Aside from me being an omnivore who loves vegetarian/vegan options, I am also a dairy person who loves soy. Soy milk, soy baked goods, soy jerky- I love it all. My mother used to buy soy milk from our local Chinese grocery store when I was growing up, so I have many fond memories drinking that delicious, dairy substitute. I think I consumed even more soy-based products during my undergraduate years in San Diego, California; since I lived near a regular and organic supermarket, I was constantly stocking up on soy milk, soy energy bars, canned soy soup, everything soy. I even replaced the milk in my Starbucks drinks with soy, except I doubt there was much of a calorie difference in the switch.

In Japan, there are the usual soy products such as tofu, edamame, and kinako (roasted soybean powder), but it can be difficult to find a restaurant or cafe that focuses mainly on soy products. I never really expected to find a place dedicated to soybeans, so the idea of a soy eatery never really crossed my mind in Tokyo. One day, while exploring the underground maze of the amazing Tokyo station, I was walking down a long corridor of restaurants when I smelled something familiar. It was not quite the scent of cookies, yet not quite the smell of oven-baked bread. As I got closer to the scent, my eyes grew slightly bigger at the sight of what was displayed at a particular window: fresh imagawayaki (little pancakes with filling) being made. In addition to growing up with soy milk, I grew up with these little pancake-like perfections too. An elderly Chinese lady would sell them near this one Chinese-Vietnamese grocery store I knew and fill each one with either red bean, lotus paste, or custard. These treats are well-known in the Asian culture and great for a quick snack on-the-go. With those memories flooding back to me from the scent of the mini pancakes, I had an inkling to check out what store was making them. I looked up to see a cute, little bean mascot and the name Mr. Bean above the entrance doorway.

The menu for this place is simple, consisting of soy drinks/smoothies, panini sets, pancakes, and side desserts. The soy milk comes in a variety of flavors and customers are allowed to control the amount of sugar put in their drinks. For pancakes, three pancakes are stacked up, then covered in toppings such as whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and/or berries. I settled on the panini set during my first visit, which is a round sandwich bread with filling (the filling changes every few months) placed in a panini press, then served with a soy drink and possibly soup or salad if you decide to add it on. The panini set I got at the time was smoked salmon and cream cheese, along with "coffee" flavored soy milk. The coffee flavor was actually very light tasting so you might not really notice the flavoring in your drink. As for the panini, it was a little too small and not very impressive in my opinion. The panini is a good snack or simple filler to keep your hunger down for a while, but not good enough as a full-on meal. However, this light set seems to be a hit with working Japanese women in the area because a majority of the customers in Mr. Bean tend to be women. I blame my affinity for American-sized portions...it will not seem to leave me no matter how much I try to let it go...

Would I come back again? Hmmm, I guess. Overall, Mr. Bean is a nice place to enjoy a snack or "portion-controlled" meal. I might not have found the food very satisfying or special, but they get points for utilizing soy in their menu and for the side desserts. The desserts are actually what I would rate the highest, since they have soy soft serve ice cream, imagawayaki, and soy pudding. The imagawayaki has a nice, soft texture on the inside and a crispy fortune-cookie taste outside. A few different fillings are available too- it just depends on what location you visit in Tokyo. Not only that, I later found out that Mr. Bean is actually a franchise from Singapore; now I am curious about what the Mr. Bean menu in Singapore serves.

More on the Mr. Bean website: http://www.mrbean.com.sg/mrbeanintrojp.aspx

Eat Well,
T.W.