Area: about a 5min walk northeast of Kokusai Center Station 国際センター駅
Shop: Chandelier シャンドウリエ
Website and Map: http://chandelier-felicitations.com/
Hours: 11am-6pm (LO 5pm), 5pm (LO 4pm) on weekends, closed Mondays and Tuesdays
This is a small shop in the Endoji Nagono area (near Kokusai Center). It seems pretty busy with take out orders.
It's only got 4 tables and as such is pretty quiet with baroque (not sure if I've got that right, but just to give you an idea) music playing in the background. It feels like a European cafe.
I wasn't too impressed with the first shop worker as he did not seem friendly at all. His attitude didn't fit the scene.
I ordered the Original blend tea set (¥700 + price of chosen cake). The tea was a blend of Ceylon and something else. I'm not a tea expert but it went nicely with the desserts. I like that it was accompanied by a timer so you know when it's finished steeping and ready to be drank. The owner was friendly and explained to stir before pouring through the strainer. It was quite astringent but not too bitter. However, this is why it went nicely with sweets, to cleanse the pallet.
The set came with some nuts; hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts that were coated with a sweet syrup with a touch of saltiness. a slighty salty and sweet coating. A slice of chocolate cake with raspberry embedded on top was also included. Both had a very nicely controlled sweetness.
For the cake, I chose the one called Amandine. On the menu it was labelled as French traditional. It was topped with a thick and sticky berry sauce. This was the sweetest part. Judging from the name and the taste I would say it was made using almond flour. The crust was a buttery and heavenly. Inside was a soft and moist with traces of real vanilla bean.
