Area: Nagoya station (Bic Camera side)
Restaurant: Motomachi Coffee 元町珈琲
Website and Map: http://motomachi-coffee.jp/map/?p=232
Hours: 7am-10pm (LO 9:30pm)
This is apparently a chain cafe but I think this store was recently opened in this area. The first thing I felt stepping into this cafe was that it reminded me of a hotel lounge. The upholstery seating, dim lighting, clean look, and the jazz music all made this atmosphere.
I came here for the morning service today. For the price of your drink of choice, you get a boiled egg and toast (or you can switch it to a muffin or croissant). And for an extra ¥120 more you can upgrade to the premium set which adds a salad and yogurt to the breakfast.
First of all, if you're in a hurry, it might be better to go to Mac; the service is not as fast as most Japanese restaurants. The coffee had a nice aroma and toasty flavor when drunk black.
The yogurt came with blueberry jam, and jelly cubes (aloe) that were chewy and bursted with a slight sweetness that went well with the sour yogurt. The salad was regular with a French dressing. There's not much to say about the hard boiled egg and the slice of bacon (except that the bacon here in Japan is more like cold cut ham, soft and no crispy edges).
I'm not sure if they meant it to be an English muffin, but this muffin is nothing close to it. The round shape might be the same but it seemed like a hamburger bun. It did however soak up melted butter quite nicely and was only slighty toasted so the soft, yet chewy texture of bread could be enjoyed. This is definitely a good deal when it comes to price and volume in this city!
I decided to give this cafe another try since you can't judge a cafe based on morning sets alone. It was after 3pm when I went so if there were any lunch sets I probably missed it. However, the menu still includes various items from pastas and sandwiches to dorias and stews. I ordered the spring special, sakura ebi (tiny dried shrimps) pasta (¥900). I think, with the lunch set you just save a couple of ¥100 coins to add a drink. Like before, it did take a while for the kitchen to make.
The pasta came with a mini salad, with a creamy thousand island dressing. I like that it included a tomato and broccoli floret for a bit of color. The pasta was a butter soy sauce flavor. The butter flavor didn't really come through. Brussels sprouts are quite difficult to find in the regular grocery stores here, so it was nice to have it in this dish. The reason I like brussels sprouts is not only for the concentrated cabbage flavor, but how it soaks up moisture. These brussels sprouts did not let me down, they must have been cooked in a different broth than with the pasta because they had more buttery flavor than the pasta which was seasoned with a bit too much shio-kosho mix (it's a mix of salt, white pepper, black pepper and probably msg). The sakura ebi had a good slighlty crunchy texture but the flavor was overpowered by the shio-kosho...I was so thirsty by the end.
The store prides itself on the iced coffee and their in store baked croissant. So before going to work one day, I stopped by for morning service again. This time I just went for the regular, not the premium set which is the price of a drink (¥450 for the iced coffee) and includes bread of your choice plus a boiled egg.
I must admit their iced coffee was pretty good, with a richness that fills the mouth with one small sip. The croissant wins for flakiness, but it's so flaky and light that the inside is almost hollow. Because they are small, the ratio of outside crustiness rules over the softer inside. I prefer my croissants to have a bit more density and bite (chewiness) on the inside.
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