Last week a dear friend took me to Acqua Pazza – a great Italian restaurant in Hiroo for a special lunch.  While the company was lovely and the meal was delicious, what really stood out was the dessert.

As is usual in Tokyo, lunch consisted of a choice of three different set menus, all of which contained a pasta as the main course.  All of the sets started with Bagna Cauda – veggies and a hot anchovy dip.  Then there was an appetizer and a pasta dish (one of which was venison, but we had smoked fish pasta – yum!) and then dessert and coffee to finish it off.

Normally with these sets, you get a small taste of dessert just as a tiny, post-meal-sweet-satisfier.  But not this.  This set dessert arrived on a huge plate with seven small tastes.

Starting from about 12 o’clock, they are:

1.  strawberries with pepper on top
2. sweet fruit tomato on a bed of soft cheese
3. hazelnut cake with a touch of cream
4. mini-napoleon
5. sweet cream ice cream
6. (center) dried fruit biscotti
7. candied ginger

Each item was so different from the others.  The tomato really did taste like a fruit and the cake was nutty and creamy.  The ice cream had a cookie spoon and a regular spoon at the side. And the candied ginger finished everything off perfectly with a spot of sweet and sour.

I’d highly recommend Acqua Pazza for a special lunch.  It’s not cheap, but not wildly expensive either.  It’s good for a fun occasion, and it’s excellent for dessert.