Kelvin Leung

Come by for breakfast before heading out of Kyoto. This is a cute little spot (can be easily missed as it’s in an alleyway). Good coffee, good pastries, and good French toast. Place is really small and can only house a few guest at a time (even though we arrived early, we had to wait a bit - about 4-5 guest inside at the time)

Overall Kel rating: ★★★★★/5
The good: cute cafe, good coffee
The decent: none
The ugly: limited seating, can be a wait

After walking in Arashiyama, I was desperate for caffeine intake. This was one of the only shop that was open nice and early. We thought to give it a try, given it its high reviews on both Yelp and Google. We definitely were not disappointed. This café comes off as very classy, and serious simple about their music. I can tell that they are audiophiles, playing music from the vinyl collection with dedicated speakers spread throughout the restaurant. Admittedly, the coffee was alright for me, but the egg sando and fruit sando were on point. Loved just relaxing here, hearing the good music, and enjoying the food with coffee.

Overall Kel rating: ★★★★★/5
The good: very good fruit sando, love the cafe environment
The decent: cash only!
The ugly: none!

The hardest restaurant we have ever booked. And boy was it worth it. Rated as the top Japanese Restaurant (and at times the top Asia restaurant) by World's Best. Furthermore, and ★★ Michelin with a Green ★ noting no pesitcides/chemicals were use + local farmers. We knew that we would try our best to secure a spot during our trip to Japan. Admittedly, we focus our itinerary in order to accommodate whatever reservation we can get a hold of. After many phone calls (no exaggeration), we were able to secure a spot. A boy did it not disappoint.

The attention to detail is impeccable. From the service, to the menu, and of course the food. Right away we were greeted (even before we stepped into the door!). We can tell they prioritize our comfort and ensure a seamless perfected time during our visit to their Den. One example is even though customers come in at differing time, somehow they are able to manage the flow to ensure the courses end off roughly the same time. While I can tell you the food is superb, the unique characteristic of the Den is that the menu changes every time. It may have close similarities to previous items, but they make subtle changes to ensure the best taste, the most in season products are used to capture your taste buds.

- Wafer with foie gras, pickled radish, and sweet potato
- Fermented Peanut Tofu, chives, dashi, with a hint of yuzu
- DOC: mititake mushroom with sticky rice and fried chicken
- Tilefish dry aged for 8 days, with seaweed soy sauce on the side and wasabi
- Wagyu from inner thigh, pepper, malabar
- 25 seasonal vegetable salad
- Grouper fish, wintermelon, and dashi soup
- Pickled vegetables, roe with dashi rice and miso soup
- Muscat grapes, Japanese pear, purple, Osmanthus jelly, custard pudding

We want to thank Chef Zaiyu Hasegawa for an amazing time at his restaurant. And a special shout out to Chef Robinson, whom those in Toronto would remember the chef from the infamous Skippa restaurant, for providing some Canadian feels in our experience here.

Overall Kel rating: ★★★★★/5
The good: Exceptional. Worth the difficulty in securing a reservation.
The decent: Credit cards accepted!
The ugly: The reservation is the hardest to get. Good luck, may the odds be in your favour.