Happy Halloween from Tokyo!
Halloween has become quite popular in Japan in recent years. Here in Tokyo, it’s mostly a gastronomic holiday, with Halloween-themed treats appearing in early October and increasing in frequency (and detail) as the month goes on.
Themed high teas are also popular, and since I loved the one I attended earlier in the month so much, I decided to try the “take home” version from the Tokyo Grand Hyatt to celebrate Halloween Day.
Like the Haunted Chateau, the Grand Hyatt Happy Halloween High Tea included a menu:
And also a selection of spooky decorations, to make the apartment festive for the season.
The real star of the show, though, was the two-tiered box of treats. The level of detail was almost unbelievable–and everything tasted even better than it looks. (Hard to believe, but true!)
The lower tier held the savories. Clockwise from top left: guacamole “graveyards,” “spooky” cheese palmiers, “devil’s pumpkin” pulled pork sliders, baby lobster rolls, and foie gras “truffles.” Each offering was only a few bites, but every bite was spectacular.
The upper tier held a selection of beautiful themed desserts. Top to bottom: pumpkin cream puffs, chocolate spiders, and frosted sugar cookies/witch fingers, pumpkin roll cakes and chestnut roll cakes, and chocolate spider-topped pumpkin mousse (which ended up being the dark horse favorite, even though I usually don’t like pumpkin).
Every part of the meal exceeded expectations; the cakes, cookies and mousse were not overly sweet, and everything tasted very fresh (the hotel prepared only a limited number of boxes, all for pre-order, which made sense when I saw how much time and effort went into every piece). I’m definitely going to try more of these — they’re a fantastic way to celebrate the seasons, or special events.
Did you celebrate Halloween? If you lived in Japan, would you try these spooky treats?