Tokyo's Azabu-Juban, a charming shop named Hanaikai that makes you feel like buying souvenirs with its cute decorations. Although it is a shop specializing in senbei (rice crackers), the variety is truly extensive, with around 100 different types available. Yes, this shop specializes in senbei, but it's difficult to have 100 types of sweet senbei, right? That's right, this shop offers a wide selection of savory senbei. The price per piece ranges from 300 yen, which seems reasonable considering they are savory snacks. They offer a variety of Japanese, Western, Chinese, and even ethnic flavors, making it hard to choose in a short time... However, they have a ranking system to help you decide. Some interesting menu items include bouillabaisse, sanratang, tom yum goong, matsutake and silk tofu noodles, risotto, tonjiru, and more. This time, I tried the tomato and chicken cream risotto, as well as the sea bream porridge, both of which were delicious and cooked well in freeze-dried form. It seems like they have put a lot of effort into research, and their products are even sold in department stores. I look forward to trying some challenging ethnic senbei next time.

I received this as a Father's Day gift from my son. By putting warm rice in a large tea bowl and breaking up a few monaka on top, then pouring hot tea over it, you can make a high-quality ochazuke. Even if you don't make ochazuke, if you break up the monaka in a bowl and pour hot water over it, it transforms into an elegant soup. There are four varieties, so I hope you enjoy them.

While making homemade sakura manju, I sandwiched it myself and ate it. The manju is crispy and the texture is still perfect, not at all soggy. It has a crunchy and very pleasant feeling. It has a fragrant quality that makes it hard to believe it's a preserved item. Since the filling is not sandwiched from the beginning, it can maintain this texture. The inside filling is not anko, but more like yokan. It can be called sakura yokan. The sakura flavor is not strong, but rather subtle. It is soft and I ended up eating the manju and the filling separately. It doesn't have a salty sakura taste, but a gentle sweetness.

I love rice! I found out about this restaurant while listening to a radio program where they were presenting souvenirs for homecoming. I thought only oshiruko (sweet red bean soup with rice cakes) could be made with hot water, but here they offer miso soup, clear soup, soup, and ochazuke. The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere with rows of rice cakes on both sides. There's no time to leisurely choose, as customers keep coming in one after another. Most people carry two or three baskets and fill them up with rice cakes. I was quickly moved towards the register while holding the one I picked. The lady in front of me stacked 10 assorted boxes for New Year's gifts and also had a few delivery slips. And she paid with a black card. The miso soup with mushrooms and shimeji was good, but the rice cake was a bit too soft, maybe I used too much water. But with the increase in freeze-dried options, I'm fine with the cheaper ones.

At a cute pastry shop, I had soft serve ice cream. I think it was made with koji, but the regular one was good too.

It's quite interesting. Sometimes it's nice to have non-sweet souvenirs, and the store is clean and has a variety of items to look at, making it enjoyable just to browse.

It was very cute.

Father's Day gift

A store in Asakusa selling freeze-dried products. Just add hot water for authentic ochazuke, suimono, soup, etc., and it's delicious. The store has a clean, calm Japanese atmosphere. There are reportedly 100 varieties available. I bought three types of ochazuke. Break open the stuffed manju, pour hot water, and each flavor is distinct. It has a high-quality ochazuke taste. The manju is soft and delicious. It's convenient and easy, plus the packaging and manju shape are cute, making it a good gift option.

The appearance is beautiful and a bit unusual, so it makes a great souvenir gift. Sometimes late at night, there are a lot of cup noodles, but something like this is really appreciated. It is prepared by just adding hot water, similar to instant soup. The risotto also contains rice.

While strolling around Asakusa, I stumbled upon a shop that sells beautifully crafted traditional Japanese sweets that look like delicate monaka. They had a wide variety to choose from, so I picked out a few that caught my eye. They also had limited edition items, perfect for gifts. I ended up getting the Halloween special pumpkin soup, matsutake mushroom tea pickles, clam chowder, 3 kinds of mushroom cream risotto, and Asakusa seaweed tea pickles. Just add hot water and enjoy these fun and delicious treats! Visiting this shop seasonally seems like a great idea for a fun and tasty experience!

It's a lovely shop with a cute exterior that tickles your girly (or womanly) heart. The shop is filled with various types of "wanmokana" which are not sweets, but soups like miso soup, soup, ochazuke, etc. There are around 100 types available, each with a unique flower shape, making them colorful and cute. Each piece costs around 300 yen. I bought a few to enjoy at home, as I was hesitant to give them to my friends in case they didn't like them. They are freeze-dried, so you just need to add hot water, and the ingredients like vegetables and seafood are plentiful, making them surprisingly delicious for instant soup. I only tried the soup, so I can't comment on the other types, but it exceeded my expectations in terms of taste, resembling the authentic flavors you'd get in a restaurant. The "wanmokana" melts in the hot water, creating a thick and interesting texture. Personally, I really liked the red snapper and yuzu soup. The packaging and paper bags were also incredibly cute, adding to the fun of choosing. I will definitely be a repeat customer!

The restaurant in Azabu-Juban has been open for exactly one year in March. It specializes in colorful and diverse hot pot dishes, miso soup, soup, and ochazuke, reflecting the flowers and scenery of the four seasons. I had a hard time choosing from the beautiful and colorful selection, but ended up buying some hot pot and ochazuke. When you open the large manju from the package, ingredients like seaweed, sesame seeds, mitsuba, and rice crackers overflow. Pouring hot water over it, the vivid ingredients and manju spread out in the bowl like underwater flowers. The base broth varies, such as kombu dashi + light soy sauce, bonito soy sauce, dashi + wasabi, depending on the ingredients. The prices range from 300 to 330 yen each. The ochazuke with spicy "Manjushage peppers" or the hot pot with "Chirimen sansho" and "Tofu and Wakame" are delicious for adults. The roasted fu shaped like plum blossoms or cherry blossoms is beautiful, and the melting manju is fragrant. Although I had a similar dish from the Kaga fu specialty store "Fumuroya" before, which was around 200 yen, this one is around 300 yen. The most expensive "Shark fin soup" is 600 yen. However, with the higher price, you get a generous amount of ingredients overflowing in the bowl, making it luxurious and beautiful. With a variety of 100 options, you can choose according to your preference. It would also make a great gift. The main store is in Azabu-Juban, and they also have branches in Abeno Harukas in Osaka and Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin. Thank you for the meal.

Tokyo Series...Continued...At Azabu-Juban shopping street. After finishing shopping, I was walking along the main street of the shopping district when I found something interesting. At first, I saw "manju" being sold in the showcase of a storefront shaped like an eel's sleeping place. Well, if it's "manju," it should last for a few days, so I decided to go inside the store. However, the atmosphere was a bit different from a traditional Japanese confectionery shop. Hmmm? As I was looking around, the lady working there said, "This is manju soup." Wait, it's not a sweet treat? But I couldn't just leave like that, so I thought, why not try the soup? I asked the lady about the different types they had, and she mentioned four: "soup," "manju soup," "miso soup," and "ochazuke." I asked for her recommendation, and she suggested these three: "Sea Bream and Yuzu Manju Soup @324 yen," "Seigoin Kabura Turnip and Scallop Manju Soup @399 yen," and "Taro and Okra Miso Soup @356 yen." The lady at the shop was very hospitable and explained everything, but in the end, I finished my shopping with these items, returned to the hotel, and sent them back home via courier service. At home, as usual, I took photos of them. The "Sea Bream and Yuzu Manju Soup" was poured into a bowl, a hole was made in the middle, and hot water was added. The skin slowly dissolved, and the contents came out. When mixed, it became a beautiful soup with finely chopped sea bream, trefoil, green onions, and yuzu floating on top. The broth had a delicate flavor of bonito and kelp, with a hint of yuzu fragrance and a taste of sea bream. The "Seigoin Kabura Turnip and Scallop Manju Soup" included scallops, trefoil, snow peas, Seigoin kabura turnip, sesame, and more. The taste was also based on bonito and kelp broth, with a slight sweetness and a complex flavor. But it was delicious. As for the miso soup, it was gone before I knew it...haha. If only I had bought more, including the ochazuke. I should visit again next year...Thank you for the meal. September 2015. Rating on Tabelog: 3.04 points.

"Azabu-Juban is just a few minutes from the station, and this shop is located in the shopping street. It has a bright atmosphere and offers a wide variety of beautiful soup bowls that would make great souvenirs or gifts. Upon entering, you'll find a selection of soup bowls for ochazuke, soup, miso soup, and clear soup, all neatly arranged by type. I couldn't help but want one for myself. So, I ended up getting one for myself... haha. In addition to Japanese-style soups, they also offer corn soup and Chinese soup, making it a great option for breakfast as well. (Update on 8/13) I had it for breakfast the next day. The monaka was so cute that I fell in love with it at first sight. However, the taste was just okay... haha. I couldn't enjoy it as neatly as it was displayed, so I cut the monaka in half with a knife, scooped out the filling into the soup bowl first, and enjoyed the intact monaka separately. It turned into an elegant meal, and my spirits were lifted. The next day at work, my senior asked me if something had happened the day before. I excitedly told them about the irresistibly cute soup shop in Azabu-Juban that I just had to go and buy from. My senior smiled and said, 'So, it was a crazy shopping trip, huh?' Recently, I've been called a food pervert at work."

While walking around Asakusa, I stumbled upon a specialty shop called "Soup in a Bowl." They offer around 100 different types of soups. I tried the Szechuan-style soup for 324 yen, which had a nice tangy flavor. It paired well with an Asian meal at home. The mochi in the soup was delicious. The miso soup with taro and okra for 356 yen had a nice sticky texture from the taro and okra. The combination was quite enjoyable. I also tried the plum and eggplant clear soup for 356 yen, which was perfect for summer. Although Ajinomoto may excel in instant soups, this shop is trendy, offers a wide variety, and would make a great gift.

I got a unique type of soup dish called "wanshichu". It's not the traditional Japanese sweet, but a dish for meals. It's located on the right side as you head north on Azabu-Juban shopping street, and it just opened in March this year. The store has a stylish and elegant appearance, similar to a traditional Japanese sweets shop. Inside, the dishes are neatly arranged into four categories: soup, osumashi (clear soup), miso soup, and ochazuke (rice with tea). They offer a variety of unique menu items priced around 350 yen each. I bought a set of four dishes from the osumashi series: sea bream and yuzu, crab and scallop, whitebait and okra, and plum and eggplant for 1400 yen. I tried the sea bream and yuzu dish at the dining table. I poured hot water into the bowl and waited a few seconds. The ingredients started to soften, and I thought they would naturally dissolve, but I used chopsticks to poke a hole and waited a bit longer. Small pieces of wheat gluten appeared from the bowl, and the scent of yuzu filled the air. The main sea bream was firm and had an elegant taste. The broth was also excellent. It took about 2 minutes in total. Just by pouring hot water, a delicious soup was ready. This is so convenient! I would be happy to receive this as a gift. The packaging is also stylish, so I plan to use it as a gift.

Blog Topic: Feeling Old I participated in the event and climbed the stairs, feeling out of breath (laughs). At Azabu-Juban Hanakai, you can choose from 100 different types of bowl monaka! I saw it on TV and thought I had to go. It's exciting just to look at them. It would make a great gift for a celebration, and I think elderly people would appreciate it too. There are six types of monaka available. I was told by the staff that these are popular choices! - Ochazuke (sea bream) - Ochazuke (salmon) - Soup (clam chowder) - Soup (edamame soup) I purchased the following: - Ochazuke (sakura) - Soup (Seigoin kabura and shrimp soup) - Osumashi (sea bream and yuzu) It was clear that these were my preferences. I boldly cracked it open and poured hot water over it! The refined taste was delicious. The monaka was moist and creamy. Wouldn't it be nice to bring something like this as a souvenir? It would make a lovely gift for a sophisticated adult woman, don't you think? (laughs)

- First visit... around May 29, 2016? - Trigger... I happened to stop by while waiting for the famous taiyaki shop's taiyaki to finish baking - It may be pricey, but they have a wide variety ❤️ & it's cute ❤️. The prices are on the higher side, but there are many types of soups like osumashi, suimono, and miso soup... so the recipient can also enjoy themselves ❤️ - Dried goods are definitely convenient. Dried goods tend to have a longer shelf life, so I would be happy if I were on the receiving end ❤️. They seem like a good option for a small gift as well.