It's dessert time my fellow Ibarakians! What do we have on the menu today? Well some delicious Taiwanese style jiggly pancakes that all Ibarakians should enjoy. This pancake paradise is in Tsukuba, and boy does Rob know how to make good pancakes.
Cafe Rob
Cafe Rob is located in the Amakubo area of Tsukuba near Tsukuba University. The Ibaraki Eats Duo went on a cloudy Sunday afternoon after having delicious burgers and coffee from Village Market Tsukuba. We were in the mood for dessert and I heard this place had some great pancakes. When we arrived, my wife asked, "who is Rob?" I honestly don't know and the staff was so busy that day I couldn't ask. But I do know one thing, Rob will fill your body with heart and joy. I didn't make that up, it's on their website.
Inside
Cafe Rob isn't a particularly spacious cafe, but it has a nice cafe vibe to it. There are three tables, two booths, and a counter area. I think the cafe can handle about 23 people max. My wife and I sat at a booth at the back of the cafe. We opened the menu and wondered what pancakes we would be having for our Sunday dessert.
Drinks Menu
Before we ordered our pancakes, we checked out the drinks first. The drinks section has three different kinds of drinks. Tapioca, honey lemon, and coffee. The tapioca flavors are: coffee jelly ole, strawberry milk, black sugar tapioca milk, matcha milk, and hoji tea milk.
The honey lemon section had: lemon mango soda, honey lemon squash, and honey lemonade.
The coffee flavors are: caramel macchiato, coffee, and cafe latte.
Oh! There is also orange and apple juice and a bunch of other lattes.
Pancake Menu
Now this is what we came for! It was time to choose our pancakes. Rob's pancakes aren't your typical American style flapjacks. They are Taiwanese jiggly souffle style pancakes. There are six different pancakes to choose from:
Spilled Strawberries (I think they mean the strawberries are spilling around the pancakes.)
Pure Maple
Caramel or Chocolate Banana
Creme Brulee
Tiramisu
Blueberry Cheese
All the pancakes looked amazing and they bring a small serving of vanilla ice cream.
I should also mention that Cafe Rob has a pizza menu, a parfait menu, and a special pancake of the month. They also have an affogato that looks heavenly and that I hope to try next time.
My wife and I ordered our drinks and pancakes, and waited with anticipation.
Hoji Tea Tapioca
Do you remember the tapioca craze before the pandemic? Everyone was drinking tapioca, and why not, it's delicious. That craze has died down since then and now you don't find tapioca places around the corner anymore. But if you are in the mood for tapioca, you should try Rob's tapioca. I judge my tapioca drinks on the tapioca balls. I think they are the most important part of the drink. And I have to say Rob's balls, are chewy and delicious. (I mean the tapioca balls!) The drink was pretty good. It was a perfect amount of sweet hoji tea with those chewy tasty tapioca balls I have come to know and love. I am definitely interested in trying Rob's other tapioca drinks.
Tiramisu Pancakes
The tiramisu pancakes were my order. When they arrived at our table, they looked outstanding. The pancakes came with a small serving of vanilla ice cream, and a crumbled up cookie you could mix with the pancakes. First thing I did, was cut into that soft jiggly pancake. I am not sure if you have ever cut into one of these kinds of pancakes before, but there is something so satisfying about it. It just feels like you are cutting into a cloud on a sunny day of deliciousness. I got a fork full of my tiramisu pancake and gave it a try. It was delicious. So soft, so good. The vanilla ice cream was a great mix with this pancake and the tiramisu flavor was very tasty. I do wish the tiramisu flavor was just a bit stronger, but that did not deter me from enjoying these amazing pancakes. So far Rob, you got some pretty fantastic pancakes here.
Creme Brulee Pancake
Look at that pancake jiggle! If my pancakes were a hit, my wife's creme brulee pancakes were a home run. When she broke the hard caramelized top of the creme brulee and cut into the pancake, the custard cream just fell all around the pancakes and almost completely covered them. It was beautiful. My wife tried the pancakes first and gave her Japanese reaction of "美味しい!" Which means "delicious!" I got a fork full of pancake next and my reaction was that of someone reaching dessert nirvana. The pancake with that hard caramelized sugar and that amazing cream was just something that will make you question if Rob is an angel sent from dessert heaven. The pancake was so soft, it just melted in your mouth. We both were in absolute pancake bliss. Rob, you sir are a genius. I salute you, wherever you are.
After my wife and I were finished, I wanted more pancakes. But we were pretty full and Cafe Rob closes at 4:30 and it was 4:26. We had to go. We thanked the staff and let them know that we would be back for more pancakes.
Cafe Rob was a great dessert stop. We are definitely going back soon because we still have more pancakes to try. I also want to try their delicious looking affogato.
So if you have a sweet tooth and are looking for something to satisfy your craving, why not give Cafe Rob a try. Who knows, you might see me there, enjoying amazing pancakes and finally trying the affogato.
Enjoy!
For more information on Cafe Rob, check out their website:
Event Announcement
Plum Wine Festival
Any plum wine lovers? If you said yes, then there is no way you can miss the Plum Wine Festival! The plum wine festival is happening at Mito Kairakuen during the Plum Blossom Festival. The tasting will be open from March 3rd to Match 5th which is the first weekend of March.
Enjoy trying over a hundred different kinds of plum wine from all over Japan. The rules are, you are given a cup and thirty minutes to enjoy as much plum wine as you can. You can buy your tickets at the event or get them before hand online. It has been four years since I have been able to enjoy this event. I can't wait to get my plum wine on!
I hope to see you there. For more information, check out the event website:
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