I’ve talked a lot about Kyoto’s beautiful temples and serene walking routes, but not too much about food (apart from the Kyoto Ninja & Nishiki Market post)… So I think it’s about time we concentrate on the food and desserts that make Kyoto even more alluring…
A taste of Gion
Gion is one of the most popular areas in Kyoto, Japan. And I totally get why… The main roads are filled with shops and bright lights and restaurants. The side streets threw you back to ancient Japan, with high-end tea houses and the beautifully dressed geishas.
We didn’t get to meet any geisha (from close up anyway) that day, however we did manage to peek through one of the tea houses to catch a glimpse of one. I think.
Anyways, it was still a very nice walk right before everything turned dark.
While we were there, we visited a random izakaya…
I couldn’t actually remember what it was called or where it was located, but it was one of the ones with an English signage (so it could be a tourist trap, but it was empty at the time we visited due to the odd timing).
They were pretty good, although we didn’t have too many as it was more of a snack thing, since we wanted to try a few more things along the way.
A taste of Arashiyama
In Arashiyama, we went for the easy option to eat at a restaurant next to Arashiyama station after checking out the Hanatouro illumination. It had plenty of fake food at the front of the shop for us to choose and pick from. The menu was all in Japanese, so it’s better to take a photo of the display food and just point at the one you want and smile! :)
As with many Japanese restaurants, they offered set menus which usually include things like your choice of meat on rice, some side dishes, and a bowl of udon. Yup, carb overload, just the way I like it! LOL.
I enjoyed my meal for the sheer quantity, however taste wise, it wasn’t our best meal ever. It was still good though… Maybe the myth is true: you can go to almost any restaurant in Japan and get pretty decent quality food! Mind you, I’m not a food critique, I just like to eat.
And what I like to eat most are… desserts!
Dessert #1: Green tea soft serve & baumkuchen
Like this super delicious green tea dessert, which consisted green tea baumkuchen sponge cakes at the bottom and vanilla green tea soft serve ice cream at the top. You can find this shop near the entrance of Kiyomizu-dera around the Higashiyama area. Be sure to buy the baumkuchen back as souvenirs too, but you can’t keep them for too long!
Dessert #2: Gion Tsujiri
We accidentally found Gion Tsujiri when we saw the long queue along the front of a specialty green tea shop, with people lining up the stairways. The menu looked pretty heavenly, with everything green tea, so we thought… Yup, must be good.
Interesting thing to note: the shop attendant was actually handing out hand warmers to people who were queueing up on the street side, but because we were already standing around the stairs, we didn’t get the freebie! Boohoo.
We were seated probably after less than 20 minutes, which wasn’t that bad of a wait apart from the cold.
The menu was all in Japanese and the waitress that served us couldn’t really speak much English, but it’s all good… Plenty of pictures in the menu, so with our limited Japanese and their limited English and plenty of awkward laughters in between, we managed to order what we wanted.
My friend ordered the green tea and mochi set. She had to make her own green tea, and the waitress was trying to explain to us the DIY process. She was so adorable… And it was such a fun experience of discovery!
There were plenty of things in the menu to choose from, including main meals made out of green tea (like soba, etc) however we already had some food so we decided to go for desserts! Plus, the dessert menu looked sublime.
Like the one I ordered…
The ultimate green tea parfait!
To be honest, life was never the same ever since I tried this green tea parfait from Gion Tsujiri. I crave for it sometimes. In fact, just looking at the photos make me want to book another trip to Kyoto right now! (PS: They also have Tsujiri branches all over Japan and even in Singapore and Taiwan. I can’t vouch for their standards, but yep, it was special.)
Dessert #3: Sweet Flat Cafe (甘味カフェふらっと)
While walking around Sagano Arashiyama, we stumbled upon this very Japanese tea house / cafe and decided to walk in.
Kafe Huratto (direct translation is: Sweet Cafe Flat) is a cosy cafe with a cute Japanese garden and warm friendly owners.
We weren’t too hungry, so we just ordered a couple of snacks (i.e. more desserts, yay!)
They were all pretty yummy, and it was just a nice break from all the walking. Plus, it’s good to take your time walking around the Saga-Arashiyama area, so a nice relaxing stop would be ideal!
Do visit Kafe Huratto for some authentic Japanese snacks or if you need a place to chill and rest your tired legs! Check out their showreel for more photos of the cafe and the food…
Dessert #4: Koayu Galette (コアユ・ガレット)
Last but not least… Inside the busy Arashiyama station, there’s a little stall selling mini pancakes. It’s worth a try!
When I said “mini”, I actually meant it. It was tiny!
Koayu Galette sells mini pancakes with different flavoured creme fillings and a stick of chewy mochi.
I really enjoyed every bite of it. But even for a snack, it was a little too tiny to be satisfying enough. Maybe buy a few different flavours if you’re a little peckish!
Yup, that was my happy face stuffing in yet another dessert! Nom nom nom. And notice that cute little eye stamp that made these mini pancakes a little more adorable. Because, everything in Japan has to be kawaii, right?!
And that’s it. We traveled around Kyoto’s Gion and Arashiyama area and found plenty of note-worthy desserts (and food). I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at these photos as much as I have enjoyed eating them when we were in Japan!
When in Kyoto, do try as many green tea flavoured snacks and desserts as you can, you won’t regret it!