I had a lunch date with an acquaintance in Shirokanedai. Platinum Street in Shirokanedai is lined not only with well-known famous restaurants but with plenty of hidden gems too. (For example, the three-star restaurant Quintessence is in this neighborhood.) That day I went with no plan at all, and since lunchtime was already a little past and lots of places are closed on Tuesdays, it was really hard to decide where to go. I’d actually wanted to go to Shirokanetei…
Since it was summer, we decided to have udon. We went to a small udon shop called Sakura Sakura.
The entrance
It has the feel of a proper Japanese restaurant. Not just the interior and lighting, but also the little flower bed at the back shows they’ve paid attention right down to the small details. Prices are a bit high, but the atmosphere is calm, so it seems good for a quiet get-together. I hear that at night you can use it as an izakaya, as you’d expect.
What I ordered: yuba udon with rich-flavored toppings
The toppings are just like ramen’s. I ordered it because it looked unusual, but it was just so-so. I didn’t find anything particularly special about the noodles either. They seemed to say yuba had gone into them, but they weren’t especially springy or anything.
The dipping broth
You can see the yuba in there, right? Yuba is basically bland like tofu, so it’s a bit hard to call it tasty… Dipping cold udon into a tangy, refreshing broth suits summer, but maybe because I’ve been eating nothing but ramen lately, this kind of broth felt a little flat.
Rolled omelette
It’s an à la carte dish, and this was just so-so too. The udon aside, if even the rolled omelette falls short, it must be that this place’s standard just isn’t very high.
Round one done, for round two we head to Erika, a chocolate specialist nearby.
Cheap for this neighborhood, but ordinary.
This one was good.
It has walnuts and other nuts plus cream inside.
Mint chocolate
Maybe my palate is still unrefined, but I just don’t get eating mint and chocolate together. It feels like eating toothpaste. I hear women really love it, but for me it’s uncharted territory.