Funabashiya Koyomo
+ HIROO, TOKYO

While there’s certainly no shortage of udon, soba, and ramen shops, you’ll be hard pressed to find a real Japanese desert shop while casually wandering the streets of Tokyo. That is, if you don’t already know where Funabashiya Koyomo is. Just on the corner at the end of the Hiroo Market Street, across from Homework’s burger shop, is the Japanese desert connoisseurs dream come true. Besides their healthy looking dinners, the real highlight of Funabashiya Koyomo is their bean laden sweets menu.

For those not already familiar with Japanese deserts, beans consist a major part of the structure of a typical “sundae,” as Americans might call it. The main desert dish is called, “Anmitsu,” which includes little white jelly cubes(seaweed derived, but don’t let that put you off!), mixed fruits, boiled, hard peas, and lastly a sweet, deep redish purple azuki paste(a.k.a. “anko”). If you’re lucky, they might toss on a little piece of pineapple or a maraschino cherry! Azuki are a popular red bean grown throughout Asia for various purposes. In Japan they are boiled and sweetened, then turned into a paste with varying degrees of texture. Sometimes they are boiled even further and turned into a sweet soup. Funabashiya Koyomo introduces you to just about every function of azuki, with the exception of “Taiyaki,” the fish shaped azuki filled deserts often found at holiday events.

I enjoyed the “special anmitsu with kuzumochi,” (620 yen) a square dish filled with the little jelly cubes, small beans, sliced chestnut, fresh strawberries, sliced chewy rice cake(kuzumochi are long rectangular slices of mochi, while shiratama are small white balls of mochi), and topped with vanilla icecream and a scoop of azuki paste. This was perfectly complimented by a cup of their hot green tea. I really enjoy the variety in Japanese deserts, with interesting flavor combinations like azuki beans and strawberries, and chestnut and vanilla icecream. The presentation is always a treat with each dish presented as a little work of art. The green tea and black bean cake(680 yen) was also delightful with it’s rich, sweet black bean topping.

Worth a visit if you’re looking for a truly authentic Japanese desert experience. If you want to go the distance, dinner (880~ yen) and lunch (680~ yen) are also served and their dinner sets are quite nice and priced somewhat reasonably.

Funabashiya Koyomo
By Train: Hibiya Line, Hiroo Station exit 2
Directions: From exit 2 walk right out of the exit and around the corner you’ll find the shopping street. Walk to the very end, you’ll see it on your left, with Homework’s burger restaurant just across the street. There are two floors, the top floor is the dining area.
Hours: 11:00AM - 10PM (L.O. 9PM)
Holidays 11:00AM - 6PM(L.O.5PM)
Payment: VISA, MASTER, UC, DC, JCB accepted
Phone: 03-5449-2784
URL: http://www.funabashiya.co.jp/
English menu: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/fl/en/a799700/menu.htm

(2 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

 Loading ...