Eat Well Hemp Cafe Tokyo - Shibuya
The aftermath - Taco Rice
We love living in Japan and trying all the unique vegan foods available, but sometimes we crave a taste of the west. More specifically, one of our favorite cuisines: Mexican food. Believe it or not, Mexican food isn’t terribly popular since a lot of people here don’t like hot spicy foods. It’s even more difficult to find in Tokyo if you’re looking for something vegan. Today however, we’re going to share one of our go-to restaurants to satisfy our desire for flavors that take us “south of the border”.
Located on the border of Shibuya in Ebisu, Hemp Cafe Tokyo is an easy 10-minute walk from Ebisu Station. Found on the 8th floor of the Crysty Ebisu building, this 100% vegan restaurant specializes in Mexican-inspired dishes. Inside you’ll find bright, earthy tones, books on veganism, and a mix of hemp and CBD products for sale. For today’s meal we decided to order something relatively healthy compared to the foods we usually eat. To help give us a boost after our weighted exercise that morning, we asked the server what item had the highest protein. She let us know that the Mexican burrito or taco rice would be our best options. With that in mind we odered the taco rice and our partner ordered the burrito. We only had a bite of the burrito, so we’ll save that review for a different day when we eat a full one.
Let’s talk about the taco rice. Taco rice is actually a semi-popular food item when it pops up on a menu in Japan, but this is the best vegan version we’ve seen (and tasted) so far. Soy meat, tofu, and avocado are mixed with kale, tomato, and red onion over a bed of roasted brown rice. Then it’s topped off with mayo, salsa, corriander, dill, and mint. To say this salad was refreshing is an understatement. The sauces and fresh herbs were bright on the palate resulting in a well-seasoned dish. Even though it was loaded, we were pleasantly surprised to taste that all of the flavors were balanced. We really did get a good amount of protein too and didn’t have to search for it in a forest of greens. And the rice was cooked perfectly and added to the overall textural variety. This was a nice sized bowl and we’re glad to say that we felt satisfied after eating. Salad isn’t really our jam so we took a little bit of a risk in ordering this meal and it definitely paid off.
While the menu takes inspiration from Mexican cuisine, there are other options such as bugers, sushi, and a few CBD infused items. There are also hemp and CBD goods that you can purchase for use at home.
The overall expeience of eating at Hemp Cafe Tokyo is a relaxing one and we’re sure you’ll want to come back for more on e you try their delicious food.
