1/20/2015

Sarabeth's Shinjuku "Chocoholic"
サラベス新宿「チョコホリック」

(Japanese follows. / 日本語は以下へ続く。)

As I learned that Sarabeth's started "Waffle Wednesday" which to serve chocolate waffle called "Chocoholic" on January 14, 2015.
This promotion is held every Wednesday and will be available till February 11, but also on Valentine's Day, they serve even though it's not Wednesday.

Today, it's Wednesday and all the branches in Japan serve "Chocoholic," a special waffle plate, so I went to the closest branch at Shinjuku Lumine 2.

Shinjuku Lumine 2 opens at 11 AM, but Sarabeth's opens at 9 AM.
Before Lumine 2 opens, there's an escalator directly going up to the restaurant, and the escalator is right next to KIOSK, a mini conbini with orange light, by JR Shinjuku station South Exit.

At Shinjuku branch, they had its own special menu, "Matcha and Uguisu-Mame Pancakes."
* Uguisu-Mame is sweetened green peas, and mame means  "beans."

I got there at 9:10 AM and was told the time restriction was 70 minutes. 
The restaurant was 30% full and there're empty tables but they said it'd take 5 minutes to let me seat.

I was seated at 9:13 AM, without looking at menu, I ordered Chocoholic.

At 9:24 AM, my Chocoholic was brought.

Over 4 chocolate waffles, there're raspberries and sliced bananas with chopped pistachio.

There're whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
Whipped cream was sweet and beaten to firm peak, and chocolate sauce was a bit bitter.
The chocolate sauce was made with red wine, but it didn't have alcoholic odor.

The waffle was really crispy and crunchy outside, and I heard the flaky sound when I cut it with a knife.
Inside was moist and the waffle was fully chocolate colored and flavored.

Also I saw some chocolate chips, and the waffle itself was lightly sweetened.

With a raspberry, whipped cream and chocolate was sweet and sour, and refreshing.

With banana, it's sweet.

The bananas were thinly sliced so that it's easy to eat with waffles.
These waffles weren't sweet so that I enjoyed all the 4 pieces.
When I was about to pay, I walked to the front cash register by the showcase, then an employee in the counter shouted to me, "There, there" instead of a full sentence, "The cash register is over there."
I was annoyed by the way she acted (shouting and ordering me), but I proceeded the way she pointed with her chin, then she shouted again, "Here, here!" as I walked pass by the cash register she meant. 
(Apparently, the customers need to pay in the middle of the counter, not at the front cash register.)
To be treated like a kid or even an animal by an employee while I'm a customer, I couldn't accept it and asked another employee if she's Japanese or not, then she said she was, so I said to her that the employee in the counter had better learn how to talk to customers.
Then she, who was innocent, apologized but the one who kept shouting at me didn't.

Like an old proverb, "All's well that ends well," the idiot just ruined my happy time with tasty waffle by the way she talked and pointed the way with her chin.
Never will I be back there.

Chocoholic: 1,450 yen (tax incl.)

Sarabeth's Shinjuku / サラベス 新宿
Lumine 2, 2F, 3-38-2, Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo
東京都新宿区新宿3−38−2 ルミネ2 2F

Open every day: 9 AM ~ 10 PM

Other reviews of Sarabeth's are below.
Buttermilk Pancake (Central Park South)
Fat And Fluffy French Toast (Park Ave. South)

Chocolate Explosion (Daikanyama)


サラベスで2015年1月14日から始まった「ワッフルウェンズデー」というプロモーション
では、毎週水曜日に「チョコホリック」というチョコレートワッフルが出される。
2月11日までの水曜日と、水曜日ではないけれどバレンタインデー当日にも提供される。

今日は水曜日で、日本にあるサラベスのどの店舗でもこの「チョコホリック」という
特別なメニューが出されているので、1番近い新宿ルミネ2にあるお店に行ってきた。

新宿ルミネ2は11時開店だけれど、サラベスは9時から営業している。
ルミネ2が開店する前は、お店に直接つながっているエスカレーターを使って行く。
このエスカレーターは、JR新宿駅南口改札横にあるオレンジ色のキオスクのすぐ隣に
ある。

新宿店限定メニュー「抹茶とうぐいす豆のパンケーキ」があった。

9時10分に到着し、店内は3割程度しか埋まっていなかったけれど、「70分制です。5分程で
案内できます」と言われて待っていた。
9時13分に着席し、メニューをもらわずにチョコホリックを注文。
9時24分にチョコホリックが出された。

4枚のチョコレートワッフルの上にラズベリー、薄切りバナナ、ピスタチオのみじん切りが
乗っていた。
生クリームとチョコレートソースが添えられていて、生クリームは甘く9分立ての固めで、
チョコレートソースは苦みが少しあった。
赤ワインがチョコレートソースに入っているらしいけれど、アルコール臭さはなし。

ワッフルはサクサク、カリカリで、ナイフで切るとザクッとした音がした。
内側はしっとりしていて、ワッフルはどこもチョコレートの香りと味がした。
また、チョコレーチチップも生地の中に見え、生地自体は少しだけ甘みがあった。

ラズベリー、生クリーム、チョコレートソースを付けて食べると、甘酸っぱさがあり、
すっきりしていた。
ラズベリーの代わりにバナナを乗せて食べると、甘みが広がった。
バナナはかなり薄くスライスされていて、ワッフルと一緒に食べやすかった。

あまり甘くないワッフルで、最後まで飽きずに食べられた。

会計をしようと思い、お店の入り口近くにあるレジに向かうとカウンター内にいた店員に
「そっち、そっち」と叫ばれた。
お客に対して「レジはあちらです」というちゃんとした文章ではない上、叫ばれて命令
されたことに腹が立ったけれど、とりあえずその店員が顎を使って指した方向へ進むと
今度は「こっち、こっち!」と再度叫ばれた。
(店内で食事を取った場合、カウンターの中心にあるレジで払うらしい)
店員に子供というか動物のように扱われるとは思ってもおらず、さすがにこの言い方は
ないと思い、他の従業員にカウンター内の女性は日本人なのか聞いてみたところ、「日本
人です」との回答だったので、「あの言い方はちょっと。。。失礼にもほどがあるのでは
ないでしょうか?」と言った。
すると何も非がないこの女性従業員が私に「すみません」と謝ったのだけれど、私に叫び
続けていた店員は謝罪なし。

諺に「終わりよければ全てよし」とあるけれど、美味しいワッフルを食べられて良い気分
だったのに、このありえない店員の言葉遣いと顎で行き先を指すという行為で台無しに
なった。
2度と行かないと思う。

チョコホリック: 1,450円(税込)

サラベスの他のレビューは以下。
バターミルクパンケーキ(セントラルパークサウス)
ファット アンド フラッフィー フレンチトースト(パークアベニューサウス)

チョコレート エクスプロージョン(代官山)

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7 件のコメント :

  1. I finally got the chance to try the chocoholic today! I tried the pancake last week! Taste wise, I love the bitter pancakes very much ;) but the chocolate sauce inside the pancakes weren't gooey like yours :( so the crispy waffles menu wins! LOL

    I read your review before coming here so I kinda anticipated a bad service (Shinjuku branch is the closest to where I was so I decided to come here) but the service was okay today, maybe they have given some moral discipline to the server?

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    1. That's great that you could try both items :D
      I was hoping the pancake would be similar to fondant chocolat (lava cake), but I was a bit disappointed also when I saw the mushy chocolate sauce inside.

      I sent an e-mail about the service to the managing company and they replied to me within day updating me what they did after reading my email, and they even found out who that employee was, so that by the time you went there, they must have heard or been trained again.

      I liked Daikanyama as it's more relaxing and had natural light coming through from the large windows :3

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    2. I know right! It would have been so much better if they are filled with melting chocolate!

      That was a fast response from them. Good to know that! Could't agree more with Daikanyama shop! Best place out of 3!

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    3. I'm thinking to recreate the pancake and see how hard it'll be to make a pancake with fondant chocolat feature.

      Yeah, the response was really fast.
      I've never been to Shinagawa branch, but how was it? Is it similar to Shinjuku?

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    4. I bet that would taste heavenly!!

      Shinagawa branch is located inside a department store (top floor surrounded by other restaurants), so it looks more like the Shinjuku branch. The shop itself is okay but the lighting outside is a bit dark. Daikanyama's is one of the best cafes I've visited. It's spacious, cozy and bright :)

      Still, I'm gonna go back to Shinjuku branch just one more time to have their Lumine-branch LIMITED matcha pancakes :p

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    5. I think I need to create a tall pancake so that it can hold enough chocolate sauce in the middle and also keep it runny.

      Shinagawa brach --- thank you for the detailed description.
      If I go that area, I may give it a try, but (unfortunately) the closest one is Shinjuku whenever I go back to Tokyo... But Daikanyama's is worth traveling with the sunlight and relaxed atmosphere.

      Let me know how the matcha pancakes were :)

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