Shinsaibashi Ujien Honten 宇治園心齋橋店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

I split up with my team right after our tonkatsu lunch near Kuromon Market (黑門市場). While they decided to spend some shopping time in Namba, I went on to visit a couple of pastry shops on my own.

When I returned to Shinsaibashi, I still had another half an hour to spare before our meeting time. So, to maximize my me time, I stopped by Ujien Honten (宇治園) for a quick look.

Located just across from Daimaru Shinsaibashi Store (大丸心齋橋店), Ujien Honten is best known as a souvenir shop for Uji tea products for tourists. However, they also have a small tea room on top of the souvenir shop.

With my new-found me time, I decided to head up to the tea room for a quick drink to quench my thirst.

Green Tea Float (880 yen) — There it was: a large scoop of matcha ice cream floating on top of cold green tea. It was absolutely thirst-quenching.

Of course, Ujien’s signature item is their Mont Blanc dessert. Chefs pipe fresh matcha, hojicha, or chestnut purée onto a combination of cream, sponge cake, or a crispy tartlet right in front of you. Mom would have loved it but unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to bring her here. Well, I guess there’s always a next time.

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1/F-2/F, 1-4-20 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0085 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6252-7800

Website: http://www.uji-en.co.jp/

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 9:00pm daily