It seems that most Japanese cafes have something with green tea in it; I ordered the green tea latte (cold, this time) and was mesmerized by its great flavor. There was an abundance of desserts on display, too, but I decided to go with this blueberry cheesecake. It tasted dry, however, so it didn’t really satiate my sweets craving today.
I probably should have gone for a different cake…but I guess I can’t turn back now, huh.
I remember going to this cafe a lot when I was a student in Japan. There was a Cafe Jr. by the Ontakesan station (where my guest house was), so I’d frequent the cafe a lot, ordering their pizzas and iced lattes.
Going back to the Cafe Jr. in Harajuku made me feel nostalgic, since I remember going here a few times with some friends. This time, however, I was alone, and I did feel a little lonely thinking about memories. This pizza was the first somewhat ‘healthy’ thing I was able to eat in a few days–the pizza had vegetables on it, which made me feel a bit happy.
I made the mistake of sitting upstairs with the smoking section, though. I was trying to just find a better seat for myself, but in turn, I ended up sitting with all the smokers. There were two young schoolgirls sitting a few seats away from me; one girl had a rather husky voice, which amused me. I don’t think they were smoking either; probably just wanted a comfortable, somewhat private place to sit and chat.
Cheap prices for high quality food; that’s how things are like at Gasuto/Gust. I went to this restaurant beside my friend’s apartment and tried it out for the first time tonight.
I was pleasantly surprised at the prices for meals such as Hamburg sets, curry rice (what I ordered), etc. Most of these dishes were around 500 yen, which is unheard of in most other family-style restaurants. There was also a drink bar (have to pay extra for that), and the service was quick.
I felt happy with my meal here; the desserts also looked tempting, but they were a bit pricey for my tastes (I hate how I’m always thinking about money/the cost of things).
I took several pictures of my lunch from today, but this is the only one I shall feature. It was the dessert, and I’m not sure if you can tell or not, but this little dessert was really tiny. It would probably not even pass as a kid’s dessert in the US; probably would pass for a toddler’s portion.
Anyway, as the title says, today I discovered that in some restaurants in Japan, there are designated sets for men or women; this little tidbit of information stunned me a bit as I listened to my Japanese friends explain the difference between the two sets. Men’s sets are bigger in portion, have certain foods that are more “manly”, etc. Meanwhile, with the majority of Japanese women who actually diet as a “hobby” (!!), the women’s set is usually a lot smaller, healthier (which is a good thing), and a few other things that I forget.
I feel like such set menus would not/could not exist in the US; after all, the society in the US is a bit more balanced (in some ways) when it comes to gender. Both men AND women want to be healthier, eat better portions, etc. With the idea of sets for each gender in Japan, it goes to show how different and more traditional the society still is.
I mention this fact since my friends and I actually ordered the women’s set at the pasta restaurant we went to. It came with a generous portion of pasta with a salad and this dainty dessert. I forget what the men’s set had–don’t think it had salad though.
I had a friend tell me before that the Denny’s in Japan is much more different from the Denny’s in the US. Granted, I kind of assumed that most things exported to Japan were different from the US versions, but my curiosity was piqued.
Well, indeed, the Denny’s in Japan was quite different. For starters, they had morning/lunch/evening menus, as opposed to having an all-day menu. The breakfasts are a mix of Western and Japanese breakfasts; I decided to try the traditional-style Japanese breakfasts since after all, I am in Japan.
This breakfast was the bacon/egg breakfast set. Bacon and eggs are more American, but they were made the Japanese way (eggs a little runny, the bacon with some fat intact). I enjoyed eating them with the rice and the nattou (fermented soybeans). I know I certainly left Denny’s with a full and happy stomach.