I’m a homebody by nature who hates being in the spotlight, and I work in a field where value for money is everything, so I’ve lived most of my life without much interest in designer brands. But at my age, occasions to use them do come up now and then. This day I ended up dropping into the lounge in the Bvlgari building in Ginza, more or less by chance. I originally had plans, but they got cancelled, so I thought I’d go to a ramen place nearby called Hyottoko instead. And, oops, when I got there it was closed for the holiday weekend. After some dithering I decided that in this heat I was going to sort things out nearby no matter what, and headed for Bvlgari. Being a luxury brand shop, I figured it wouldn’t be packed with people and I could take my time there. On top of that, it was a continuation of the chocolate tour I was doing that day.
The rooftop terrace
I heard there was a terrace, so I casually went up to have a look, and it had a tropical resort vibe. Out there couples were getting romantic, sipping champagne while quietly sweating buckets. It was way too hot for me, so I went straight back down to the floor below..
The afternoon tea set I ordered at the counter
I needed to eat something.. I was hoping they’d have pasta or something on the menu, like the cafes in Omotesando, but no such luck. I was debating whether to just leave when I noticed the afternoon tea set included something special, so I ordered it without hesitation.
The menu
If you look closely, there is a very special item..
Lemon and honey
It doesn’t taste of anything special, but the presentation is very luxurious. Women would probably love it; I was just sort of ‘huh, okay’.. The slight shame was that it was so hot that day, and I was lugging around a whole load of shopping bags, so I didn’t have the leisure to relax and enjoy the atmosphere of the lounge. To be honest, if it hadn’t been so hot I’d have gone all the way to Tsukiji for something good to eat, so I should be happy with this much.
The cutlery set
Ordinary..
Butter and blueberry jam
These come out for spreading on the bread. The quality’s good.
The afternoon tea set
Cheeseburger, melon and prosciutto, sandwich, foie gras sauce and so on. Serving it in a bento box feels rather Japanese ^_^ It’s all made in advance, so the taste isn’t anything outstanding. But the portion is bigger than I expected.
Bread
Quiche, bread, cookies and so on. The bread dipped in the foie gras tastes pretty good. A glass of champagne would’ve been nice, but it’s a bit pricey in a place like this. Maybe I should’ve at least ordered a beer..
Dessert
Chocolate, macaron and so on. The chocolate in the middle is the “BVLGARI BVLGARI”, and if you buy one at the shop it costs 1,500 yen apiece. It’s the most expensive chocolate I know of. The afternoon set costs about 3,800 yen including tax, so the idea is that eating just the one chocolate roughly gets you your money’s worth. But the actual taste didn’t convince me at all why it should be 1,500 yen. It’s a rich chocolate with brandy in it, so part of it may be that I couldn’t enjoy it properly in the heat, but there are plenty of chocolates this good at a third of the price. Is it because of the gold leaf sprinkled on top? I couldn’t help thinking it’s a product of marketing.
Chamomile tea
It was so hot that I gulped the chamomile tea down like cold water, and finished the whole pot in less than 30 minutes. I could have rested a bit longer, but I had a lot to do, so I had to get moving. The shopping wasn’t over yet.
The streets of Ginza
Ginza is glamorous day and night. It seems even more crowded lately, maybe because it’s tourist season.
Geisha strolling through Ginza on the weekend
Looked like some kind of event was on. Then again, a weekend in Ginza with an event or two going on wouldn’t seem out of place at all.
Pierre Marcolini’s simple hot chocolate
After Armani and Bvlgari, I went to Pierre Marcolini to wrap up my Ginza chocolate tour and ordered their signature drink. It’s a rich taste, like great chocolate simply turned into liquid (almost like a brewed herbal medicine?), so I’m sure chocolate lovers adore it, but hot chocolate on such a hot day was too much for me after all.. I gave up after drinking half. Ugh.. seriously.. at times like this even I get fed up with my own personality.
Sunset from the Shinkansen
A photo taken on the train home, probably while we were passing somewhere around Shizuoka. It’d have come out prettier with a filter.. anyway..
Katsu sando + Suntory
I was short of time right to the end, so I couldn’t get the Imahan sukiyaki bento I’d really wanted to eat this time. It was late at night too, and the regional ekiben shops were all closed, so I just bought a few things at a convenience store for dinner. And so this trip also ended with me saying “so busy” over and over.. I suppose someday I’ll have a bit more free time. When that will be, though, who knows..