We stumble upon a sweet surprise while shopping and naturally have to try out the new finds for ourselves.

At the end of April, our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa was visiting IKEA in Tachikawa, Tokyo when she decided to also swing by the LaLaport Tachikawa Tachihi shopping mall for the first time since it’s only a short walk down the road. It was during the Golden Week holidays, so she mentally prepared herself for the complex to be bustling with people and their families. However, that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, it was the level of empty that she might see at a shopping mall on a weekday in her home prefecture of Tottori.

The overall atmosphere was a bit gloomy, to be honest.

As she walked around, she caught sight of Japanese burger chain Freshness Burger. She had almost walked completely by it when she realized that something felt off.

▼ Can you spot anything out of the ordinary here?

You wouldn’t be alone if you zoomed in on the crepes and had a sudden, temporary memory lapse like Ikuna did.

▼ “Huh. Did Freshness Burger always have crepes…?”

To make matters worse, Ikuna noticed one more detail that left her feeling less confident than ever in her sanity.

▼ “There’s gelato, too?!”

She took a moment to collect herself and to think as rationally as possible. First off, Freshness Burger doesn’t have as many locations as many other burger chains in Japan, so it’s only natural that she would be a little foggier about the menu there. Ikuna turned to Google for answers and was shocked to discover, though, that in all of Japan, only seven Freshness Burger locations offer crepes on the menu. In fact, this branch that she was standing right in front of is the only one to sell them in Tokyo!

In addition, she gleaned that only 11 locations offer gelato, including two in Tokyo. It was crazy to think that she had just randomly stumbled upon this incredibly unusual spot–the only one in all of Tokyo to sell both crepes AND gelato–without even looking for it.

Of course, that meant that she had to seize the opportunity to sample both.

The crepes ranged in price from 420 yen (US$2.90) for classic flavors like butter brown sugar or cinnamon brown sugar to 700 yen for specialty flavors like Amaou strawberry or tiramisu. The standard ones, comprising the bulk of the menu, fell somewhere in the middle range.

Ikuna ordered a strawberry chocolate custard cream crepe for 570 yen and two scoops of gelato–bitter (dark) chocolate and royal bourbon (vanilla) flavors–for 490 yen.

It was kind of funny–perhaps because they were rare offerings at a burger specialty chain, Ikuna had been half-expecting something to be slightly weird or off-putting about the pair. However, her first bite of the crepe informed her that it tasted just like your standard crepe. There was nothing spectacularly decadent about it, but it was on solid gastronomic ground.

▼ Nope–just your ordinary crepe

▼A nice shot with the Freshness Burger sign in the background

However, the more she ate, she realized that this crepe was considerably moist. Compared to crepes that she might buy at specialty cafes that always had crispy edges to hold everything in place, this one seemed to be almost melting in on itself the more time passed. She could only guess that perhaps the crepe dough is the kind that’s made in advance, but she apologies if she’s wrong.

As for the taste, it was actually amazing how much of the strawberry sweetness still came through despite being loaded up with whipped cream and chocolate. She also appreciated that the cream wasn’t overly sweet. Everything about the crepe was fluffy, from its dough to its fillings, and she honestly thought that she could eat five of them without a problem. Its relativeness lightness made it a perfect choice for a post-hamburger sweet treat.

Thankfully, however, she didn’t have to order another one because she still had gelato. The dark chocolate flavor was incredibly rich to the point that it tasted like eating chocolate liquor.

Conversely, the royal bourbon (vanilla) flavor was simple and light. She had selected two complementary flavors very naturally.

To view a full list of Freshness Burger locations that serve crepes and gelato, please click here and here respectively. While Ikuna enjoyed her unexpected dessert discoveries, she wouldn’t necessarily go out of her way to seek them out–which is why she thinks they’ll be the perfect accompanying treat to look forward to whenever she visits the Tachikawa location of IKEA in the future. While she’s at it, she might as well spring for some delicious and reasonably priced sushi in the area, too.

Restaurant information
Freshness Burger LaLaport Tachikawa Tachihi / フレッシュネスバーガーららぽーと立川立飛
Address: Tokyo-to, Tachikawa-shi, Izumi-cho 935-1
東京都立川市泉町 935-1
Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (weekdays), 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (weekends)
Website

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[ Read in Japanese ]