Chacole Roast Coffee?

As soon as I saw it, I was already intrigued, what's with the weird spelling and all?

Then it dawned on me, it was one of of those malapropisms Japanese do unwittingly and along the way, adopting words from other languages directly into their interesting language structure. The owners had dressed up the entrance  to look like those hole-in-the-wall type of eateries so prevalent in Japan.

Passing through their main door, one is immediately calmed by the placid interiors of warm and muted colours, with the faint aroma of japanese styled bread and pastries, mingling with the occasional tinkle of glassware and clinking of tableware. In the background, soft japanese jazz was playing, adding to the vibe.

The place was strangely bigger from the inside, fitting nearly 12 tables as well as a long bar table wrapping along the barmans' court, where he whipped up drinks lickety split. 

As soon as we were seated, a tall and beautiful waif approached us and offered us a look at their menu, which I doubt not she had lovingly made herself. 

Leafing the menu, I couldnt help but laugh a little as their entire menu was chock full of interesting bits.

Obviously the result of a direct translation, but I love it. I felt that it added to the atmosphere and feel of the place, allowing us a view of what Cafes like this must be like in Japan.

:)

 

Omu-Spa? Sounds like a place for relaxation rather than a meal!

It was a very hot afternoon, so I ordered my self some Orange Juice to help me cool off.

My lunch mate ordered himself a cup of Charcoal Roast Coffee, a specialty of the cafe. I loved how the coffee was presented in a cup of whitest fine porcelain and accompanied by brown sugar in a japanese pottery and a tiny cuplet of fresh cream. There is something quite special about Japanese styled fresh cream. Go try for yourself and you will really be surprised by how different it is from what we expect milk to taste like.

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I ordered my self the Miso Tori Katsu dish, essentially a dish of deep fried chicken sloshed generously with black miso sauce, topped with a sunny-side-up on a bed of cabbage chiffonade and steamed rice. A deceptively simple dish, the only hit of seasoning coming from the Miso sauce, it served as a perfect foil to the rich taste of runny egg yolk and the crunchy contrasting textures of the raw vegetables.

Our dishes came with a small cup of soup. This was really simple, but really really good. Very light and clean tasting broth, almost a consomme, with the faintest hit of the salty tang of white miso. My friends' meal also came with a small cup of fresh garden salad on the side.

And here we have the Omu-Spa! Blanched spaghetti on a pool of red sauce liberally speckled with black pepper and coloured peppers, topped with a fluffy 2-egg ommelette. The classical chef in me was already doing back-flips by now, due to the apparent incongruity of the dish, but by golly it was intriguing!

It was a nice leisurely lunch, whiling away the afternoon.