Unlike pretty much every other place from Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, Esse Due Akasaka is a full-out restaurant, not just a dessert shop. It’s an Italian joint that specializes in pizza and pasta, and based on what I saw from my table, everything looks quite good.
I think the thing that stands out the most about Kooriya Peace — a place that specializes in elaborate shaved ice desserts — is the ice itself.
Takano is a ramen place with a lot of hype around it — among many, many other accolades, they’ve been featured in the Michelin guide.
The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum calls itself a museum, which is basically just an excuse to charge an admission fee. Yes, there’s one small room which outlines the history of ramen, but for the most part this is a food court.
I know what you’re thinking: pizza in Tokyo? Get out of here. I was thinking it too, but I dare you to watch this video and then not immediately want to check this place out.
When you think about it, it’s odd that we consider pancakes to be breakfast when really, they’re obviously dessert. I mean, “cake” is right there in the name. They’re doused in syrup. They’re dessert.
You may have noticed that I’ve been in Tokyo for a while, but I haven’t written about ramen yet (no? Nobody noticed or cares? Yeah, that sounds about right).
Chestnut desserts don’t really get the respect they deserve back home. They basically don’t exist unless you really seek them out (and even then they’re difficult to find), and I don’t understand why. They’re quite tasty.
If you haven’t seen Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman on Netflix, you need to rectify that immediately. It’s basically a sitcom crossed with a food/travel show, all filtered through a lens of grade-A Japanese weirdness. It’s delightful.
I’ll admit that I wound up eating at Hinoya Curry almost entirely due to its proximity to my Airbnb on the outskirts of Tokyo. I walked by it a few times, and eventually the delicious-looking photos posted outside of the restaurant wore me down.