Good ol' fashioned Lemonade

Again, we're at Graubunden for our sandwich fix, but today it's not the sandwich that's of mention.

We see on the menu 'Homemade Lemonade, with or without'. Sounds good! A tray is delivered and carefully unloaded. There's a glass full of ice, with ton's of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a big slice of fresh lemon. There's a bottle of Canada dry soda and we work out the with or without must mean the sugar? A little jug of sugar syrup is given on the side for you to add at your discretion.



We feel a bit mad scientist mixing it all together, checking the sweetness just so, and adjusting to taste.



It was delicious. Nice lemmony punch, full of bubbles with just a little sweetness. How lemonade should be!

Possibilities are endless ...

We’re back at Graubunden. But their sandwiches are that good! And with so many filling combinations and 4 types of bread’s to choose from the possibilities are endless…

Today Kim has a mushroom omlette on soft baguette. It’s a thick omlette filled with a range of delicious Japanese mushrooms, nicely seasoned and still a little soft in the centre. There’s a thin smear of tomato ketchup and melted cheese all incased in a gorgeous soft baguette.



I have a toasted bagel with bacon, tomato and cream cheese. The bagel is lightly toasted and slathered with butter. Then there’s the generous slices of grilled bacon, a big dollop of cream cheese and a few slices of tomato. It’s seasoned nicely with cracked pepper and the crisp fresh vegetables, kewpie mayonnaise and potato salad to the side are spot on.



To accompany our sandwiches we both can’t resist a maple au lait. A cold shaken milk sweetened just so with Canadian maple. Mmmm.



It’s always daunting … with each visit we take turns in tackling the enormous task of choosing just one sweet to share from the display cabinet. This time I choose a chocolate, cream & banana dome. The triumphant slice arrives, there are layers of soft sponge, chocolate, fresh cream and banana. It’s delicious!



Of course we both have a delicious hot cocoa. It’s Van Houten cocoa with hot milk. Then there’s a big spoon of fresh whipped cream and freshly grated cinnamon to top it off. I even pose for a very-Japanese photo moment, with my hot chocolate.

Graubünden, Hirafu East Village

Living in a strange land is exciting and well, a bit strange sometimes. Sometimes you can end up longing for a little taste from your memories unable to find a cure. And so it is with Japan, within minutes you can always be snacking on delicious sushi, ramen, soba and the like, but, it can take quite a bit of effort to get a good sandwich (especially not one made of the ubiquitous should-be-a-dessert sweet bread). To our delight located within a brief five minute walk of our house, named after a region of Switzerland, it’s a cute little brick house all warm and cosy inside.



The menu is the famous sandwich (seriously, people drive two hours just to come for one) Once you finally make a filling choice you then have further agony deciding the type of bread; baguette, soft baguette, rye bread, or bagel all baked by the fantastic White Rock bakery in Kutchan so you know it’s going to be the real deal.

Today I go for the Graubünden original, omelette with bacon egg and cheese on rye.



Kat has the chicken, cream cheese and tomato also on rye.



In the brief wait we take the time to look around, there’s a showcase filled with fantastic cakes and a small shop selling herbal teas, cookies, candles and a good range of organic oats, maple syrup and other gourmet treats.



The sandos arrive and they are every bit as good as they sounded, the rye cut thick, the filling fresh and generous, mine full of just cooked omelette, grilled bacon and melty cheese is the perfect breakfast as far as I’m concerned and Kat’s piled high with chicken and slathered with cream cheese is a classic classic, on the side of each cute as a button cherry tomatoes a few sticks of cucumber a little carrot salad and a good blob of mayo with a potato salad, whipped to make it creamy.



They do some great home-made soda's.



And stock a full range of Dr. Stuarts teas, also available to take home.



Seeing we’ve being making eyes at the cakes a massive slice of banoffee pie is soon organised, and again it’s as delicious as it looks and prompts yet another fork duel (chivalry smivalry).



How does that song go? The one about the weather outside being frightful but inside delightful? That’s how I feel sitting here in Graubunden, content and relaxed and toasty, I don’t want to leave…..I think we have time and room for a maple hot milk.

Let it snow let it snow let it snow....

Graubünden
Hirafu East Village
Tel: 0136 233371
Open 11am - 7pm
http://www.graubunden.jp/