This is another cool place my gourmet sister took us for some traditional sweets. Takemura was founded in 1930, survived the war and all! It is one of the Tokyo’s “Select Historic Building” which I can totally understand. According to the information from their website, they “started their business since there was no authentic shiruko-ya, a shop where you can eat sweet red-bean soup with rice cake” in the area. The building was beautiful, mostly crafted with wood, with detailed decorations here and there. Sorry for not having the indoor photos, we were asked politely not to take picture of interior (taking pictures of drinks and food is permitted).
We first received a very special hot tea, with cherry blossom in it! Cherry blossoms are popular ingredients to be used in food and drinks around New Years into Spring. Although, cherry blossom tea (or Sakura Cha) is not really a tea. They marinate the cherry blossom in salt and plum vinegar, then pour hot water over it. So, it has a very distinctive, strong flavor of salt and plum vinegar. I would say it is an acquired taste. It is said that people enjoyed this drink since the Edo period. With the hint of lovely aroma of cherry blossom, it sure was a special treat!
We all ordered a different traditional Japanese sweets. We started off with their Agemanju (520 yen/2pcs). I have never had Agemanju before, so I was very curious. Manju (or omanju) is a small, round, steamed confectionary with a sweet filling, such as anko (sweet beans). Agemanju is the same omanju, but coated in a tempura batter and deep-fried. It was indeed very interesting and yes, very tasty! Not oily at all, but had that perfect crunchy exterior.
My husband and my brother-in-law went with traditional kinds, Shiruko, or red bean soup with mochi pieces in them. They had Inaka-Shiruko (820 yen), made with Gozen-Shiruko (820 yen), made with red bean paste. Tsubuan is basically whole red beans that are boiled with sugar. So you can see the beans, and have the texture of the beans as you eat. Koshian, on the other hand, the red beans are passed through a sieve, so they are smoother, like a paste. Shiruko with Tsubuan, you get the beans in the soup with the original bean shapes, with the added texture of the beans as you eat the soup. Koshian is very smooth liquid of a soup, very silky smooth with that great sweet bean flavor. Takemura gets their red beans from Hokkaido, and make the Koshian (red bean paste) in-house.
My sister chose Awa-Zenzai (850 yen). It is a made with steamed millet (grain), coated with Koshian. The word “awa” means bubble, and the millet gives that popping look of bubbles and texture. How interesting!
What did I order? I went all out with Cream Anmitsu. I remember a beautiful, vibrant Anmitsu from Hayashiya Chaen. This one at Takemura is more traditional, but with addition of vanilla ice cream on top. This Anmitsu had Kanten Jelly, Fruits, Mochi, Red Bean Paste, and Red Peas. It comes with Black Sugar Syrup, which I poured over the vanilla ice cream. This Anmitsu was so awesome, with different texture and flavors all working together in a perfect symphony. It is not overly sweet dessert, unless you pour the entirety of the syrup in there. It was elegantly sweet, with pop of colors here and there. I really enjoyed it!
We had a nice little dessert time here at Takemura. Having traditional Japanese Sweets at a historical house was such a cool and amazing experience. Since we were in the Tatami room, we had to take our shoes off, and sit on the floor. If you are not used to that setting, it might not be as comfortable for you. In such case, you can get a seat at a regular table with chairs. The service was polite and efficient. We had a fun time there for sure, thanks to my gourmet sister!
Takemura – 1 Chome -19, Kanda-Sudacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
竹むら – 東京都千代田区神田須田町1-19