Patisserie Esprit エスプリ (Matsuyama, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

I obviously lied about Matsuyama Sea Bream Ramen Manpuku (松山鯛拉麵萬福久) being our last destination in Matsuyama. The truth is, I had one more stop on my “hidden agenda”.

Opened in 2005, Patisserie Esprit (エスプリ) is often regarded by locals as one of the best French patisserie in all of Matsuyama. That’s quite a compliment. Since it was just a 6-minute from our lunch spot, it made the detour much easier to sell.

When I stepped inside, it looked like the entire town was already there—so I had to wait a little before I could be served.

I took the opportunity to check out their desserts during the wait and that's when I discovered that they have a tea salon right inside the shop. Unfortunately, we didn't have the luxury of sitting down for our dessert this afternoon.

Finally...

Chocolate éclair (426 yen) — There was a faintly lemony note on top of the more savory-leaning flavor of the choux pastry. It was subtle, and honestly, it wasn’t bad

Chestnut mousse (620 yen) — Something for mom who's a huge fan of chestnut desserts. The chestnuts used here come from France, and the mousse was a satisfying blend of chestnut and walnut, finished with a touch of cognac. There were also slices of chestnut and layers of eggy sponge cake to keep the texture varied.

I thought this would be more on the sweet side but in fact, it was nicely balanced, with savory-sweet and nutty flavors that harmonized well together.

Mousse of Ivory (639 yen) — “Ivory” here refers to the white chocolate, shaped into a silky, delicate mousse. I had hoped the layer of passion fruit would add a refreshing contrast — both in texture and acidity — to the sweetness of the white chocolate. But that didn’t quite work the way I imagined.

These were my first real sweet treats of the trip (not counting donuts), and we were already halfway through! I really need to get better at planning more dessert stops into the itinerary.

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 3-64-3 Shimizumachi, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-0823, Japan

Tel: +81 (0)89-908-8855

Website: http://m.facebook.com/esprit2006/

Opening Hours: 10:45am - 7:30pm (Fri - Mon)

Matsuyama Sea Bream Ramen Manpuku 松山鯛拉麵萬福久 (Matsuyama, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Our 16-hour stay in Matsuyama was about to draw to a close, but we still had one last attraction pinned on the map — Matsuyama City Castle (松山城). As a perfectionist, I really wanted to check it off my list, so without thinking twice, we got the team to the cable car station right underneath the famed castle.

But little nugget insisted we grab a quick lunch first.

Matsuyama is famous for its sea bream dishes because its home prefecture, Ehime, yields Japan's largest hauls of red sea bream, giving the city direct access to incredibly fresh, high-quality fish. Because of this, red sea bream-themed restaurants can be found everywhere in town.

Matsuyama Sean Bream Ramen Manpuku (松山鯛ラーメン万福久), a sea bream broth ramen specialist was just around the corner where we parked our car.

By noon, the ramen shop was already filling up nicely.

Thick sea bream shio ramen (880 yen) — The broth was nearly clear, yet rich in fish flavor and collagen. 

To my pleasant surprise, it wasn’t overly salty like I first expected. Rather, it was quite easy on the palate.

The noodles were clinging to the broth beautifully, absorbing the essence of the sea bream-based soup as they went.

A bamboo shoot ribbon!

The small slice of velvety sea bream fillet that was soft and delicate.

The pork belly char siu was pretty smoky although not as intense as the one we had yesterday.

The marinated soft-boiled egg was pretty nice.

All in all, the star of the ramen was the sea bream broth, absolutely bursting with flavor. The sea bream slice, char siu, bamboo shoot, and egg were enjoyable, but it was the broth that truly stood out — nothing short of the highlight.

Food Rating: 6.2/10

Price: ￥￥

Address: 3-6-4 Okaido, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-0004, Japan

Closest Tram Station: Okaido

Tel: +81 (0)89-931-8122

Website: https://w-harmony.jp/shop/manpuku/

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 5:00pm (Wed - Mon)

Coffee Kan 珈琲館 Matsuchika店 (Matsuyama, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Coffee Kan (珈琲館) is a Japanese-style coffee shop I became familiar with from my travels in Osaka. It has more than 200 branches across Japan, and some — including its flagship in Osaka — are open 24 hours a day.

I’m not really a morning coffee person, but I love having breakfast while my team is still asleep on my trips. And Coffee Kan is often there exactly when I need it.

That was the case again today. I spotted a Coffee Kan in the underground shopping streets of Matsuchika (directly connected to Matsuyama City Station), just a short walk from my hotel, and decided to get my milk tea fix early. Not surprisingly, the shop wasn’t busy this early.

Royal milk tea — Japanese people are pretty big on Earl Grey, and this was a variation loosely labeled as “Royal Milk tea”. I found the tea a little strong, and at times slightly astringent. As much as I love silky-smooth milk tea, I’m not always in the mood for rich, bold tea flavors especially on an empty stomach in the morning.

Scrambled egg with ham — This breakfast plate came with the usual scrambled eggs, ham, a small bowl of salad, and toast. I figured that would be enough to carry me through the afternoon.

We were supposed to head to Kanonji (觀音市) for an early lunch but obviously, everybody wanted to spend more time in Matsuyama and rightfully so, considering that we only got here at around dinner time last night.

Price: ￥￥

Address: 5-1-1 Minatomachi, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-0012, Japan

Closest Train Station: Matsuyama City

Tel: +81 (0)89-945-4908

Website: https://c-united.co.jp/store/detail/087101/

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 8:00pm daily