Today I would like to introduce one of my favorite cafes, 蓮月庭 (Rengetsutei) in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo. This cafe is a Taiwan-style cafe which serves Taiwanese teas and juices as well as desserts and recently lunch, too! They even have a takeout menu.
The first time I went to this cafe was in August, 2020 with my friend, Maika. I had been interested in this cafe because of its outdoor seating, its remote location (it’s tucked away in a small alley of Jiyugaoka, away from the crowds) and its vegan menu. It is situated right next to another vegan restaurant, Saido, which you need a reservation to get into.
They have indoor seating as well, but we sat outdoors and enjoyed the social distance!
We had both already eaten lunch, so we had drinks and dessert. I ordered the 桂花酸梅湯 (which I couldn’t read, but I googled and seems to be read きんもくせいさんめいたん – kinmokusei sanmeitan), a traditional drink made of smoked plums called 烏梅（うばい – ubai）and sweet osmanthus flowers (kinmokusei in Japanese). It tasted like nothing I have ever had before (in a good way). In fact, I would even say this may be my favorite drink on the planet. I wish I could make this at home!
Maika ordered the Mango Iced Tea which also looked really good. We both ordered the vegan lemon cheesecake. It was light and fluffy and very tasty.
Apparently they make different flavors depending on the season. I saw on Instagram that they had a vegan strawberry cheesecake in the spring.
The second time I visited the cafe was with my husband in September, 2020.
They let us park our bicycles while we ate outside. There were no other customers outside so we had the area all to ourselves!
We wanted to try their new lunch set that we saw on Instagram. They’re having a special sale on this set from September 1st until the 7th, 20% off, so if you’re in the area today or tomorrow you should check it out!
The lunch set includes the main dish, a Taiwanese dish called 魯肉飯 (ルーローハン), a drink, and a dessert. The main dish is made with soy meat and usually includes an egg on top (so, vegetarian but not vegan), but for vegans they replace the egg with “atsuage” tofu. It also comes with Taiwanese “tsukemono” (pickles) which were really tasty and a small drink (this is in addition to the drink that comes with the meal, which came after).
After the main dish, our drinks and desserts came! They give you the option when you order to have everything come out at once or to have the desserts and drinks after, so you can choose whichever you prefer!
Seiya got the 台湾高山茶 (cold Taiwan Tea) and 豆花 (cold peanut tofu pudding).
I got my favorite drink again, 桂花酸梅湯 (Taiwanese plum drink) and 百香果檸檬愛玉(パッションレモンオーギョーチ), a cold passionfruit-lemon dessert that reminded me a bit of かき氷 (shaved ice).
I’m planning to go again next week to pick up some 茶月餅, a traditional Taiwanese dessert (pictured below) made to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節). This dessert is usually made with eggs, but Rengetsutei made a vegan version and is selling it for a limited time (until September 30th). They can only make a small number of them each time, so if you’re interested in ordering some, it’s best to make a reservation! You can do so through the DM on Instagram.
Anyway, that’s about all for today! I hope you get a chance to visit Rengetsutei if you are in the area. If you do, let me know what you thought in the comments! Have a good day 🙂
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