Monday 24 November 2014

Arancia: Italian, but go for the Japanese dessert!







Area:  about 500m north of Kokusai Center Station  国際センター駅
Restaurant:  Arancia  アランチャ
Map and Info:  http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230109/23049718/dtlmap/

Hours:  Lunch 11:30am-3pm,  Dinner 5:30-12pm, closed Sundays


There are various lunch sets to choose from, but most include pasta.  I had the what used to be called the Ladie's lunch (I suppose they meant Lady's Lunch), but is now the "enmusu" lunch (because it's in the Endoji shopping area).

It included two of the restaurant's dishes advertised in the Endoji “enmusu” guide which showcases small enmusu dishes (which are apparently little gifts of flavor that are given to make good relationships.  

The appetizer plate included a mini salad (Japanese style onion dressing), corn soup (or I'd rather call it corn milk), bread and salted olive oil for dipping, a ratatouille containing black olives, and fried mashed potato balls (one enmusu item).  The potato reminded me of the Japanese croquette, but drizzled with ketchup.  

The peperoncino pasta was an anchovy and olive flavor, but was a bit on the salty side.  The noodles were not fresh, so although al dente, they had a bit of stiffness, instead if chewiness to them.  

Until this point the meal was mediocre, nothing really standing out.  However the dessert, another enmusu specialty, was delicious.  It was a pudding made from toasted black bean tea.  With the right amount of sweetness, silky texture and ever so slight toasty flavor; it went perfectly with the fresh coffee. 

The open concept makes for a nice place to visit when the weather warms up a bit.  

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