One of the things I was so excited about to eat in Japan was traditional Japanese sweets, specifically anmitsu. Anmitsu is a popular Japanese dessert traditionally consisting of translucent agar jelly, rice dumpling balls called shiratama dango, sweetened red bean paste, and fruits served with a dark brown sugar syrup, kuromitsu, which literally means “black honey.”
While researching restaurants, I came across Kurogi, a highly-rated restaurant considered one of the finest in Tokyo serving Japanese cuisine. Reservations are required in advance for at least three months, so I was already too late to make one! However, they have a sister shop, Kuriya Kashi Kurogi, that makes Japanese sweets in their own original style.
When we got there, we were sweating and hot from getting lost. It didn’t help it was a particularly humid day. We were in utter need of something refreshing to cool down. The architecture was, needless to say, stunning. The building is covered in layers of wooden panels, and the shop offers a view of a garden filled with wildflowers and greenery. It was the perfect place to eat sweets outdoors. I ordered their original anmitsu while my boyfriend got just the cappuccino.
The anmitsu was absolutely delightful and one that I’ll remember forever. It arrived sitting on top of a wooden box filled with ice and flowers on the side. Is this not the prettiest dessert you’ve ever seen?! The dessert itself consisted the usual red bean paste and agar jelly except there were no fruits. There was ice cream, white shiratama dango as well as mugwort, and a salted cherry blossom leaf on top. It enlightened me on how Japanese sweets can be taken to another level with such detail, originality, and beautiful presentation.
They also offer sweets to go as well as other original dishes like their kuzu noodles with soybean powder and salt ice cream.
Kuriya Kashi Kurogi
University of Tokyo
Ubiquitous Research Building Daiwa 1F
7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo
www.wagashi-kurogi.co.jp
