Saturday, 02 February 2008

• Caffé Veloce

  〒171-0014
  東京都豊島区池袋2-14-2 池袋二丁目第一生命ﾋﾞﾙﾃﾞｨﾝｸﾞ1Ｆ
  Ikebukuro, Japan
  http://www.chatnoir-jp.com/veloce/index.html

  It's late out in Ikebukuro and most restaurants have already closed their doors.  One of the few places still open was Caffe Veloce.  Coffee in Japan is as popular as the United States or Canada but Japanese rarely drink their coffee while walking or sitting in public transit (I'm sure you've seen Starbucks or Tim Horton's litter around town) so their cafe are much more busy.

  

  An brightly lit Western interior resembling Starbucks:

  

  Finding a seat for two or more people is a challenge in the evening.  You'll find each table is occupied with just one person and that person is most likely playing on their Nintendo DS (guy in the center) or phone (girl in the center).  Unlike Starbucks, smoking is permitted inside the cafe.

  Iced Expresso:

  

  A light milky drink that won't keep you up too late in the evening.  For $2.20, it's a lot cheaper than Starbucks' Frap.  But Caffe Veloce's drink doesn't have as intense flavor.

  Apple Mousse:

  

  Spongy and fairly tasteless.  It's like a Chinese sponge cake with preserved apples at the bottom.

  Azuki Bean Cake:

  

  The cake has a muted taste so it's not overly sugary and doesn't overwhelm the taste buds.  It was late in the evening so the cake might have been sitting under the counter light for a while because the cake tasted dry and not very moist.

  Sweet Potato Turnover:

  

  Suffering from the same problem as the cake, the turnover was on the dry side and hardened.

  If you're out late at night and want some dessert, Caffe Veloce might be your only choice.  Desserts that have been sitting all day await you so I would avoid them unless you go early in the day.  The cake and mousse were only $2.80 so maybe I was asking for too much quality given the price.  I wasn't too fond of smoking and finding a seat was tricky so we left soon after we were done our desserts.

  Eric Tummy Points: 2 out of 5

  Source: http://www.chatnoir-jp.com/shop/tenpo_detail.php?bmncd=345

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