Retracing My Steps in Shinjuku

Nine years ago I made my first visit to Shinjuku. I've been there a few times since then. And of course I was going to go back this trip. What I didn't know is I would end up going back more than once. To start with, here is a bit of color I saw that morning, near where I was staying in Ikebukuro.

What was interesting is I ended up retracing where I went nine years ago. Much has changed but this MOS Burger is still there. (that isn't me in the window, I don't have a reflection, lol)

I still wonder, do people eat this pizza burger?

Since I ate there nine years ago, I figured it would be good to do the same this trip. This MOS Burger is so busy they give pagers to let you know when your food is ready.

Predictable me ordering something like I did nine years ago.

That shrimp burger. Lemony good.

And their fries and onion rings.

This MOS Burger is across from my first stop. Closet Child Shinjuku. A very busy store but I didn't find anything I wanted. Still, it is a place to go for fun Japanese fashion at a good price.

And like that trip in 2010, I headed to MaruiOne Annex. Except it's not in the same building now. And the shop I visited then no longer exists. But there is KERA Shop, which lucky for us, still sells Moi-même-Moitié fashion.

And one of the items I purchased that day. The new Moi-même-Moitié tea cup and saucer. I couldn't resist trying it out while still in Japan. A spot of tea with the caramel and nut Tokyo Tulip Rose. This was a very nice moment.

Ikebukuro at Night Again

This was my third time staying in Ikebukuro. Each time I explore a little more. Ikebukuro really becomes alive at night.

There is still a lot that I have not seen on the east side. But I did check out a few more places. Back to Sunshine 60-dori area, which really seems to be where more young people spend time at night now.

With all the people around, street busking must do well. It was enjoyable to hear this man play. There was another young enthusiastic man who had set up playing his guitar and singing. It was interesting to see the faces of the young women watching him. I would not be surprised if one day he becomes well known.

The dining streets in that area. I walked through here last time. I do need to figure out where I would like to eat there. It is an interesting place.

Try finding decent sushi at this price here in the US.

There are other statues around Ikebukuro Station besides owls. One can't miss this calisthenic couple in the middle of Meiji-dori. 

It is also impossible to miss SEIBU Department Store. It runs along one side of Ikebukuro Station, along with the PARCO Department Store.

The reason I didn't stop at a restaurant there was because my goal was shopping. I finally made it to Closet Child. The Ikebukuro store has clothing along with a music section. I picked up this little CD for a few yen. That was nice.

This time I visited the kitchen floor of Tokyu Hands. Besides music being a theme of my trip, these ring molds I bought so I can make Japanese pancakes were a sign of what was to come.

On my way back to my hotel, I wandered into SEIBU's lower level. Many larger Japanese department stores dedicate their lower levels to food vendors. The term used is "Food Hall", but many are much nicer than just a hall. Glass counters with sales people often offering samples of delicacies from all over Japan. And in SEIBU, there is also a KitKat Chocolatory booth.

I've tried a number of Japanese KitKats over the years. The ones that got my attention this time were ones that the focus was on the cacao used to make the chocolate. I do like sweet and bitter, so the Sublime was perfect for that. The one above it is Sublime Raw. They cook the chocolate at a lower temperature to bring out more of the cacao beans natural flavor. It was also very nice, with a slight "green" taste.

I found the Hojicha-Roasted Tea KitKats at a konbini. This was more like their flavored KitKats. It wasn't too bad, and did have a slight bitter flavor to represent the tea.

My other purchase at the Chocolatory was a box of their Sublime Volcanic KitKats.

KitKat uses chocolate from South Pacific tropical islands. Yellow is cacao from Papua New Guinea, orange is from the Philippines, and green is from Vanuatu. For people who like good chocolate, these are worth trying. There were differences between the three. I had not planned to buy KitKats on this trip, but I'm glad I did get these and the Sublime chocolates.

But the best thing that I found in SEIBU was something I had hoped to enjoy. When I walked in, I saw a line. Lines are a thing in Japan, don't be surprised if you want to get something or go into a restaurant and there is a line for waiting. This time, it was for these, Tokyo Tulip Rose.

They are the creation of Chef Masahito Kanai, who studied in Paris and brought his pastry skills back to Japan. He has a number of different delicacies, but most were sold out. Lucky for me, they still had their little Tulip Roses.

The Tulip Roses are made of delicate cookies filled with a creamy center. The amount of flavor in each one is astounding. The pink ones are strawberry and raspberry for a sweet and sour burst of flavor. It surprised me and I really liked this one.

The yellow Tulip Roses are passion fruit and mango. Again with the delicious flavor. The third Tulip Rose is caramel and nuts and they did taste just like that. I enjoyed these so much that I wanted to get more. Sadly I didn't. I hope I can enjoy them again one day.

Sophisticated Kit Kats

Believe it or not, I ate very few Kit Kats while I was in Japan.  Most made it back to the States with me. The lovely gift box and the fruit and Sublime were from the Ginza store. That dark chocolate Sublime was very good and I was surprised that the fruit was also good. I have found some of the white chocolate fruit ones have an aftertaste but these did not. Passion fruit and orange were two flavors I have not tried before and found they were really good.

I did pick up this small package of sakura themed bites. This was actually a winter release of a ginger tea flavor. I found the ginger taste a little distracting. It didn't combine well with the chocolate.

Besides Ginza I found more Kit Kats at the Marui One Annex in Shinjuku. Lots of regional flavors and my favorite Japanese sake Kit Kats. I should have bought two because this definitely did not last. Also much cheaper there than trying to buy it outside of Japan.

The Ginza Kit Kats were more expensive but since it was my one visit to a Chocolatory I splurged a little. In the gift box were green tea, strawberry, butter and pistachio. I expected a super buttery taste with the butter one. Good it was not that. Still not one I would consider in the future because the idea of eating a stick of butter is a little off putting to me. The pistachio were a light green color and nicely flavored. Strawberry and matcha green tea were nice, similar to others I have tried.

Shinshu apple found at Marui One Annex! Regional Kit Kat and fun taste. 

 I tend to like the chocolate Kit Kats and this had a nice apple flavor that didn't overwhelm. 

More regional Kit Kats. The momiji maple leave ones I bought at Tau Hiroshima store in Ginza. Afraid these were my least favorites. They didn't remind me of momiji sweets. There was a azuki bean flavor but the pastry flavor wasn't really there much. I would rather eat a momiji sweet.

However these Okinawa purple sweet potato Kit Kats found in Marui One Annex were some of my favorites. I like to cook mashed purple sweet potatoes so I'm familiar with their flavor. These did capture that along with being really good. Plus that purple color is a bit unusual and fun.

It's been a while since I posted about Kit Kats. Fun to be able to try this many different ones from this trip. While more flavors do show up in the Japanese market here, these more limited ones are hard to find. So this was nice.

Ladurée Love

I was not going to leave Ginza empty handed. Thankfully the directions to Ladurée are pretty good if you know that it's located in Mitsukoshi Ginza Department Store and the right entrance is by Exit A7 of the Ginza Station.

Being a fan of macarons I was not going to miss this chance to try some of the best in the world. Also rather expensive but once in a while it's okay to treat yourself. So in I went to their very delightful cafe. Would have been quite a treat to sit and eat. Maybe next time. This time I went up to the counter where they have so many different macarons and other pastries and sweets. So hard to choose!

But I did. I could not resist this cute box with the black cat on it. Why is he sticking out his tongue?

Because inside are these delicious chocolate covered cookies called Langues de Chat. A little crispy shortbread type cookie covered in milk and dark chocolate. I was surprised they held up well even in the heat.

Of course I also had to get something else. Which came in this pretty lavender and silver box. Along with a couple Ladurée ice packs. They really do think of everything.

Finally I got to eat Ladurée macarons! Serious bucket list event here.

My first one was this pretty sugar sprinkled strawberry macaron. What delicate taste! It was perfect.

Thanks to having a mini fridge in my hotel room I was able to spread these out over a few days. Next up was the pistachio macaron. Really nice with a bit of a nutty flavor in the ganache. I have had pistachio macarons from a few places and this was right up there.

Third was the cherry macaron. I was looking forward to this one with it's dark red ganache filling. However it did not meet my expectations. The flavor was more like a cherry sugar candy and not so fruit like. I think the strawberry one spoiled me.

I did spread out eating them over time. I really did.

Three left. My choice for this day was the salted caramel. Lovely cookie with a taste that was just right.

Down to rose or chocolate. Look at the foot on them! I saved the chocolate macaron for last. Both it and the rose were sweetly delicious.

While I wish there was Ladurée on the West Coast of North America, it's probably good they aren't because I would be so tempted. I am glad that I stopped in and tried these. I'm sure if I am ever back in Tokyo I will probably do it again.

Ladurée Ginza is at 〒104-8212 Tokyo, 中央区Ginza, 4−6−16 三越銀座店 Mitsukoshi Ginza 三越銀座店