Breakfast @ Kayaba Coffee, Yanaka, Tokyo

 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And even though so, I hardly feature it on the blog. When it comes to my usual morning starter it will be either oatmeal, or eggs and sausages. Very simple but it gets the job done. Well, all that will change as I was recommended to try a particular cafe located in the suburbs of Yanaka. 

Chic

Kayaba Coffee is a small but hip cafe located in a corner unit next to the Shitamachi Museum. Also located close to the historical yet secluded Yanaka Cemetery, this establishment can serve as a good pitstop between sightseeing checkpoints. It is also close to Nippori station, which is one of the commuter hubs of the area. 

I think I overestimated myself. 

The breakfast options are simple but substantial, consisting mainly of open toast sandwiches with some hearty soup and salad. I decided to get 2, as Japanese toasts from cafes tend to be very fluffy and hence light. As such, I got myself 2 types of eggy toasts, one with scrambled eggs and another with a sunny side up. But alas my hubris lead to my downfall. 

The first take

Little did I know, the toasts are not made of the standard shokupan bread, which is airy and fluffy. Instead, it was wholemeal with nuts, which you guessed it, are very filling. Despite that, this was a pretty tasty breakfast. 

Money shot

The bread that was used had a great personality, as they are not just the plain white bread slices you might suspect. At least for me. The bread used was nutty, rich, and had a bit of a woody flavour to it. The texture is of course a bit tough, yet quite pliable. It was rather chewy but not to the point you tire your jaw out like a sourdough.  The eggs were cooked to perfection.  The sunny side up needs to have a special mention. The whites were crispy and cooked through well. However, the core of the yolk still was a bit moist and soft. This was some killer egg. Well executed that is for sure. 

Round 2?

The scrambled eggs were great too. It was simple but was done well. Soft and chewy, it made for a good companion to the sturdy toast below. The soup was a sleeper hit. It was a simple clear veggie soup. However, it was full-bodied and had great flavour. Strong hints of onions and leeks were present, keeping me warm right after this meal. It was really satisfying, especially as it was raining that morning when I visited. The salad was pretty good too, with interesting ingredients such as sweet potatoes and yam. Not your average Caesar's.

Don't set up a cafe without it!

The price is quite modest I feel, where each toast set is for 1000 yen. It may be a bit pricey as a daily pick me up, but looking at the ingredients used, that tag seems justified. I also had a cup of coffee for 500 yen, which was nice. However, I forgot to take some shots for it. Apologies for that. So if you are ever in this quiet part of Tokyo and you fancy a well rounded breakfast to start your day, Kayaba has got your covered. If you would like to try what they have in store, then the address is as follows:

6 Chome-1-29 Yanaka, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0001

Pretty exterior if you ask me