Osaka : Afternoon Tea at the Salon de the Alcyon

25th December 2012. Christmas Day.
Osaka, Japan.

After our okonomiyaki meal at Namba, the boys wanted to go shopping again. While they went wild with their shopping spree, I decided to take it easy at a quaint little café that I encountered earlier.

So, I took a few hours off from work and had tea at the French style Salon de The Alcyon. Osaka has a multitude of cafes selling macarons and cakes. It would be a sin not to try one of them. The café’s interior reminded me of Le Alaska in Seoul and it definitely has a very rustic Frenchesque feel to it. The place is very pretty with little bits of detail here and there, similar to Antoinette in Singapore, I got a feeling this place would be very popular in Singapore if it were to open one here.

Back to the tea room, I had a Three Tiered Tea Set (1380 JPY) and got myself a pot of Earl Grey which was served in an elegant looking metallic pot which was served covered with a beautiful “tea cover”. An hour glass was placed on the table so that you would know when the tea is ready.

The Salon de The Alcyon is self is a massive tea shop and bakery with French/French sounding branded teas ranging from Asian oolong and sencha to Western Darjeeling and Breakfast teas. Upon ordering, you get to choose what kind of macaron and cake you want for the tea set. The cakes were presented on a tray as if you were picking one on a dessert trolley.

After a short wait, a big three tiered tea set was placed on my table and the waiter briefly explained what they are. I started off with a nice creamy Quiche followed by a small canapé-like serving of fruit salad.

Next it was a Pound Cake. Pound cakes often tasted too heavy or have a weird chemical flavour. The pound cake here is rather decent. Not too heavy on the palate, moist and firm enough without breaking into bits without the rough texture. The Pistachio Macaron is the winner in this tea set. The shell was crispy and the inside was moist with generous fillings of creamy, rich, nutty and fragrant pistachio ganache in the center. This was so so so good.

Lastly, I had the Mont Blanc, with its iconic cone shaped pureed chestnut, it is one of the most popular cakes in Alcyon Café. However it proved to be a disappointment for me, the Mont Blanc here is simply too sweet that it overpowered the nutty flavours of the chestnut. While I like the contrast in flavours from the surprise cracker like chocolate-coated dome hidden within the Mont Blanc, I was hoping that there would be something to balance off the sweetness but there wasn’t any. Thankfully, I got my cup of Earl Grey tea.

Nearing the end of my meal, the receipt was placed discreetly on a corner of the table on a golden leaf with a mini teapot-shaped paperweight.


Salon de the Alcyon
サロン・ド・テ アルション法善寺本店 (Alcyon)
1-6-20 Nanba, Chuo Ward, Osaka,
Osaka Prefecture 542-0076, Japan