UN GRAIN (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

For months, I have been trying to decide where to go for my first meal in Tokyo to kick off this trip. It's been 3 years since I last visited the city with the most Michelin stars in the world so yes, it could get a little frustrating (in a good way) at times deciding where to go and not to go since time is so precious (and very likely not enough time to visit all of your go-to places).




Since we will be visiting a few stores in Omotesando in the afternoon, I narrowed it down to a number of dessert places in Aoyama (青山) before finally deciding on UN GRAIN, a top 5000 restaurant and cafe in Japan voted by Tabelog, the popular nationwide restaurant rating website.



UN GRAIN is the brainchild by Chef-owner Fumiyuki Kanai who cut his teeth at Le Chiberta (Paris) and Benoit (Tokyo) under two of the most influential French chefs, Guy Savoy and Alain Ducasse. In 2015, he opened his first solo venture, UN GRAIN, a charming little dessert shop just a 5-minute walk from Mezu Museum (根津美術館) in Minami Aoyama (南青山) specializing in mignardises.



The modern and sleek dessert shop also doubles as a dessert bar and tea salon with 4 seats available at their counter table. Dessert lovers will be amazed with the artisanal desserts created by Chef Kanai in his "omakase" menu that changes based on the season. A tea set consisting of three mignardises of choice served with tea or coffee is also available throughout the day (reservation highly recommended).




But my focus is solely on their beautiful bite-sized mignardises.

 
         (Photo Credit: UN GRAIN's official website)

P’tit Chololat - A trip to UN GRAIN is not complete without trying their popular P'tit Chololat, a delicately rich and fragrant chocolate mousse cake (mini one) that they claim it's for the pleasure of adults only. But I say, it's all chocolate lovers' dream.



Héritage - An aromatic jasmine tea mousse cake with a hidden centre of local bergamot compote. Matching the subtle flavors and floral notes of jasmine tea with the lovely acidity of bergamot was such a clever move. A must for jasmine tea lovers.



Ange - Unbaked cheesecake made with fromage blanc from France. They have a very good one here. Extremely light and airy.



Mont-Blanc Cassis - In-season chestnut is featured prominently in Chef Kanai's winter collection. They have a different version of Mont Blanc, a spiked one with rum and accented coffee which isn't available today. Instead, they have this one with cassis jam which strikes the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Mom who is an absolute chestnut freak, loves this one to death.


 
Recolt Marrow - Another chestnut themed mignardise. This one features a lovely marriage of chestnut and pistachio. Delectable and palatable.



Tarte Fruits - My little one wants his fruit tart and he wants it now!



Arôme - A seasonal item on today's menu. This is primarily an apricot chocolate cake matched against the subtle flavors of Earl Grey tea, along with some vanilla and cinnamon aromas. Not bad.



What I love most about UN GRAIN's mignardises apart from the beautiful presentation is their compact sizes. Instead of picking 2 to 3, we could easily take on 8 to 10 of them with ease. It's truly a dessert lover's dream come true.








Food Rating: 7.5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 1/F Premier Building, 6-8-17 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062 Japan
Closest Metro Station: Omotesando
Tel: +81 3-5778-6161
Website: www.ungrain.tokyo
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 7:00pm (Thu - Tue)