M Cafe: Brightens up your day

Area:  about 1 block west of Marunouchi station 丸の内駅
Restaurant:  M Cafe
Website:  http://ameblo.jp/m-cafe34/
Map:  http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230102/23051854/dtlmap/

Hours:  10am-4pm, Lunch 11am-3pm

I was planning to go somewhere farther, but it was a rainy day and the cute appearance of this cafe caught my eye.  It seems definitely geared towards women.  And they were still serving lunch until 3pm.  Today I went for the hot sandwich set (¥650) because it was labelled as a popular menu item.  There was a choice of ham and cheese or egg, but I decided on the egg.

The accompanying salad was a small bowl of shredded cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and a scoop of potato salad.  The dressing was a Japanese-flavored one (soy-sauce and bits of onion included) that matched well with the mayo, cucumber and ham potato salad.  

The soup was a salty consommé with floating bits of bacon and onion imparting it's flavours throughout.

The sandwich was a sesame bread pressed sandwich.  There were lots of sesame seeds embedded in the bread and the toastiness from the press gave it a deeper flavour.  The texture was as if homemade so I wonder if it was made in-house.  The pressed parts make for a nice crunch.  The bread was lightly buttered and the simple filling was a chopped hard boiled egg mixed with minimal mayonnaise.  The soft creamy texture of the yolks, the chewiness of the bread and the crunch of the sesame seeds and crust were all a delight.  

I was surprised that dessert was included since the chalkboard menu made it seem like the first 3 lunches only were included.  It was a chocolate baumkuchen with a crispy ball topping (like rice krispies) and whipped cream. Probably not made in house, it was not so sweet or chocolatey, so it made for a light dessert.  

It seemed that they make their own Enlish muffin (¥150) and that caught my eye.  It was recommended to warm in the microwave before eating.  The smell of fresh baked bread eminated from it once was warmed!  Although it had the airy bubbles of typical English muffins (where melted butter delectably pools), the dough still had the perfect density and chewiness to it. 

Well lit, light wooden furniture, mini chandeliers and the country music playing in the background made for a brightened day despite the rain.  The staff were also smiley and a pleasure to talk too. Would visit again!