Japan - Breakfast at new Palace Hotel

Had breakfast this morning at the new Palace Hotel for the first time. All in all, I was duly impressed!

Getting the cons out of the way...


The buffet caters to a Western audience. While they have the ultra rare crispy bacon, they do not have such Japanese staples as natto, miso soup, or even rice.
Even though the cavernous dining room and terrace were only about 10% full, they still seated someone right next to me. :td:
When they refilled my coffee, they did not bring a refill of cream, and I had to flag someone else down for that.
Wasn't particularly impressed with any of the salad dressings.


But those are all minor quibbles. The pros...


Wide assortment of cooked meats and vegetables.
Excellent made to order omelets, outclassed only by Mandarin Oriental
Huge assortment of dried, stewed, and fresh fruits
FINALLY, a place with muesli that is not too sweet!
Beautiful wide open enviroment, great for relaxing, power breakfast, or getting work done.


And the most impressive feature, deserving to stand out from the list...a lady who's sole job is to take selected breads and toast them in the wood burning oven!

All in all, a worthy addition to Tokyo's hotel breakfast scene.

My current Tokyo Hotel Breakfast Buffet Top 10:


Ritz-Carlton
Mandarin Oriental
Westin
Four Seasons Chinzanso
Palace Hotel
Conrad
Park Prince Tower
ANA Intercontinental Tokyo
Grand Hyatt Tokyo
Shangri-la

Thanks for the update. Always liked the Palace. Still not a fan of breakfast buffets. Top ten of breakfast buffets makes one unsure of the sort order. Kind of like a travel list with Gary, Indiana on top.

Kind of like a travel list with Gary, Indiana on top.

Ah yes. The Top 10 places to go for a cage fight.

Had breakfast this morning at the new Palace Hotel for the first time. All in all, I was duly impressed!

Getting the cons out of the way...

The buffet caters to a Western audience. While they have the ultra rare crispy bacon, they do not have such Japanese staples as natto, miso soup, or even rice.

I was surprised to know that no rice was served for buffet and I checked the hotel's website and I think I've found the menu.
http://www.palacehoteltokyo.com/restaurant/menu/grandkitchen_breakfast.pdf

Looks like they have Japanese breakfast. It seems to be a course or plate menu. I'd like to have buffet and rice.

Still not a fan of breakfast buffets. Top ten of breakfast buffets makes one unsure of the sort order. Kind of like a travel list with Gary, Indiana on top.

Real men have real breakfast: Les Saisons at the Imperial, or the Orchid Room at the Okura. If you must have a buffet, the Girandole at Park Hyatt would be my #1 (and only) choice.

Real men have real breakfast: Les Saisons at the Imperial, or the Orchid Room at the Okura. If you must have a buffet, the Girandole at Park Hyatt would be my #1 (and only) choice.

Thanks for the tip! Will give that a try when I head out there for my first stay in July.

And I still prefer to be some sort of fake man, at my own leisure! :p

If you must have a buffet, the Girandole at Park Hyatt would be my #1 (and only) choice.

:cool:
Japanese blog.
http://yaplog.jp/mi-amere/archive/1217

Mango Yogurt? ^

Mango anything is seriously good stuff!

Real men have real breakfast: Les Saisons at the Imperial, or the Orchid Room at the Okura. If you must have a buffet, the Girandole at Park Hyatt would be my #1 (and only) choice.

Thank you. Glad someone has good sense. I might add Yamazato as well.

:cool:
Japanese blog.
http://yaplog.jp/mi-amere/archive/1217

Mango Yogurt? ^

That's not a breakfast buffet...that's a dessert buffet! :eek:

That's not a breakfast buffet...that's a dessert buffet! :eek:

??　The blog says otherwise. Some pictures have salad.
Or you might mean that's too good to be breakfast buffet.

??　The blog says otherwise. Some pictures have salad.
Or you might mean that's too good to be breakfast buffet.

I meant that the images that stand out are all sweets things!

http://yaplog.jp/cv/mi-amere/img/1217/img20090810_1_p.jpg
http://yaplog.jp/cv/mi-amere/img/1217/img20090810_2_p.jpg
http://yaplog.jp/cv/mi-amere/img/1217/img20090810_3_p.jpg
http://yaplog.jp/cv/mi-amere/img/1217/img20090810_4_p.jpg
http://yaplog.jp/cv/mi-amere/img/1217/img20090810_9_p.jpg

??　The blog says otherwise. Some pictures have salad.
Or you might mean that's too good to be breakfast buffet.

There is a table of savory stuff also (cold cuts, salads, cheeses), and some buffet options include a la carte pretty much anything you'd expect to find in a proper breakfast, Western or Eastern.

There is a table of savory stuff also (cold cuts, salads, cheeses), and some buffet options include a la carte pretty much anything you'd expect to find in a proper breakfast, Western or Eastern.

Thanks for the clarification, Pickles. Some years ago when you called Koshigaya Lake Town Aeon shoppping mall "lame", I was a little disappointed. But now I understand you know the best places. ^ Please continue to tell us more about them.

Thanks for the clarification, Pickles. Some years ago when you called Koshigaya Lake Town Aeon shoppping mall "lame", I was a little disappointed. But now I understand you know the best places. ^ Please continue to tell us more about them.

You have a long memory.

Real men have real breakfast: Les Saisons at the Imperial, or the Orchid Room at the Okura. If you must have a buffet, the Girandole at Park Hyatt would be my #1 (and only) choice.
Yes to the Imperial. It feels like fine dining at breakfast time.

If you must have a buffet, the Girandole at Park Hyatt would be my #1 (and only) choice.Thanks for the tip! Will give that a try when I head out there for my first stay in July.

Alright, you got me. Girandole was really, really, good. At least a strong #3 on my list, and it really gave me food for thought on what a great breakfast buffet can and should be.

My wife really liked the fact that she was not obligated to get the buffet (unlike me, she's not really into all-you-can-eat affairs), and tried the Healthy and Japanese breakfasts during our two nights, finding both to be extraordinary.

The SOBs at Park Hyatt Tokyo have now got me seriously considering a mattress run to parlay my Diamond Trial to full Diamond status. Grrrrr...