Twentythree

Tokyo’s new video game/anime eatery has a lot to love (and eat).

June 12 is the grand opening of the brand-new Square Enix Cafe in downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood, and the eatery has released a sneak peek at what’s going to be on the menu. As you might expect, food and beverages inspired by the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises will be on offer, but there’s one other dark-horse candidate for your dining and drinking attention, and an anime/manga mega-hit too.

Beginning with Final Fantasy, the entrée options are the Chocobo and Moogle Spice Curry, milder Moogle Kids Curry…

…Chocobo and Friends Burger Plate (with a special appearance by Cactuar on one of its mini buns), and Chocobo Balanced Salad, designed as a for-humans equivalent of the Gysahl Greens so loved by the avian steeds.

And for dessert, Final Fantasy fans can look forward to the FF Version Purin Parfait, a Japanese-style custard pudding served in a classy cocktail glass with toppings including a marshmallow Chocobo and ice cream.

The “FF Version” part of the name suggests the existence of other pudding parfaits as well, and the DQ Version, of course, stars Dragon Quest’s adorable Slime.

The DQ mascot monster also appears in the Slimes Draw Near Jiggly Sweets Plate…

…and there are savory Slime plates too, such as the Healslime Burger Basket, in which the restorative creature’s tentacles are represented by a sliced sausage, and the Taco Rice-Style Hamburger Plate with Bubble Slime On Top.

Getting back to that third video game inspiration we mentioned, it’s none other than Nier: Automata, whose version of the purin parfait gives you a triple dose of Emil marshmallows…

…and his smiling (?) face is also present in the Lunar Tear Milk Tea Float plate.

Things get a little abstract with the 2B YoRHa Skirt-style Crepe Salad (with edible bamboo charcoal the most likely ingredient giving it its color), and things get really abstract with the On-Site Procurement Bullet Hell Pasta, meant to evoke memories of the enemy bullet barrages in the game’s shooting segments.

Now we come to the anime/manga part of the menu, which is saluting Fullmetal Alchemist.

Though Square Enix is most famous for video games, the company is also a major manga publisher, and within Japan handles the tale of brothers Al and Ed Elric, who are featured in a purin parfait, plus steamed buns with sweet custard and savory stew fillings. Fellow alchemist Roy Mustang also contributes to the menu with a Flame Alchemist shrimp pasta topped with shredded chili for extra heat.

Drinks come in two tiers, with the fancier ones consisting of a Final Fantasy Potion, Dragon Quest Traveler’s Healing Herb Set, and Fullmetal Alchemist Dwarf in the Flask.

The lower drink tier is made up of standard soft drinks such as coffee, tea, cola, orange juice, and melon soda. The cold drinks come with your choice of illustrated cup sleeve…

…while hot drinks let you pick one of two latte art designs per series.

The Square Enix Cafe has a service charge of 1,200 yen (US$7.60) per person, but that price does include one lower-tier drink of your choice, plus an illustrated placemat (you can pick which title you want, but the exact design is random).

▼ In keeping with Nier’s unabashed weirdness, its placemats are vertically oriented.

And as anyone who’s been to one knows, you can’t have a proper themed cafe in Japan without art coasters, and you’ll receive one at random when ordering any of a series’ associated food items or premium drinks.

Prices for the premium drinks and desserts are generally in the 1,000-1,500 yen range, with most of the main dishes priced between 1,500 and 2,200 yen (though the Fullmetal Alchemist steamed buns are just 770 yen each).

Again, the Square Enix Cafe’s grand opening takes place on June 12, and while walk-ins are allowed if space is available, reservations can be made through the restaurant’s website.

Restaurant information
Officially Licensed Square Enix Cafe & Shop Shinjuku
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3-36-1
東京都新宿区新宿3丁目36-1
Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Website

Source, images: Officially Licensed Square Enix Cafe & Shop Shinjuku official website
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Mr. Sato is filled with appreciation for the other Mr. Sato.

Tokyo has a number of neighborhoods, such as Shibuya and Harajuku, that celebrate trendy, youthful fashions and culture. There’s also a part of the city, though, with a focus on a more mature clientele.

Located part-way between Ikebukuro and Ueno on the Yamanote loop line that encircles the city center, Sugamo is a gathering place for Tokyo’s senior citizens, and while it’s an interesting spot to check out on any day, our ace reporter Mr. Sato timed his most recent visit for June 4.

That’s because Sugamo Jizo-dori, the main shopping street in the neighborhood, has a special street market on the 4th, 14th, and 24th of every month. This being Sugamo, it’s not a wild, invasively loud block party, but various merchants set up stalls on the street selling items at especially attractive prices.

Many of the stalls sell snacks, and Mr. Sato found himself tempted by bags of dried fruit for 200 yen (US$1.25) each if you bought five at a time and bundles of three bags of senbei for 500 yen.

He also got his fortune told by a streetside diviner, a kindly older gentleman who read Mr. Sato’s palm and face for 2,000 yen. According to the fortune teller, there are no proverbial dark clouds looming on Mr. Sato’s horizon, though he expressed some concern over the “sun line” on his right hand not being very distinct. Apparently this is an indication that he’ll need to continue working hard to be successful, but our reporter has never backed away from a challenge, and with the fortune teller adding that though he isn’t destined to be rich, he won’t end up being poor either, Mr. Sato was happy with the overall-good forecast of his future.

▼ Mr. Sato having his fortune told

But the highlight of Mr. Sato’s visit to Sugamo’s street market was a pair of vintage fashion magazines he picked up for 100 yen each.

To illustrate just how classic of publications we’re talking about here, one of them is simply titled Fukuso, which means “clothing” in Japanese, and the other is Yoso (“western clothing”).

Fukuso was started by Chiho Tanaka, who was born in 1906 and became one of Japan’s first famous designers of Western-style clothing. The issue Mr. Sato purchased is from December of 1962, quite a bit before Mr. Sato was born, and leafing through it he was stuck by the distinctly charming analog feel to its layout and illustrations.

Yoso has an impressive pedigree too, with its editor being Tetsunosuke Hirukawa, the head of the Japan Western Clothing Academy.

▼ Mr. Sato’s issue is from 1961

Yoso in particular was aimed at people working within the apparel industry, highlighting not just new fashions but also effective ways to tailor and produce clothing for clients.

As a matter of fact, looking through the two magazines, Mr. Sato realized that this was his first time to be reading fashion magazines that predate not only the fast fashion era of store like Uniqlo and Gap, but even easy access to department stores for most Japanese people. This was a time when many people still made their own clothing at home, or else splurged for custom-made pieces from a dressmaker or tailer. As such, issues of Fukuso contained a section with patterns for self-sewn garments…

…and information to help readers choose the best sewing machine for their needs.

Yoso, being a more professionals industry-focused magazine, instead has advertisements for tailoring services and supplies, some with what very stylish designs.

▼ One of the ads here is for Okadaya (オカダヤ), a sewing supply shop in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood that’s still in business today.

It all left Mr. Sato with a new, direct-feeling sense of how treasured articles of clothing were before you could just, say, dash over to the nearest convenience store and pick up a shirt. And that, in turn, got him thinking again about this velvet sports jacket he owns.

Notice we say “he owns,” not “he bought,” because this jacket originally belonged to Mr. Sato’s dad. With the jacket having been originally purchased around the time that these issues of Yoso and Fukuso were on newsstands, Mr. Sato’s dad wouldn’t have just bought it off the rack, and as further proof of its tailor-made status, “Sato” is embroidered on the inside of the lapel.

Granted, Mr. Sato’s dad gave him the jacket because it no longer fit him, but still, this would not have been a cheap piece of clothing, or one bought without a lot of thought going into the design, material, and its other aspects. And yet, Mr. Sato’s dad wanted him to have it, and several decades after the handover, it’s still in excellent condition.

There’s a bittersweet footnote to this, which is that this month marks one year since Mr. Sato’s dad passed away. When autumn comes, though, he’ll once again take the jacket out of the closet and slip it on, and it’ll feel extra special after his look back on the era in which it was made.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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We find out if this new limited-edition Chocolixir really tastes like corn potage soup.

With summer now upon us, stores all over Japan are releasing limited-edition seasonal products to keep us feeling cool and refreshed. Over at Godiva, though, the focus is more on seasonal produce, with a new release that’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

Called the Sweet Corn Chocolixir, this new take on the chain’s signature chocolate-based Chocolixir drink is said to taste like sweet corn potage soup. Although corn potage is incredibly popular throughout Japan, it’s more commonly associated with the colder months, as you can buy the soup hot in cans at vending machines.

Corn is actually harvested in summer, though, so Godiva’s new Chocolixir celebrates the new harvest, and while the flavour sounds intriguing enough on its own, what’s even more surprising is the unusual topping.

▼ It’s not every day you see whole corn kernels sitting on top of a chocolate drink.

According to Godiva, the new Chocolixer combines the natural sweetness of sweet corn with white chocolate and honey butter sauce. It’s then topped with a generous swirl of whipped cream and finished with roasted corn.

▼ Released on 29 May, the drink is on the menu from 830 yen (US$5.18) for a regular size and 940 yen for a large.

It took us a long time to tear our eyes away from the corn topping when we bought the new drink to try it, but when we did, we were able to appreciate the finer details. Nibbling on the corn revealed it to be wonderfully fresh, sweet and juicy, making it a lovely entree for the drink to follow, while the rich yet light and fluffy cream accompaniment was a fun accent, easing our palate into the deeper flavour combinations. The first sip highlighted the deliciousness of the corn, and we instantly likened it to a slightly sweet chilled corn potage, where you could taste the natural sweetness and subtle saltiness of the ingredients.

Delving further, the combination of white chocolate and rich honey butter sauce was absolutely delicious. This is where the drink truly shines, as the white chocolate brings the whole drink together and elevates the flavour, showcasing the skill of Godiva and reminding us of its chocolate prowess.

Though we’d been slightly cautious about the corn drink at first, by the end we were seriously impressed. Godiva’s cold chocolate take on corn potage is bursting with sweetness, and the refreshing crunch of ice is a delightful addition, making it the perfect summer beverage.

The only problem is finding a store where you can buy it, as the drink is so popular it was sold out at every participating branch we visited when we first went on the hunt for it. As a general rule, if it’s not listed on the menu at a participating store (see link below for locations) it’s likely to be sold out, but from our experience it would be best to visit a branch as soon as it opens, and a store that’s large but still slightly out of the way, like the one we visited in Tokyo’s Hibiya, will give you a better chance of finding it.

Related: Godiva Cafe store list
Images ©SoraNews24
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