| Restaurant Review |
By Richard Isaacs and Priyanthi Fonseka
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Toumai
Head to this casual takao café for internationally minded food and drinks
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| Photos Courtesy of Richard Isaacs |
Toumai is not just a new restaurant/café/bar near Mt. Takao. It’s what the owner hopes will become a community space for the neighborhood. Yuki Shirakawa is a creative and determined world traveler who has led a different life from the usual Tokyoite. A chance meeting when studying in Nepal inspired her to set up a travel service between Europe and Asia, and later Africa and South America. Shirakawa went on to write articles and shoot photographs while traveling, and she has published several books of her best works—which were perfect for browsing while we sipped our coffees.
Toumai sits in a residential area that’s a 12-minute walk (or short taxi ride) from Takao station, about 45 minutes from Shinjuku. This may not be the most obvious location for a restaurant, but it was chosen for a good reason: Shirakawa’s family have lived in the two houses on the site for generations. She renovated the properties one room at a time, turning the old homes into a café and gift shop selling Fair Trade goods and handmade jewelry.
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The café, which Shirakawa describes as a “cultural crossroads,” has a global feel—the menu is influenced by international cuisine, and the interior is adorned with trinkets, carvings and statues that she collected on her travels. The atmosphere is suitable for a relaxed lunch with friends, an intimate afternoon coffee, or a casual evening meal. The staff
are helpful, and some English and Spanish is spoken.
We arrived for lunch and sat at a large table hand-carved from a single tree trunk. The warm afternoon sunshine coming in through the bay windows behind us made us feel warm and at home, and we were soon ready to order.
In addition to coffee and chai, Toumai offers more exotic drinks like sour cherry juice and apricot juice from Turkey and mango juice from South Africa (all ¥450). Beers, wines and spirits (¥650) come from such far-flung locales as Mexico, Indonesia and Vietnam. Excellent homemade cakes are ¥400, with a ¥50 discount when you buy a drink as well.
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If you’re in the mood for something more substantial (as we were), set meals are available with a choice of two main dishes, which change daily. When we visited, half our group chose Thai green seafood curry while the others opted for Bengali chicken curry (¥1,000). For an extra ¥200 you can have a main dish and a drink or—if, say, you’ve just completed a hike on Mt. Takao—you can add a slice of cake for ¥300. Everything looked and tasted great, and the cakes were absolutely divine.
In addition to the broad range of food and drink, Toumai hosts monthly live music events, which have so far included a live guitar show, West African drumming and Latin harp performances. Reservations, which can be made in English, are recommended.
Toumai is a destination in itself and one that’s worth making the trip out of central Tokyo to visit.
657 Tatemachi, Hachioji-shi. Tel: 042-667-1424. Open Tue-Sun 11:30am-9pm, closed Mon. Nearest stn: Takao
www.toumai.jp
When popular restaurant Roti closed its Harumi Triton Square branch in March, there were a lot of sad diners. Fortunately, a new and exciting restaurant and wine bar has opened to take its place… or perhaps we should say “dramatic,” since that is how Garden Bay describes itself. Garden Bay offers modern Italian cuisine in a casual style at reasonable prices. The dinner menu is quite extensive. For starters, you can pick from carpaccio, tomato and basil salad, pancetta, terrine, or bacon and egg salad, for ¥680 to ¥1,380. For entrees, Garden Bay offers lots of grilled meats, seafood, pasta, rice dishes and some vegetarian fare. No entree item costs more than ¥2,400, and there is an ample selection of red and white wines from Italy, Spain, France, Argentina and Australia to go with your dinner.
The restaurant is also popular with the lunchtime crowd.
Sets, which change daily, include pasta, a rice dish and a one-plate combination of salad, rice and meat. Of course, no meal is complete without dessert, and Garden Bay offers the likes of tiramisu, gateau chocolate cake and fruit tart. The restaurant is available for parties as well, starting at ¥2,400 per person for a two-hour period. Having just opened, Garden Bay doesn’t yet have an English menu, but the staff are friendly and floor manager Kanako Uehara is more than happy to help with any inquiries.
Harumi Triton Square 1F, Harumi 1-8-16, Chuo-ku 104-0053. Tel: 03-5547-0561. Open daily 11:30am-11pm. Nearest stn: Kachidoki. www.gardenbay.jp CB |
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