Dandelion Chocolate, Factory & Cafe Kuramae

My wife and I had been going to Japan since the early 2010s, and sadly, many of our favourite businesses hadn’t survived the COVID pandemic, so I’m so glad to see that Dandelion has survived and thrived in my first visit since the pandemic.

Located in a quiet leafy neighbourhood of Kuramae (which has gentrified much over the years from the light industrial area it was), Dandelion is a chocolatier that does from bean to table at the premise. You can see the staff working in the background.

If you have to queue to get in, the staff will come out and hand you a drinks menu, with a QR code on the back for the nibbles. If you can read Japanese, it’s ok. They have displays of the nibbles on offer, and you just have to point. I do love their hot chocolate but their cold crew is no slouch either, considering that the chain cafes offer pretty weak coffee (a single shot, and many don’t have their own baristas, so you can’t always ask for the extra shot of espresso). I realised that they have more staff who can speak English, so if you’re not familiar with the language, you’ll do fine.

I’d ordered the “Chef Tasting” which wasn’t too much for me. Gorgeously pretty, it comes with the names of each creation. My favorite was the creme brûlée, and my least favorite was the gelee de cacao fruits. I thought that the balance was off because there was just way too much tartness without anything to round off the taste. The tarte au citron was an example of a balanced flavour, with a gentle amount of tartness. If you love anything with choux, the Profiterole was other favorite of mine.

Do check out their range of goodies at level 1 too. I’d picked up 2 packs of 12 grain granola and an 85% chocolate bar, and the staff asked if I’d wanted to pay for the cooler bag as it was 25°C that day and I had a long flight to catch.

Looking forward to going back again when I’m back snowboarding!