Delightful Japanese Dessert at Cha-An Teahouse in East Village

Of all the cute little Japanese/Asian-inspired dessert places in East Village (ChikaLicious, Spot, etc.), Cha-An is my favorite because of their presentation, interior (such a cute tea house decorated with wooden floors/tables/booths, bamboo room dividers, rice-paper shaded lamps, etc.), and - of course - taste!

Cha-An's chef Tomako Kato is actually trained in French pastry, having apprenticed at Bouley Bakery with Bill Yosses, the Obamas' White House pastry chef. She has worked at Russian Tea Room and Le Bernardin before opening her own restaurant in 2005.



Cha-An offers a savory menu, but specializes in afternoon tea and dessert. I visited Cha-An with a large group, and we ordered a bunch of desserts to share. The Green Tea Roll Cake came with a scoop of sake ice cream and sweet red beans, and topped with thin cookie. The green tea roll cake had plenty of smooth green tea cream inside with a thin layer of red beans, which helped to moisten the cake. I would have liked a bit more green tea flavor. I couldn't taste the sake in the ice cream at all, but maybe for the better :) 



An order of Homemade Mochi includes three pieces. You can mix & match different flavors like green tea, black sesame, and earl grey chocolate. We had two green tea and one black sesame, and these are served in the shape of a snowman - so adorable! 

The mochi is PACKED with ice cream inside. Usually the ratio between mochi and the ice cream is pretty high (as in a lot of mochi and very little ice cream), but it was the opposite at Cha-An. I would have almost liked a bit more chewy mochi. 



My favorite was the Black Sesame Creme Brulee. Served in a beautiful black ceramic cup, the soft creme brulee (with crackly top, of course), had an amazing black sesame flavor. The black sesame ice cream in the middle and the rolled-up black sesame wafer (studded with more black sesame) added to the intense flavor. 

The scoops of Jasmine and Green Tea Ice Cream was delicious as well, but given the variety of really unique desserts, there was nothing too special about these ice cream. Definitely skip and try other things!

Finally, the Deconstructed Strawberry Pie with sake ice cream (again...not much sake flavor) was beautifully presented. I didn't like the flaky layers of pie crust. They should have used fresh strawberries, not the ones drenched in sugar. 



This dessert was beautiful to the eyes, but not tasty to the mouth. Maybe I disliked it because it was the least Asian-inspired.

Three-Course Sunday Brunch at Upstairs on the Square

The name of the restaurant, UpStairs on the Square, is certainly not a misnomer. This quirky New American restaurant in the heart of Harvard Square offers two floors of dining experience, with each level decked out in unique decorations.

The first floor--The Monday Club Bar--is a casual space with rose-colored bar on the side and purple wood-paneled dining room. From the black and white checkered floor to the artisan chandelier on the ceiling, the Monday Club Bar offers a friendly environment for diners to enjoy their food while soaking in the panoramic view of the Harvard Square right outside the window.

A level above is the UpStairs Soiree Dining Room, "reminiscent of a glowing and colorful jewel-box-like supper club," according to its website. The upscale, exuberant soiree room features round windows facing the park as well as elegant fireplaces at each end of the room. I have heard that a lot of wedding receptions take place in this room.

My first visit to UpStairs on the Square, I dined at the Monday Club Bar on the first floor. Since I went with a group for Sunday brunch, we had a prix fixe 3-course menu. For our amuse-bouche, we received a smorgasbord of pastries, scones, and muffins with a square of butter on the side.

Personally, I am not a huge fan of overly sweet bread, especially as amuse-bouche because it tends to ruin my appetite. The bread basket included coffee cake topped with chopped walnuts, mini blueberry muffins, and cheese scones. My favorite was the coffee cake, and I particularly loved the crunchiness from the walnuts.


After sipping on two glasses of green tea and some bread, the waitress brought our first course: Fruit Two Ways with Market Fruit Salad and Smoothie Shooter. Since I asked for a lactose-free version, I didn't get the smoothie shooter. Quite frankly, I was disappointed because all I got was a plate of some strawberries, raspberries, and lots of grapes that tasted a bit bitter. I expected the chef to make me something fruit smoothie-like without the use of dairy...

This is what the appetizer actually looks like...with the Smoothie Shooter on the side. I tasted a little bit of the smoothie, and it just tasted like lukewarm, liquidy strawberry yogurt. I really wasn't missing much by not having that on my plate!

For the entree, we had a choice between savory and sweet. Of course I chose the former, which was eggs benedict with ham. Again, I took the nontraditional route and asked the waitress if I could substitute ham with something else because I do not eat pork (not for religious reason...I just don't like pork). She said I could choose between the vegetarian-friendly avocado and smoked salmon, and I opted for the latter!

The Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict & Homefries was quite petite in its portion. There was an ample amount of smoked salmon and well-poached eggs atop two halves of toasted English muffin. I skipped the hollandaise sauce because that plus egg yolk are too creamy for me. The homefries was slightly burnt, but I liked that it wasn't too greasy and had spicy seasonings.

My friend got the Smoked Ham Eggs Benedict. I thought the restaurant could have put more effort into plating...it looked like a mouse had scurried over the plate and spread the homefries apart and nibbled on some smoked ham.

I don't think anyone would be able to consume hollandaise--that thick, yellow sauce--if they watched the process of how it is made. Essentially, hollandaise sauce is just a mix of egg yolk and exorbitant amount of butter.

Only one person on the table opted for the sweet option, which was Old-Fashioned Brioche French Toast with Warm Maple Syrup, Blueberry Compote, and Bacon Strips. I personally can't start the day with sweet food because then my stomach will likely ache for the rest of the day.

Brioche, the type of bread used to make this French Toast, is very high in egg and butter content, which gives it a rich and tender texture. The blueberry compote seemed overly sweet and a bit artificial. I liked how the chef balanced the sweetness of French toast and compote with savory bacon strips.

As though we weren't already stuffed, the waitress brought platters of desserts. We all decided to share the desserts, which began with a trio of Housemade Ice Cream with a Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookie. The flavors of these ice creams were vanilla, chocolate, and toffee. The ice creams were very rich and creamy.

The Zebra Cake, or chocolate layer cake with chocolate ice cream on the side, would appease any chocolate lover's dream. It had three layers of dense chocolate cake with caramel frosting and topped with dark chocolate ganache. The cake was a bit dry, but the chocolate ice cream on the side helped to moisten it.

Finally, the special dessert that I ordered was a trio of Sorbet. The flavors were watermelon (by far my favorite!), raspberry, and orange. Sorbet was the best way to finish off a meal because it left a very refreshing mark in my mouth. Yum!

Fruits and Froyo at Pinkberry

I used to work at a frozen yogurt place in California, so I would like to think of myself as a connoisseur of this tasty treat. Although Pinkberry is a bit overrated, in my opinion, I think it still offers a pretty decent cup of frozen yogurt.

I definitely like my frozen yogurt with lots and lots of fresh fruits! Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, mangoes, kiwi...you name it. All the fruits you have, put them in my cup.

I don't think the raspberries were in season because they were not very sweet.

The duo of tart yogurt and sweet fruits is so refreshing! This, my friend, is my favorite dessert/treat!

Mediterraneo: Surfing the Sea

Mediterraneo is a fancy Italian/seafood restaurant located on the "Avenue" (a signature street in Greenwich with lots of boutiques and shops). I had a three-course meal with Audrey's family, complete with a glass of red wine.

Audrey and I shared Chilled seasonal oysters, champagne mignonette, cocktail sauce for an appetizer. The oysters weren't as juicy or plump as the ones I had in Boston. Too bad the restaurant was very dim and I couldn't see very well.

We both ordered the Grilled organic salmon with butternut squash, broccoli rabe, red wine, quince. As I mentioned before, I order anything and everything that is butternut squash. The salmon was juicy and plump, just the way I like it! I expected an actual butternut squash, not the puree which was a bit too creamy. I loved the broccoli rabe, which seemed to have been grilled.

The Fresh seasonal berries with whipped cream dessert was a bit of a disappoint because there was no cooking involved whatsoever--just a bowl of some strawberries and raspberries with whipped cream and a drizzle of white chocolate syrup. We only had the berries and put the whipped cream on the side. Healthy much? ;)