Hoshino Coffee

My friend suggested to me that we go to Hoshino Coffee at Chinatown Point for dinner.

I was a little surprised. 

Sandwiches and sweet souffle pancakes are not the kind of food my friend will have for dinner, and I thought (erroneously) that these were the best Hoshino Coffee had to offer. 

Obviously not, however. 

This Japanese-style cafe franchise with outlets all over the island has far greater offerings than fluffy souffle pancakes and bread.

I had a very fun time flipping through the menu. 

There was an excellent selection of meat plates, omu rice and sides. 

Not to mention, their sandwiches, which, had I been eating alone I might have considered the Tonkatsu toast, the Shrimp & Avocado toast, the Wagyu Sandwich and the Chicken Cutlet toast. 

What charmed me most, however, were their drinks. 

There aren't many places with such a specialty range of matchas and hojichas. 

I wouldn't have minded an Iced Matcha Latte with Azuki,  or a Hot Royal Milk Tea.

But we decided not to do drinks today.

When it came to the main, I thought we might do the Omu Rice and Angus Beef Steak, or the Pork & Mozzarella Cutlet plate. 

But someone didn't want Angus beef this evening and I'd just had a pork cutlet not too long ago. 

So we agreed on Spaghetti. 

We had to make up our minds over the Lobster Bisque Soup Spaghetti, the Mentaiko & Salmon Carbonara, or the Aglio Olio Soft Shell Crab Spaghetti.

We both like mentaiko. 

So we made the order. 

I liked it. 

No, I loved it. 

The noodles weren't soggy. 

They weren't drowning in an ocean of cream. 

And even though the salmon pieces seemed rather small, they were scattered so nicely all over the plate that there were enough for me to have a bite of the fish here and there.  

I took a special fancy to the sauce. 

It wasn't overwhelming. 

It wasn't heavy on the stomach. 

And so tasty was it that I wiped the plate clean

It's difficult to walk out of Hoshino Coffee without doing a dessert, and for a brief moment I thought the souffle pancakes or the Hokkaido Rare Cheese Cake were in order, but after some deliberation, we decided on the mille crepe.

I didn't mind. 

I haven't had one before. 

At another time we'll go for the Honey Lemon Mille Crepe. 

Today we went for the Matcha. 

My friend carved chunks of it out using the fork. 

I peeled mine off slice by slice.