Vegan Cleanse Day 6

Today was a gorgeous day in Tokyo! It was so warm and sunny, ideal weather to go for a jog in the morning. We jogged to...

Tokyo Tower.

We had brunch at Le Pain Quotidien which is located in Shiba Koen, right by Tokyo Tower.

Day 6 of my Vegan cleanse, I had the green salad and side of Hummus.

Signs of spring! My favorite season is right around the corner!

 

For dinner, I had a Shungiku Salad with Sesame Oil & Salt, and sauteed Enoki mushrooms.

Tomorrow is my last day of this Vegan/no alcohol cleanse! It's actually gone by really fast and wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. My body definitely feels lighter, especially when I go for a run.

Vegan Cleanse Day 5

Went to Pure Cafe again (went 2 days ago...) because I can choose anything off the menu and it'll be Vegan. Today, I ordered the Sandwhich platter:

Lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, potatoes, nanohana, mustard and tofu sauce (mayo replacement) on Rye bread. Also comes with a side green salad and soup of the day (today was carrot soy).

 

For dinner tonight, I'm planning to eat another salad.

 

This is also my 5th day of not having a single drink. I can't even remember when the last time I went without having a drink for 5 days was...

Vegan Cleanse Day 3

Today was a beautiful day, until it started to cloud up in the afternoon.

We walked over to Omotesando.

The Farmer's Market is held every Saturday and Sunday here. We stocked up on vegetables & vegan Rye bread.

 

For a late lunch/early dinner, I had this Vegan "Chirashi" plate at Pure Cafe, a Vegan cafe inside the Aveda Salon in Omotesando.



Lazy Update Part II

Soon after coming back to Tokyo, I went back to CA again for one week. Went to Vegas for half of it so it was a whirlwind trip back home. Here are some shots from my phone:

Southern California = Palm trees.

Pizza time! Pizzeria Mozza Newport

Beer al fresco. Basically commuted to Bruery Provisions every night.

Vietnamese food fix: Brodard Cafe

Cheeseburgers: In-n-Out Burgers

Absolute favorite beach back home, Laguna Beach.

A whole new appreciation for the close access to the amazing beaches after being away from OC for a bit.

Santa Fe Eggs Benedict (substituted Potatoes with Spinach): Plum's Cafe

Enjoyed hanging out with friends and of course, this handsome boy.

Miss him so much!

Counting down the days until I'm back...!

Lazy Update

It's been a while since a proper update...

Honestly, I've been way too lazy to carry around my camera and it doesn't help that the iPhone camera is quite decent. Here are some snaps on my phone of summer in Tokyo.

I love this "tree tunnel" on the walk to the station.

Beautiful, colorful hydrangeas everywhere!

My absolute favorite pizza in Tokyo (and currently my favorite Italian restaurant):

Spinach Pizza at Tarantella-da-Luigi

(blogged about previously here)

Sunday Farmer's Market at Daikanyama T-site

Indian Curry Lunch: Priya

Shaved Ice to cool down with: Koyomi Hiroo

The homemade strawberry syrup is SO good!

My friend treated me to a fancy birthday lunch: Les Enfants Gates

(blogged about previously here)

Cherry Pie: Matsunosuke NY

Pizza lunch with bubbles: Napule Omotesando

Refreshing Tororo Soba: Honmura An 

Walking through Roppongi with an awesome view of the Tokyo Tower.

Japanese sweets: Naniwaya Souhonten

(blogged about previously here)

Ladurée

There are many stores in Japan now but Ladurée was a must for me in Paris. We went to the Bonaparte store in the 6th arrondissement.

I'm really picky about my macarons (texture, chewiness, filling..) but I still think it's hard to beat Ladurée (totally a personal preference). They had a collaboration with Tsumori Chisato and the display was super cute but they wouldn't let me take pictures inside the store. I don't understand when stores do that, especially when they're already so established. けち！

La Pâtisserie des Rêves

Finally getting some time to post updates!

After arrving in Paris after a rather smooth 13-hour flight, we had breakfast, explored and headed to La Pâtisserie des Rêves.

Exterior.

The really cute interior.

Pastry section.

They have a cafe that opens at 2PM for tea time.

Tart Tatin. YUM!

Orange Tart.

The cakes both had a very delicate sweetness to it. I picked up a pastry and had it the next morning, which was also yummy (wish I had a toaster, would have been much better heated!). The herbal teas here are really nice as well. The store is very girly, cute and photogenic - the perfect setting for afternoon tea.

Cafe Mamehico

One of our new favorite cafes to go to, to get away from the noise of Shibuya is Cafe Mamehico.

すごくこだわりが多くて、季節によってメニューもコーヒーの豆も変わるの。

Love the long communal table in the middle.

They always have a different tree/flower arrangement too.

Ice Coffee comes in these retro tin cups.

They always have a few selections for hot coffee.

My brother told us about this cafe and he recommended this.

煮豆が入った食パンで、手前のクリームをつけて食べるの。シンプルで美味！

These two were seasonal menus for the fall:

Baked Apple with homemade Ice Cream.

HEAVEN! 

Grape Muffins.

葡萄も皮を一粒一粒むいて、すごく手がかかってるんだよ！（リンク）

Omotesando Koffee

I had seen Omotesando Koffee earlier this year and had wanted to go.

I read that the owner temporarily rented a small space from an old home to serve his coffee. It said it would be open through 2011 but when I was chatting with the guy today, he said he may be able to extend it another year, depending on the owner of the home. 

Was about to walk right past it, until I saw some people walking out with coffee. It's in a residential area and there is NOTHING around it.

Keep an eye out for this "sign". 

Serious business.

Making my cup of iced coffee.

Creative "business cards" made out of coffee filters.

There's a small patio/garden in front of the store where it can seat about 4 people, but there were people there so I couldn't take a picture.

Cooling Down

Haven't been in Japan during this season (mid-summer) ever since I was a kid. The weather's been super weird; hot, cold, rainy but constantly humid. Just now, there was a crazy, random thunderstorm.

Some things I've been cooling down with:

Beer tastes the best in the summer.

Rising Sun Pale Ale from Baird Beer that I've blogged about before (here). 

Matcha Shaved Ice from Ouca (blogged before here).

Shaved ice is only served during the summer time at Ouca. I also had the Apricot last time, but my favorite has to be Matcha.

A new cafe, Sarutahiko Coffee, opened right next to Ouca while I was back home. I love specialty coffee shops (especially single drip!).

Guess the guy wanted to pose for my camera, haha.

Sarutahiko (dark roast) drip Iced Coffee.