herb tea. We also split some strawberry shortcake. The cake was delicious and had fancy silver sprinkles so it definitely gets two thumbs up. The tea took me a few sips to get warmed up to it. The flavor was much more subtle than I expected, I guess. But by the end I was wishing I had more. I would drink that stuff all the time if I knew how to make it actually.

So I will say this place is nice and I would highly recommend it to a group of Japanese girls in their early to mid 20s. But if it wasn't for the outdoor area, I probably wouldn't have come here at all. Looking at the indoor crowd made me feel too foreign, too old, and too uncute. It was also a little pricey for my tastes. But like I said, if you fit that target market, I recommend it.

Order: Strawberry Shortcake (¥700) and Citrus Herb Tea (¥750)
Review: It's not really my scene.

Website: http://www.maisondereefur.com/#/home/cafe
Access: Daikanyama Station
Address: 2F, 24-7, Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Roman Records Cafe

One of my friends and I were both off today, so we decided to have a deluxe cafe adventure. We planned on wandering around some stations on the Toyoko line and stopping into a couple different places. The first station we got off at was Jiyugaoka. We ended up having lunch and a donut there, but not at any cafes. The one we had found that we wanted to stop in was full. We were around right at lunch time so it was as expected.

We then moved to Gakugeidaigaku station. We wandered around a bit before happening on Roman Records Cafe. It looked cool and the signboard said that had waffles, so we went in. I ended up with mixed feelings about this place. Let me tell you why. First off, when we went inside, the man who runs the place greeted us and said "We close at 4:00. Is that okay?" "What time is it now?" "3:20." We decided to stay in for a bit. So far, no big deal. The part that left a bit of a bad taste was that we weren't given a menu for about 5 minutes. Then once we got it, we got about 1 minute for both of us to look through it. So, both of us felt that we were being unnecessarily rushed due to initial bad service. Granted, I'm sure the guy just wanted to be able to get out on time, and I probably would have done the same. But still, as a customer I was not getting a good first impression.

So, after placing our order and waiting for it to come, I took a look at our surroundings. And I have to admit, it's a pretty cool place. It's rather small but the seats are large and comfy. There's a bit a DJ corner thing going on, and I think the music is the main appeal of this place, though the food looks like it might be amazing too. Like I said, it's rather small but not at all cramped. And while it's not dark per say, it does have a rather masculine feel to it. I suspect that during peak hours it's good and smoky too. As you may know, I'm not such a fan of smoky places, but I think it might kind of suit the ambiance of Roman Records Cafe.

I will say, that I started thinking more positively about this place when the coffees came out. They came out quick, maybe five minutes later. Maybe. And presentation-wise, I had no complaints. I ordered a regular cafe latte and my friend got the coconut one. Mine had a lovely heart in it and my friend's had coconut powder sprinkled on the top of his. Taste-wise, I also approved wholeheartedly. Mine was very rich and creamy. The coffee and milk was balanced quite nicely. The coconut latte was good, but since I'm not really a fan of coconut, it's hard to really make a judgement there.

So, the final conclusion is if I'm ever in the area again anytime other than between 4:00 and 6:30, I will go in again. I want to like the place and I feel like the circumstances just didn't allow for a proper experience. So, I'll reserve judgement for now. Though it's probably good.

Order: Cafe Latte (¥560) and Coconut Latte (¥580)
Review: Probably a great place to go.

Website: http://romanrecordscafe.p1.bindsite.jp/
Access: Gakugeidaigaku Station (about 1 minute or so on foot)
Address: Ito Building 102, Takaban 2-20-4, Meguro Ward, Tokyo

Rain on the Roof Cafe

Today was a fun day - any day that involves both karaoke and a new cafe is a great day. Throw good company and a cat into the mix - magical! Anyway, a language exchange partner of mine and I hung out in the Sangenjaya area. It was my first time out there so he was responsible for finding a good cafe. He chose Rain On the Roof Cafe.

Rain On The Roof Cafe is on the second floor of an older building. It was one of those renovated style cafes. The roof looked like an old Japanese house and the overall atmosphere was pretty homey. But in a masculine kind of way. The dimly lit room was scattered with not only  wooden chairs and tables but  also some oversized dark brown leather chairs and sofas. Naturally we went with the comfy looking leather chairs. We were planning on being there for a while and why not, right?

When we went in, we were greeted by the smell of Curry Rice. It smelled pretty delicious so I'm gonna guess their food is alright here. We both just went with coffees - iced coffee for him and a cappuccino for me. It was a really hot day, but I'm finding that iced coffee isn't really my cup of tea. So cappuccino it was. The waitress took our order but then came back to make sure I knew that cappuccinos were hot. "Um...of course I know that" is what I was thinking. "That's fine" is what I told her.

So, I don't know about the iced coffee but I was quite pleased with the cappuccino. The presentation was nice. The layer of cinnamon on top smelled amazing! And it tasted quite nice too. I had absolutely no complaints about it. And since it was hot, I was also drinking water. I will definitely give props to the staff for being so attentive and keeping my glass full.

So, what with the comfortable atmosphere, cold water, delicious coffee, and good company, I was quite pleased. I believe this place also serves as a small live house, and I would actually be quite interested in coming back and seeing a show here at some point. As long as I can sit in one of the arm chairs and drink another cappuccino, that is.

Order: Cappuccino (¥600)
Review: Nice cafe in a renovated space.

Website: http://renovationplanning.co.jp/roof/index.html
Access: Sangenjaya Station (about 5 or so minutes)

Address: 2-14-22 2F, Sangenjaya, Setagaya Ward, Tokyo 154-0024

空想カフェ (Kuusou Cafe)

My friend and I both had the afternoon off today so we decided to hit up a cafe together. We planned on going to Toique, because it sounded like a rather interesting place. We walked all the way out there only to find that it was closed until about two hours later. Drats! We were slightly disappointed but we weren't about to give up so easily. So we sat down with our cafe magazines to find a new destination.

We decided to go with 空想カフェ. 空想 translates to daydream or fantasy. Sounds like an interesting place, right? So we walked from Okachimachi to Iriya to find the place. And then in we went. It was indeed a cute place. Very quiet. My friend and I were the only customers and there was just one man behind the counter doing something on his MacBook. We chose to sit down at the interesting shaped table in the middle of the room. There was no one else to worry about, after all.

We then placed our order. We were able to choose coffee or tea. It was a hot day so iced coffee was also okay. "Alright, 2 iced coffees please". And as the gentlemen went to the back, my friend and I shared a dubious look. My friend was slightly bewildered at the lack of cake or bread. If we had done proper research before, we would have known, but because we hadn't, we were a bit surprised. There were books all over the place and a toy room that we probably could have looked at, but didn't.

Instead we had a nice pleasant chat about the type of cafe we would run, given the choice and opportunity. And waited for our coffees to arrive. And arrive they eventually did. With the most interesting stirrers we'd seen in a while. And by interesting, I mean slightly racist looking. After a good chuckle, we used our odd stirrers to add in some milk and sugar syrup to the rather strong coffee. Now, the coffee was pretty good, but something was weird with the milk so it kind of balled together. That was a bit gross.

After spending a good while chatting about random things, we went to pay. We had both decided this wasn't the best cafe we'd been to. My friend disliked it more than I did until...we got a free little keychain toy thing. The gentleman ended up being quite friendly and chatty at the end so he earned lots of points with us then.

I can't go so far as to recommend this place, but I wouldn't recommend against it either. It was nice enough and if I lived in the area I would probably go there. But since I don't and I'm never really in that area, I won't be visiting again. But I must say, I like the concept of the cafe. It's a nice quite space with some interesting things to look at. And I kind of like the idea of just serving a couple things. Keeps things simple for the owner, right? Maybe I'll add that feature to my dream cafe.

Order: Iced Coffee (¥500)
Review: Interesting concept and nice space. But...

Website: http://asakusanocafe.com/
Access: Iriya station (probably about 5-10 minutes.)
Address: 2-30-1 Senzoku, Taito Ward, Tokyo

Dessert Cafe Yuta

Today I went to Kagurazaka for a language exchange meeting. I arrived in the area an hour early so I decided to wander around. I had been here before with my friend but I couldn't remember which direction we had gone to find all the cafes. So I just picked a way. It ended up being the wrong one for finding the interesting part of town, but it still worked out in the end. While wandering the streets, I happened across a bright yellow shop front with a sign that said "cafe". I was definitely going in there!

And in there I went. The name of the place is Dessert Cafe Yuta. And as one might expect from the name, they specialize in sweets. I looked through their all Japanese menu and decided to splurge a bit on a nice swan Chou cream puff set. And because it was a rather warm day, I decided to go with ice coffee.

While I waited for my order, I took in my surroundings. The front seating was rather narrow yet cozy. There were two tables with 3 chairs each and a couple chairs at the counter. I didn't go to the back part so I have no idea how big it was or how many seats were back there. I should have checked, but I was too busy with being lazy.

Anyway, the cafe decor was cute. The lighting was rather dim and the coloring was warm and inviting. At first it didn't seem like there was too much in the way of actual decorations but the more and more I looked, the more and more I felt I was in a cat lady's home. There weren't any real cats, but there were plenty of cat decorations - pictures, figures, mobiles, and so on. As a cafe, it was cute. As a person's home or kitchen, it might have been a little sad, I think. Good thing it was a cafe.

Now when my order finally came, I was more than a little pleased. My swan Chou cream puff was beautiful. And the little fruity ice cream treat was really delicious. My coffee came in a cool cup but the presentation was slightly ruined by the big red straw that also came with it. I realized later that I should have just sucked it up and gone with the hot drink because, according to pictures I later saw on the Internet, there's latte art here. It probably would've tasted better too. All well, this was a dessert cafe and the dessert was pretty amazing. Another place I'd be willing to revisit if someone else wanted to go. 


Order: Swan Chou Cream Set (¥650)  and Iced Coffee (¥600)
Review: Delicious but maybe a bit too cute.

Website: http://blog.dessert-cafe-yuta.com/
Access: Kagurazaka Station (5-10 minutes from Exit 2)

Glorious Chain Cafe

As you may know from reading previous posts, or knowing me in person, I love buying cafe magazines. I have more than I could possibly need and I'll probably buy more. But there's one in particular that I really like and find very useful - Tokyo Cafe Book 2012. They've got such enticing pictures in there. One in particular has been calling to me and I found myself with some free time, so I finally made it to the place to which the picture belonged.

The cafe is called "Glorious Chain Cafe". The subscript says "by Diesel". According to the magazine (if I translated it correctly), Diesel Shibuya is a concept store (it doesn't say how or in what way), and at the same time that they opened it, they opened the cafe. The manager, 鐘ケ江仁 (maybe Hitoshi Kanegae, but I'm not sure....), took a team around the world to hand select dishes to put on the menu. According to the magazine.

So anyway, I went because of the picture of Eggs Benedict in the magazine. And though I was tempted by other choices, some of which were cheaper, I decided to get the Eggs Benedict. That's what brought me there after all. The lunch set came with a choice of tea, coffee, coke, or ginger ale. I decided to go with ginger ale and then maybe order a coffee later.

The eggs Benedict looked as nice in person as they did in the magazine. I was actually a bit surprised. And they tasted really great! Now, I have to admit, this was my first time to actually have eggs Benedict, so it's possible that they're the worst ones ever, but if you're not comparing them, they're definitely delicious. I was quite please. But as a result, I ended up inhaling them and giving myself the hiccups.

Since I scarfed the food down so quickly, I had some more time to kill, so I did go ahead and order some coffee. I went with the "Flat White", after looking up what that was first. It's a choice that I both regretted and celebrated. It was creamy and delicious. But I can't actually drink much milk and I usually go with soy milk in my coffee drinks. So my mouth was super happy and my stomach hated me.

I would definitely come here again for food, but I'd probably go over to "On the Corner" instead, because the coffee is better and the staff are a little friendlier. And cool without being pretentious. I felt like the staff at Glorious Chain Cafe thought they were cool and I didn't really like that vibe so much. But the food was good and the cafe itself is pretty cool and chill. Maybe a cool spot for a date? Or a place to take someone in general that you want to make think you're cool?


Order: Eggs Benedict lunch (¥1200) and Flat White (¥600)
Review: Cool and chill cafe, but maybe a bit too stylish for me.

Website: http://www.diesel.co.jp/cafe
Access: Shibuya Station (across the street from exit 13)

Straw Hat Cafe

My birthday was this week, and since my friend and I were off on the same day, we decided to celebrate. We went to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. It was quite cute but there were tons of kids. I really liked the building itself and I want it to be my house someday. But I haven't seen any of the main Ghibli movies so I couldn't really appreciate some of the attractions. But anyway...

The cafe! There is a rather cute place in the museum called the Straw Hat Cafe. We were both looking forward to going in but there was quite the queue. We were surprised to see that there was a special waiting area with seats and books and such, and that there was a queue for that! We had to wait to wait? I guess all in all we waited about 30 or 40 minutes or so. And then we finally got in!

The place is cute, as expected. It's got a nice country cottage feel to it. My friend and I were sat at the counter, which looked directly into the kitchen area. That meant we got an interesting view that we could both look at without craning our necks. We could also nonchalantly take pictures.

My friend has decided to "man up" and start drinking coffee. So instead of tea, he also got a "coffee with foamed milk". But we mainly chose this drink because we heard that it came with some sort of art on top. We were excited about that, as you can probably guess from some of my previous posts. They basically painted a cute image on the top with chocolate. I was a bit worried because I don't like chocolate coffee but there wasn't enough chocolate to affect the taste. It was pretty good, by the way.

Also since it was my birthday celebration, I decided that I was going to eat cake too. So we ordered the day's seasonal chiffon cake - chocolate fig. They gave us a huge piece so the two of us were able to share it and still be full. I'm not really a fan of chocolate cake - I don't dislike it, but it's not my favorite - but this was quite nice. It was really airy and fluffy. The flavor was also quite light, so perfect with the coffee.

So, it was a really cute place with nice food and coffee and everything we saw served to other people looked amazing. I wouldn't recommend going to the museum for the cafe, because that would be inconvenient and pricey. But if you're going to the museum, definitely stop in.



Order: Coffee with foamed milk (470yen) and Chocolate Fig Chiffon Cake (500yen)
Review: A great addition to the museum

Website: Museum's page
Location: Ghibli Museum, Mitaka

L'usine (Ho Chi Minh)

So, Ho Chi Minh has basically become synonymous with cafes for me. Since I decided to just chill while there, I ended up doing nothing but going to dinner and cafes. On my final night, my friend's girlfriend invited me to her house for a wonderful home-cooked meal. But of course, we stopped by a cafe for coffee and desert first. My final cafe of the trip was L'usine.

So, according to the little handout thing that I found in the store, L'usine is not only a cafe, but also a fashion boutique and art gallery. And the building itself dates back to the 1800s (though I doubt it's the original building...). The building has been used as a ballroom, a hotel, apartment building, government offices, and a garment factory. It's a pretty cool and contemporary place now, I will give them credit for that. And there is definitely a feel of "boutique" to the store, especially due to the quite high prices.

But anyway, back to the cafe bit. It was really cozy, but not in that small cute kind of way. It feels like a bunch of university students should be in there studying. It looked like the majority of the people in there were, I'm guessing, expats. The place was open with several communal tables, which I'm sure gave it that "we should be studying" feel. The vases of flowers added to that as well. My friends and I actually had to move our flowers over so that we could see each other and have a conversation.

As for the food and drinks, I think we all ordered cappuccinos. The food was, and I can't express how happy this made me, CUPCAKES! I love cupcakes! There's something about them that just make me so happy. And Japan doesn't believe in them or something. So I haven't had a cupcake since my last day at work in the US. That was nearly four years ago. I had a cupcake! My friends both got red velvet cupcakes. I had to ask what cupcakes were available, and as the waitress was citing the varieties available, I tried to make a decision. Then she said the magic words "Lemon Drop". I love lemon sweets so the decision became really easy really fast.

It was definitely a decision well made. The cappuccino was really good. But the cupcake is the thing that I remember most fondly. It was beautiful to look at and smile-inducing to eat. Now, the cupcake may not have actually been that good. It might have been that I hadn't had one in about four years. But I'm pretty sure that if I lived near this cafe, I'd be all sorts of knowledgeable from studying all the time, but I'd also be all sorts of chunky from eating cupcakes all the time too. Luckily for my waistline, I live in Japan.

Order: Cappuccino and Lemon Drop Cupcake (60,000 and 55,000VND respectively)
Review: Why isn't this in Tokyo? I wish I had easy access to this place...

Website: http://lusinespace.com/
Location: District 1, HCMC

Phuc Minh Coffee (Ho Chi Minh)

So, as I mentioned in the previous blog, I went a cafe the first night I arrived in Vietnam but I didn't really pay attention to it. So on the second full day while my friend was at work, I walked back over there. I stayed for about 4 hours or so. I actually ended up going again the next day too. And were I to have stayed longer, I would have gone again, I'm sure.

The cafe itself is not particularly cozy but it is comfortable. It's quite open and bright. The temperature is nice and the music was quite amusing. They played a lot of older pop from the 90s and early 2000s. But every once in a while they'd play something completely random like Hikaru Utada's "First Love". On top of all that, the staff was quite nice and always smiling.

So in visiting there twice and for such extended periods of time, I had ordered quite a bit. Three Vietnamese White Coffees (2 hot and 1 iced), a watermelon juice, a club sandwich, and fries. Everything was quite good, especially the drinks. However, I drank two coffees on the first day and had some problems later. Vietnamese coffee is quite strong and with the added sugar, I had a small case of the jitters. I then crashed a bit later. Hence the juice the next day.

So, this is probably not a cafe that I would go out of my way for. But I definitely definitely appreciated it being so close. If I lived in the area, I would be a regular for sure.

Order: 3 Vietnamese White Coffees, Watermelon Juice, Club Sandwich, and Fries (I forget the prices, but probably average)
Review: I'm so happy it was there for me!

Website: http://www.phucminhcoffee.com/
Location: District 7, HCMC