This summer, Southern Tower Dining and Lounge South Court—both of which are located inside Odakyu Hotel Century Southern Tower—are serving up a fluffy matcha shaved ice dessert called Wa -Nagomi- from June 1 to September 30.

Southern Tower’s Famous Fluffy Light Snowfall Wa -Nagomi- Shaved Ice | Eat In ¥1,470, Takeout ¥700

The matcha-flavoured shaved ice has a texture as light and fluffy as snow. As you spoon through the dessert your taste buds are met with a range of delicious tastes and textures like the Japanese rice flour confection known as gyuhi, winter melon syrup, black soybean flour ice cream, and cream.

The dessert can also be ordered for takeout. The black soy bean flour ice cream adds a crunchy cereal-like texture to the soft shaved ice, and with the takeout option, there’s also chocolate-coated wheat bran and brown sugar syrup.

Hailing originally from Brooklyn, the 130-year-old Peter Luger Steak House has announced the opening of its first-ever Japanese branch which will welcome customers at Ebisu Garden Place in Tokyo this September with its 3-storeys of red brick.

Peter Luger is credited with spreading the mouth-watering wonder of dry-aged beef steak to the world which has made the restaurant’s name globally famous. The restaurant of course wields a Michelin Star and has been featured high on the Zagat Survey for over 30 years.

The secret behind Peter Luger’s signature ingredient

The restaurant’s beef fillet and New York strip are signature items on the menu, both of which are made from porterhouse steak. Their steak is also made from USDA Prime beef which is dry-aged by hand to intensify the flavour and aroma.

The porterhouse is placed directly onto the broiler and seasoned solely with salt. The steak is flipped only once during the broiling process. A knob of melted butter is added to a serving platter and the steak is sliced atop it. It’s then placed back into the broiler for a few minutes depending on the doneness requested by the customer. It’s this process that gives Peter Luger’s steaks their deliciousness. 

Brooklyn red brick building and theatre decor

The Japanese branch takes inspiration from the Brooklyn restaurant with its red brick exterior.

The first floor is home to the bar where customers can enjoy food and cocktails. There’s also a takeout shop with gifts and other items.

The second floor is the spacious dining space which is home to Peter Ruger’s first-ever open kitchen. The third floor is another seating area with balcony-like seats so you can look out over the city.

There are seven private dining rooms of varying sizes for those looking a little more intimacy and privacy. The restaurant’s lighting was also designed by a New York designer.

FARO, an innovative Italian restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, has earned itself a Michelin Star in Michelin Guide Tokyo 2021 which went on sale on December 10, 2020.

Located on the 10th floor of the Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Building, the restaurant offers a taste of contemporary Italy, fusing tradition and innovation with a menu that incorporates Japanese ingredients and culture for an original dining experience.

Chef’s Special: Potato spaghetti

The individual credited with the creation of a new food culture is FARO’s executive chef Kotaro Noda who is the only Japanese person to own two Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy. He has been at the forefront of the Italian cooking world for the past 20 years.

Vegan Menu: Daikon Mochi [Winter Season Item]

Flower Tart

FARO puts a lot of work into its array of colourful vegan courses. These courses aren’t only aimed at vegans either – they are available to anyone wanting to eat delicious and healthy food.

The restaurant is also a display of Japanese craftsmanship, with all cutlery, crockery, table accessories, and more made using traditional Japanese methods, like the lattice work on the doors from Niigata Prefecture, the Tajimi and Arita ware, fabrics from Imabari, Edo kiriko cut glasses, and more.

The decor of FARO is an elegant and stylish fusion of both Japanese and western tastes, with a colour gradation representing the earth, sea, and sky. This colouring offers a completely different dining in both the daytime or during evening hours.

Japanese creative company BAKERU has opened bookings for the new entertainment restaurant and bar SOAK which is set to open on November 13, 2020 on the top floor of MIYASHITA PARK’s new brand hotel “sequence MIYASHITA PARK” in Shibuya, Tokyo. The restaurant will served up a ‘Japanese innovative’ menu made by Takeshi Nagashima of Nishiazabu 81 and Hideaki Nagaya of L’Effervescence.

An otherworldly restaurant and bar serving Japanese innovative cuisine

“BUILD NEO TOKYO” is the theme of SOAK. SOAK welcomes by Takeshi Nagashima of Nishiazabu 81 which delivers performance style-entertainment to customes, and Hideaki Nagaya of L’Effervescence, who was chosen for “JAPANESE CUSINE TOP 5 CHEF IN HONG KONG.” Bartending will be Takashi Goto who has worked as the main bartender at Sake Bar DECIBEL in New York and Shampoo in Shinjuku Golden Gai.

An event and party space which can hold up to 100 people

Located just a 3-minute walk from Shibuya Station, SOAK can be used as a party and event space with a maximum capacity of 100 people whether it be a wedding reception or a gathering of friends, family, or business, as well as for events, catering to any and every need. The space was designed by Noiz, a leading interior designer in Japan. The monuments were designed by contemporary artist Akira Yoshida, while the audio design is by Acoustic Engineering and the music is selected by Hirokazu Yamasaki from the post-rock and instrumental band Toe.

OYU: The rooftop terrace offering a panoramic view of Shibuya

Take in a panoramic view of Shibuya atop the rooftop terrace, and enjoy the pool either in the sunlight or shrouded luxuriously in the night with gorgeous illuminations and a glass in hand.

The pre-opening is set for November 13, 2020, but this is subject to change depending on the state of the pandemic.

Mister Donut Japan revealed last month that it is set to team up with Pokémon this winter with a special campaign starting on November 15. Before then however, from November 13, the doughnut chain will be releasing the “Mister Donut Chansey Christmas-chu Collection” of doughnuts and merchandise.

Mister Donut Chansey Christmas-chu Collection

Pikachu Doughnut (Custard Whip) | ¥240 (Before Tax)

Mister Donut is releasing four doughnuts this year, one of which is the popular Pikachu doughnut from last year which is coated in chocolate.

Chansey Doughnut | ¥200 (Before Tax)

Chansey, which is known as Lucky in Japanese, is bringing you luck this year in the form of a strawberry chocolate-coated doughnut complete with an adorable face, ears, and belly.

Poké Ball | ¥200 (Before Tax)

Great Ball | ¥200 (Before Tax)

The Poké Ball doughnut has also been transformed from the classic Pon de Ring doughnut from last year and turned into an actual ball shape. It’s filled with whipped cream and coated in a strawberry glaze while the Great Ball version is filled with custard whipped cream and is coated in chocolate.

Pon de Ring Wreath: Pudding Flavour, Strawberry Flavour, Chocolate Flavour | ¥150 (Before Tax)

For the holiday season, Mister Donut is also bringing back their classic Pon de Ring series in three flavours.

As well as doughnuts, Pokémon fans can get their hands on a selection on Christmas mugs and bowls too. Perfect for putting under the tree this year.

©2020 Pokémon. ©1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
ポケットモンスター・ポケモン・Pokémonは任天堂・クリーチャーズ・ゲームフリークの登録商標です。

POLA INC. is collaborating with Sanrio Entertainment’s amusement park Sanrio Puroland for their ongoing PURO HALLOWEEN PARTY event which is being held both at the park and online. The company has developed cute and sophisticated Halloween makeup inspired by the looks being worn by the Sanrio characters at Puroland for Halloween.

Halloween is a time to dress up as your favourite spooky figure, and POLA has jumped on board by creating a range of makeup looks to support Halloween outfits this year that anyone can do at home. Each look has a step-by-step visual guide as well as a video to help you along the way.

All the products used for the looks are by POLA and can all be bought at their nearly 4,000 stores including the 670 POLA THE BEAUTY branches and their flagship store POLA GINZA. Select branches in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Macao, and Singapore are also stocking the items.

Ginza Cozy Corner released a new collection of Halloween confections on October 19.

JOYJOY Halloween Party (9 Included) | ¥2,400 (Before Tax) | Available: October 19, 2020 – October 31, 2020

The tasty line-up features a collection of playful ghouls and ghosts partying at a haunted house. Bites include an eyeball tart, orange-flavoured Jack-o’-lantern roll cake, and lots more. Plus, the box they come in can be cut out and used as a photo prop for snapping cute Halloween pictures.

Imp’s Trickster Mont Blanc | ¥580 (Before Tax) | Serving: October 19, 2020 – October 31, 2020

There’s also a colourful mont blanc layered with four different creams: strawberry, lemon, melon, and blueberry, and inside—a mouth-watering tangy orange sauce surprise.

With just a small bit of ingenuity, turn everyday food into something cute using Kaori’s Easy Recipe! With a few simple ideas, an ordinary recipe magically transforms into a cute dish.

I have the perfect Halloween recipe for you this time. If we’re talking Halloween, then who else but Jack Skellington is the man for the job? Here’s my recipe to make Jack Skellington Stained Glass Cookies.

Ingredients

70g unsalted butter
50g icing sugar (or high quality white sugar if you don’t have)
A pinch of salt
30g egg
110g weak flour
10g black cocoa
1 white chocolate pen
Hard candy of your choice crushed into small pieces

*To crush the candy, you can put into a zip lock bag and use a rolling pin

1

Place all ingredients except the egg into a food processor and blitz. After, place the egg into the blitzed mix and blitz once again. Once combined, wrap with cling film and place into the refrigerator for 1+ hours until set.

2

Use a rolling pin to roll out circles of equal thickness for Jack’s head. Use a cutter to cut out the eyes, and place into the refrigerator one more to set.

3

Bake in the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes and take out again.

4

Place your crushed candy into the eye holes and bake for a further 5 minutes.
*The candy will melt into place and even out, so feel free to pile on the pieces

*Be careful not to overcook the candy as it will turn brown

5

Allow to cool. Be very careful handling and placing down the cookies as the eyes will be delicate. Decorate Jack’s nose and mouth with the chocolate pen and he’s ready for your Halloween party!

Kaori invites you into her world of character-themed food dishes in her recipe series. Be sure to check out her Instagram where she has uploaded many pictures of her character dishes!

Sanrio is once again collaborating with the EGG & SPUMA cafe located on the 8th floor of Shinjuku Lumine EST to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Ichigo Shimbun, a monthly magazine published by Sanrio which includes information about the latest character merchandise, the Sanrio Character Awards, and more. The limited-time cafe will run from November 1, 2020 to late January 2021.

Sanrio fans can expect a very special menu line-up of food, drinks, and desserts based on their favourite characters from the Sanrio roster.

There will in fact be two different menus served on separate occasions. The first menu will welcome a soufflé omelette topped with a potato salad Pochacco while the second will see an adorably pink My Melody cream stew.

There will also be an incredibly cute two-tiered afternoon tea set with desserts and savoury items.

For drinks, there is a Hello Kitty strawberry milk, Cinnamoroll milk, and milk caramel pudding Pompompurin.

© 2020 SANRIO CO., LTD. APPROVAL NO. L613344

And everyone who orders from the collaborative menu will receive one of eight possible coasters as thanks for visiting.

Pokémon Cafe and Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe are releasing a new teatime menu at their respective branches on October 24, 2020.

Pokémon Cafe

Polteageist & Sinistea Tea Party! Fruit Tea Set ~Apple Flavoured~ | ¥1,188 (Tax Included)

Polteageist & Sinistea Tea Party! Fruit Tea Set ~Strawberry Flavoured~ | ¥1,188 (Tax Included)

Pokémon Cafe is serving up two different fruit tea sets based on the Ghost-type Pokémon Polteageist and Sinistea. Customers are free to pour in their desired amount of fruit syrup which changes the colour of the tea. The sets come with a cute cookie too.

Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe

Left: Polteageist’s Tea Party! Fruit Tea ~Mixed Berry Flavour~ / Right: Polteageist’s Tea Party! Fruit Tea ~Peach Orange Flavour~ | ¥700 Each (Before Tax)

Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe is also going to serve up some Polteageist themed fruit teas as well as a selection of desserts like macarons and financier almond cakes which have Pokémon tail and ear designs.

After ordering one of the Polteageist fruit teas, customers can place their cups under the Polteageist tea pot as pictured above and activate the pot to dispense their drink, so it’s like Polteageist  really pouring tea for you.

Left: Swirlix Strawberry Macaron | Middle: Pikachu Vanilla Macaron | Right: Galarian Ponyta Pistachio Macaron – ¥500 Each (Before Tax)

Treat yourself to one of the super cute Swirlix, Pikachu, or Ponyta macarons each with designs that tell you instantly which Pokémon they’re inspired by.

Polteageist Fruit Tea and & Pikachu Macaron Set

Customers can order a tea and macaron combination set too.

Pikachu Parfaits

Pikachu Glass Parfait Set | ¥1,500 (Before Tax)

An adorable set of Pikachu parfaits, one being caramel banana flavoured and the other chocolate.

Pikachu Tea Party Assortment – Pika Pika Pikavee Set | ¥2,800 (Before Tax)

Another set to share between friends and family, this time with two Pikachu glass desserts as well as Pikachu and Eevee cupcakes.

Pikachu Tea Party Assortment – Ghost Type Set | ¥2,800 (Before Tax)

This set comes with the Pikachu glass desserts as well as Ghost-type Gengar and Litwick mousse cakes.

The Polteageist teapot and Sinistea teacup used at the Pokémon Cafe and Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe will also be released at Pokémon Center Online in Japan on December 5, 2020.

© 2020 Pokémon.©1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
Pokémon, ポケットモンスター, and ポケモン are registered trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK inc..

L’OCCITANE CAFE Shibuya is getting ready for Halloween with the reveal of its sweet potato and apple parfait which will be served from October 21 to 31. The Tokyo-based cafe is centred on the food culture and lifestyle of Provence in southern France.

Sweet Potato and Apple Parfait | ¥1,280 (Tax Included)

The seasonal treat is a mix of purple sweet potato and regular sweet potato, baked apples, apple sherbet, and vanilla ice, all topped off with whipped cream, roasted nuts, and almond tuile biscuits in the shape of ghosts and a pumpkin.

Major bookstores across Japan are rolling out the Rilakkuma Book Fair where fans can get their hands on short Rilakkuma fairy tails, exclusive merchandise, and more.

In line with the event, Fruits Parlor & Bakery Season & Co., a cafe in Umeda, Osaka, is serving up a special menu with the theme “Rilakkuma Book Cafe” from October 30 to November 30. This includes a afternoon teas which also celebrates the cafe’s 1st anniversary, more exclusive merchandise, and novelties for customers who order from the Rilakkuma menu.

Rilakkuma Zukin Afternoon Tea | ¥4,000 (Before Tax) *Reservation-only

A special afternoon tea featuring 13 different goodies from desserts to a sandwich, quiche, and more. It comes with a fruit iced tea welcome drink too.

Rilakkuma Yuki Hime Afternoon Tea | ¥4,000 (Before Tax) *Reservation-only

A different afternoon tea that serves up 12 items. This also comes with a fruit iced tea.

Rilakkuma’s Honey Apple Smoothie | ¥800 (Before Tax)

A honey apple smoothie topped with refreshing vanilla ice cream, smooth fresh cream, and a Rilakkuma jelly candy.

Rilakkuma’s Royal Chocolate Milk Tea | ¥1,200 (Before Tax)

Classic royal milk tea served with chocolate Rilakkumas. Eat on their own or dip into your tea!

The cafe is now taking reservations for the afternoon teas. Bookings must be made two days in advance by telephone or the official website.