Breakfast at Emion Hotel Kyoto: A Good Spread of Japanese and Western Dishes
Given the great location and nice rooms at the Emion Hotel in Kyoto, I was looking forward to their breakfast. I expected a good spread of both Japanese and Western dishes. And I wasn’t disappointed!
As soon as I entered the restaurant, I saw that breakfast had been laid out on the counters. There were plates and bowls everywhere and guests had already begun to serve themselves.
I really liked the look of the restaurant itself and all the pretty wallpaper on the walls. They had very traditional designs and added an air of elegance to the room.
The first place that I went was the bakery section. There was a toaster next to the basket of bread. Different kinds of rolls and loaves were available and everything was neatly labelled.
Then I saw the pastries. There was an apple pastry called apple crown and mini vanilla and chocolate palmiers as well. Pairs of tongs hung above the pastry baskets so that guests could serve themselves.
The croissants lay in a basket right next to the little butter packets and I could also see a mixed berry jam lying right next to those. The croissants were almost over so they must have been very flaky and tasty indeed!
Then I headed towards the espresso machine. There were instructions about how to use it and I saw that I could make myself hot coffee or iced coffee, cappuccino or café latte. I decided to have a cappuccino.
One section of the buffet held soft and hard boiled eggs. There was also natto made in the Kyoto style with small grains and a smooth texture. I really liked the pretty bowls that had flower designs on them.
The salads section was huge. There were so many choices, from lettuce and sprouts to broccoli and carrots! I could see peppers and corn and some different legumes as well.
The cucumbers had been chopped into small pieces and there was a whole bowl full of cherry tomatoes. The potato salad looked rich and creamy and there were thin slices of ham.
Readymade salad dressings like Thousand Island dressing and sesame dressing all looked really delicious. I had no idea which I should pick since there were so many options. And each dressing had the names of the ingredients written on the label so that people who were allergic could avoid whatever they needed to avoid.
Then there was a desserts section with fruit cakes and other little treats. It all looked really cute and aesthetic.
The hot foods section had a number of stews and meats.
There was even tiny fried fish that had been cooked whole.
The scrambled eggs were soft and runny and the sausage and bacon had a lot of fat.
The fried potatoes looked really delicious. They had been crumb fried and were a beautiful golden brown color.
Pork curry and pickles had been kept alongside cups and saucers to pour tea and coffee in.
There were so many different kinds of pickles, like red turnip pickles and smoked mackerel. A unique dish was the salted plums with honey.
There were a lot of local delicacies that I wasn’t used to, like the Yuba starch sauce. Freshly cooked steamed rice and porridge were some of the staples on offer. And they also had seaweed.
There were porcelain bowls where guests could serve themselves a helping of the miso soup. It was really light and fresh and one of the best things that was being served at the buffet.
Condiments like fried tofu or green onions could be added to the soup.
A huge pot of simmered tofu was kept on the burner to keep warm. It was supposed to be eaten with soy sauce and seasonings.
I liked that there were so many vegetables, greens and cooked meat dishes at the buffet. It allowed me to taste some of the local cuisine.
One section of the buffet had pancakes with maple syrup, whipped cream and different kinds of jam.
Other options were okra and Japanese style omelets.
The hotel staff must have woken up very early to prepare all this!
I served myself some fruits and pancakes.
The drinks section had different juices and milk.
The fruits were all so fresh and colorful.
