KISSAKO GREEN TEA CAFE
Location:
Hours of Business:
Phone:
Web Address:
2027 Oak Bay Avenue
Mon - Fri 10:30 - 7:00pm; Sat 11:30am - 6:00pm
370-5195
kissakogreenteacafe.com
Chosen for:
Intimate Setting
Warm Hospitality
Delicious, Healthy Food
On Saturday, May 5th, 2007, our Grapevine group of twenty entered the door of tiny Kissako Green Tea Cafe with a bouquet of purple balloons. Owners Hiroshi Shibata and Tamae Yoshizawa's jaws dropped. We quickly put them at ease with the announcement that their cafe had been chosen "Best of the Bunch for the month of May".
Owners Horoshi Shibata and Tamae Yoshizawa
welcome The Grapevine group
- Photos by Tony Parker & Barbara McDonell
Kissako Green Tea Cafe was nominated by Trevor Walker, owner of Plenty Epicurean Pantry ("graped" last November). Trevor and his wife Erika went to the restaurant when Erika was four weeks overdue with their first baby. The couple requested that Hiroshi and Tamae "feed her as much as possible with foods to induce labour". The result? Anton Elias was born the next evening!
Tamae (pronounced Tam-eye') well remembered Sarala and Barbara's investigative visit ... "because you asked so many questions!" During that first visit, we were impressed by the fresh fare and exotic tastes as we sampled spinach and avocado sushi wrapped in brown rice, and the day's special ($8.95) of stir-fried prawns and asparagus on tofu, served with a few crisp vegetables, rice and a small salad. Later we shared a yummy no-dairy dessert that tasted similar to Crème Caramel ($4.95).
Hiroshi and Tamae are husband and wife who do all the cooking and serving. With soothing Japanese music softly filling the air, and a window Zen garden with bamboo flute dripping water into a pottery dish, the atmosphere is calm and relaxing. Kissako Cafe has16 indoor seats, which creates intimacy. On dry days, they place a few tables and chairs outside on the sidewalk.
We were impressed by the fresh fare
and exotic tastes from a menu
featuring vegetarian and
non-vegetarian dishes.
Kissako's menu is based on a macrobiotic diet, which the owners used to follow religiously. Now they are more flexible with it, adding their own flair and imagination to create a delicious variety of healthy meals. Tamae says the menu is "evolving" as they learn more about their customers.
For 25 years, they owned Futaba downtown, but the stress of a big restaurant with high overhead made them decide to sell. When the deal was finalized, Hiroshi suddenly panicked: "What now?"
Meanwhile, Tamae was studying the traditional Japanese tea ceremony in Victoria. Later, in Japan, she connected with a tea grower who now provides the majority of the cafe's tea. Ultimately, the couple decided to open a small eatery close to their home that would encompass tea, opening Kissako Green Tea Cafe eight months ago. It's interesting to note that they use tea as a base in some of their desserts!
Kissako's specialty is sushi to go. It also offers Japanese soups,
sandwiches and salads and, a big favourite, bubble tea!
Kissako's specialty is sushi to go – priced from $1.75-$4.96. The menu also features vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, as well as Japanese soups, sandwiches and salads and, a big favourite, bubble tea. Every day they offer a "special" on their blackboard.
During Barbara and Sarala's first visit, they met a customer who loves the cafe so much that she visits it every single day. Several people were greeted by name with a big smile from the owners. It was obvious that Kissako has loyal fans and, in view of Tamae and Hiroshi's warmth, it wasn't surprising.
Visit Tamae and Hiroshi at Kissako Green Tea Cafe and you may well become enticed to join the ranks of their loyal "regulars"!
