This post was written in 2014. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
Ken’s Cafe Tokyo in Shinjuku is famous for its slightly pricey gateau chocolat. It started out as a cafe, but once the gateau chocolat became popular nationwide they stopped the cafe business and now sell only the cake. I took a liking to it and bought it a few times, and while it tastes good, the chocolate they use is a bit lacking in quality. They say they use Valrhona’s top grade, but for the price that is nowhere near enough. Compared with the level of the high-end chocolate shops in Tokyo, I have to say it is a notch below. So when I heard that Ken’s Cafe had recently switched its chocolate, I went in with high expectations.
It looks roughly like this.
It may be called Shinjuku, but it is a bit far to walk from Shinjuku Station, and it is much closer if you get off at Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station. This visit was in the middle of summer, and a ten-minute walk was so brutal that I took the subway even though it is only two stops. Normally I would just run that distance, but the summer heat in Japan is no joke.
The front entrance of Ken’s Cafe
The place is nicely done up with a classy atmosphere.
The newly switched chocolate
When I mentioned I had heard a rumor that the chocolate had changed, the owner himself showed me a bag of chocolate from Domori of Italy. Look closely and you can see the words KEN’S BLEND printed on it. It is a blend specially ordered from a world-famous chocolate maker, and the idea that a gateau chocolat that was already plenty delicious is getting a version-up is something I could not help getting excited about. I was so looking forward to tasting it that I phoned the day before my visit and pre-ordered three. So how the gateau chocolat I brought home actually tasted, I will leave for the next post.