This was one of the places that got me swooning from the moment I entered until I left.
Chanced upon a recommendation to visit Aoyama Flower Market Tea House while researching online prior to our trip to Tokyo in November 2014, and I told Boon that we HAD to put it into our list of places to visit- make that one of the top priorities!
Boon's top priority was to go Odaiba to see the life-sized Gundam, while mine was just a humble request to eat at a flower market. How more low maintenance can this wife be! :P
We scheduled to visit on the 3rd day of our trip, and it was one of the most exciting mornings for me knowing that I was going to experience something so beautiful! Actually every morning in Tokyo was exciting because we woke up knowing that we'd be experiencing something different that day, but this was something that made the little girl in me exceptionally excited!
It was a win-win that day, I got to visit the tea house in the morning, while he got to see his Gundam after! :P
Obligatory elevator shot from our apartment.
The station right outside our crib. 1-min walk away!
Full blog post on our Airbnb stay in Tokyo HERE.
It was sooo easy to find this place!
Only a 5-minute walk from Omotesando station!
The Aoyama Flower Market Tea House is a dream come true for every girl, I'll bet even for girls who claim they do not fancy flowers. Imagine having beautifully plated, healthy brunches in a place surrounded by flowers everywhere. I'll let these photos leave little to your imagination.
I love that we were literally surrounded by greens everywhere, even under the table!
It's the perfect place for a girls day out, seeing that it was 99% occupied by female patrons hahaha! Boon was feeling quite out of place, but I told him, "No la, got couples here also what. Nehhhh us!". Hahahaha we were literally the only couple there, and Boon was the only male specimen there :')
We were ushered to be seated at this beautiful corner. Not complaining cos it's so damn pretty!
Most of the eateries in Tokyo provide English menus to visitors, some automatically hand it to us while some were upon request. We're always delighted at the sight of English menus! No need for sign languages haha.
Every guest was given a tray of utensils, towels wrapped in plastics, paper napkin and a cute little flower jar. Are such pretty touches even necessary for just a tray of fork and knife?! Japanese you guys are spoiling the market!! But I ain't complaining, it's just that I'll never feel special elsewhere anymore.
No biggie.
Nope.
How cute is this??
After ordering our food, I went around exploring the café like a little curious child, and came back to our table finding Boon like this.
"When you wish upon a star..."
Not. Maybe more like, "Why the hell did I promise to bring Careen here".
Hahahaha why Boon? You bored? Nah read this!
Seriously such a brilliant idea! Guys generally know nuts about flowers and roses so this would come in handy and help men not to make silly mistakes anymore, such as buying yellow roses for a girl (which means 'let's be friends' lol).
Still bored, Boon? Come take a picture for me!
After a short while, our drinks came!
Nectar Royal
[All hot teas were priced at 756 yen- RM27.40]
It comes with a jar of hot fruit tea infused with peach, apple, pineapple, strawberry, framboise, hibiscus, rose, and orange peel, and comes with a nice cup of brown and white sugar cubes with a tiny tong on the side, and an hourglass!
We were advised to get started on our tea only after the hourglass is up.
How cute is this?
Our brunch!
Mine:
Tartine
[1080 yen- RM39.16]
Eggplants, meat sauce, white sauce, mozzarella cheese, basil.
Boon's:
Sandwich
[1080 yen- RM39.16]
Beef, pumpkin, rucola, onion fries, cream cheese.
When our food arrived, my reaction was, "OMG so pretty and nice!!",
while Boon's was, "What the...what are these?? What am I supposed to eat??"
Hahahahah you have no idea what a good laugh we had. Typical chinaman/ah beng like Boon will feel very ripped off coming to a place like this!! He must be thinking how many plates of hokkien mee he can have with RM39, and how many kopi ais he can have with RM27. Hahaha!!
But I told him this is different, we're paying for quality food. Don't look at the portion! And we're paying for the ambience. He was like, "What ambience???".
Le sigh, I guess money does make people go blind. In this context too. Hahahaha he failed to capture the essence of dining in such a beautifully curated venue. Hahahah!!
Nola he still very much enjoyed the meal...just that he gobbled it all up within 2 minutes hahaha!! To be fair it WAS a small portion, and mainly veg hahaha. But they were so yummy and fresh! Boon was already thinking of what else to eat later cos he was not at all full nor satisfied lol.
But look at that smile...he enjoyed himself so much don't you think! :')
I mean, how often can one say, I dined with 40 over ladies and I was the only guy there! You're paying for bragging rights too! Priceless! :P
Hey! Spotted another male specimen at the corner! See, you're not alone :P
There were desserts and other cold, sweet flower drinks too but we didn't have those cos it was so cold outside! Hot floral tea seemed like the best bet!
Now, let me bring you around the café!
This was the washroom sink area. Look closely at the mirror and you'll see instructions on what you should do. Hahah so cute! Again, look at all the details. Everything was so nicely placed.
"Where should we start with? Left or right? Confused".
Now ladies, feast your eyes!
Apart from stalk/bouquet flowers, they also sold cute little glass/kitchen bouquets for home decoration purposes. How adorable!
I was soooo tempted to buy some flowers but...it'll be such a silly idea cos we still had a long day ahead. If I lived in Tokyo I so would come here and restock fresh flowers for my home everyday.
Flower wine night?
Sounds perfect!
The whole place was just heavenly to say the least. It was quite an experience, and I highly recommend all my female readers to visit at least once, and my male readers to bring their other halves to this wonderland of flowers. They'll come out of the place happier than ever! It's the vibe!
This place had become so famous that they have recently opened a branch in Paris!
Verdict:
Price is surely on the high side, but it's one of those places that you'd only visit occasionally, or maybe just once if you're a tourist. A beautiful experience, no regrets spending that money (on my part lol).
Aoyama Flower Market Tea House
Address:
5-1-2, MinamiAoyama, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan (Nearest station: Omotesando)
They also have branches in Kichijyoji and Akasaka.
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 11am - 8pm (Last order at 7.30pm)
Sun & Public Holidays: 11am - 7pm (Last order at 6.30pm)
Tel:
+81 3 3400 0887
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/AFMTEAHOUSE
Website:
http://www.afm-teahouse.com
love, Careen.
This post is filed under: Travel, Tokyo.