[Tokyo 東京] Higashiya

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Higashiya Ginza

Add: 2F Pola Bldg Ginza, Chuo Ku / 中央区銀座 1-7-7 ポーラ銀座ビル 2F
Tel: +81-3-3538-3240
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 11am-10pm [Sun] 11am-7pm
Website: www.higashiya.com
Price: [tea] 1,400~1,500 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

My favorite spot for Japanese tea and sweets on this trip to Tokyo was Yakumo Saryo, but if your itinerary is too rushed and don’t have time to venture out to this neighborhood, perhaps you can try Higashiya, another Japanese sweets establishment by the same designer Shinichiro Ogata, conveniently located in Ginza. Higashiya was established with the goal of creating modern wagashi (Japanese sweets) that can be enjoyed on a daily basis, hence the name “higashiya” (“hi” means day in Japanese).

如果你在東京的行程很趕,沒有時間到目黑區去尋找八雲茶寮的話,那可以試試同樣出自緒方慎一郎之手,位于銀座的 Higashiya。Higashiya 原本是家沿著目黑川的小店,品牌的初衷是將和菓子帶回到人們日常生活中,做出 “每天吃也不會膩的果子”,因此名爲 Higashiya(日菓子屋)。

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The Ginza shop opened in 2009, composed of a boutique space and a 40-seat tea salon. A white canvas noren hangs at the entrance, and walking through it is like entering another space, leaving all earthly worries out behind. Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside the shop, so here’s a quick sneak peek. If you would like to see more, take a look at their beautiful website.

2009 年開幕的 Higashiya 銀座店位于ポーラ銀座ビル的二樓,首先穿過似乎可以把煩惱擋在門外的布簾,先看到的是和菓子的櫃台,往裏走才是茶室。店員表示緒方先生不希望客人在店裏拍照,所以在這裏就沒有太多照片可以放,喜歡的話可以上官網瞧瞧。不過總之茶館裏的裝潢風格結合了現代和日式傳統,桌椅均為木質,沒有太過華麗的擺飾,簡單大方。

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In addition to seasonal desserts, Higashiya offers a diverse selection of Japanese sweets and original tableware, 30 varieties of tea, as well as lunch menus and afternoon tea using seasonal ingredients.

店裏根據季節的不同更換精致的和菓子,另外也有自己設計的餐具、30多種茶、以及用季節食材烹調而成的日式午餐和下午茶。

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[Tokyo 東京] Yakumo Saryo 八雲茶寮

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Yakumo Saryo 八雲茶寮

Add: 3-4-7 Yakumo, Meguro Ku, Tokyo / 東京都目黒区八雲 3-4-7
Tel: +81-3-5731-1620
Hours: 9am-9pm
Website: yakumosaryo.jp
Price: tea 1,090~2,300 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

It took us a little while to find Yakumo Saryo. This restaurant, hidden inside a quiet residential neighborhood in Meguro, was about a 15-minute walk from the closest station Toritsu Daigaku. After some exploration and retracing of steps (even with Google Map), we arrived at the restaurant, which looked more like a private mansion with a large yard, all ensconced in shades of green. The calming ambience is immediately soothing, and all of our worldly worries seem to be left at the door.

這次在東京探訪的第一家茶館隱身於目黑區安靜的住宅區內,門口看上去像是個有大庭院的私宅,低調的寫著 “八雲茶寮”。要不是事先打聽好,路過就算注意到,也不敢貿然入內吧?穿過庭院來到入口處,靜谧的氣氛讓人心自然沈澱,所有令人煩惱的思緒,都遺留在布簾之外。

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The founder of Yakumo Saryo is designer Shinichiro Ogata, whose design studio Simplicity has put together well-known interior design works throughout Japan, such as Aesop Shinsaibashi and Andaz Tokyo. His style inherits, preserves, and adapts traditional Japanese culture to contemporary designs, often merging the old and new to reveal a refreshing outlook on the traditions.

八雲茶寮的負責人緒方慎一郎本身是位室內設計師,他的設計事務所 Simplicity 出品了非常多知名的店鋪,比如京都和東京的 Aesop 門店(很美,沒看過的速速去網上搜圖),以及之後要介紹的 Higashiya 和櫻井焙茶研究所。他的風格是簡約設計的美學概念裏融合日本文化的細節,讓人能感受到傳統的新觀感。

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At Yakumo Saryo, breakfast and lunch are by reservations, dinner is by invitation (from an existing member), while afternoon tea is open to walk-ins. The number of guests accepted is limited as they wish guests to enjoy the time with as few disturbances as possible; on the afternoon of our visit, there were only 2 or 3 other guests in the tea room.

八雲茶寮有早茶、午飯、下午茶、以及晚飯,午晚飯是必須事先預訂的,招待方式大多是由熟客介紹。這次我們前來用下午茶,被服務人員領到了茶室裏;由于希望客人不受太多打擾,茶室接受的人數不多,除了我和朋友外也就兩三個客人。

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[Paris] Sadaharu Aoki (4)

Sadaharu Aoki

Add:  35 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris
Tel: +33 1 45 44 48 90
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 11am~7pm [Sun] 10am~6pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.sadaharuaoki.com
Price: €5~6/patisserie
Tasted: Jul 2015

Two recent tastings from Sadaharu Aoki, one I absolutely loved, the other one not so much. Let’s start with the one I loved, “Symphonie” (€5.40), violet macarons sandwiching earl grey creme brulee, violet mousseline cream, and fresh raspberries. I’m not usually a fan of violet flavors, but the dosage in this cream was light (perfect for me), and combined amazingly with the earl grey flavor and fresh raspberries. Love at first bite and happily savored each mouthful of this.

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Then there was Bamboo (€5.50), Aoki’s famed matcha rendition of the classic opéra, consisting of alternating layers of matcha joconde biscuit, chocolate ganache, and matcha buttercream. I had actually tried this already years ago at Aoki’s Taipei branch – didn’t love it then, don’t like it now…which is quite strange, because I usually enjoy matcha and chocolate flavors. Beautiful visually though.

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