Harajuku Crepes

L1 Shop 148, Knox Place, Melbourne Central 3000
Date visited: 6th April 2012

I have always liked Harajuku Crepes.  When it was first opened, it was called Ichiban Crepes, and I can't say for sure whether management has changed or it was just a name change, but most of the crepes have stayed the same, albeit having some of their names changed as well.  All you have to do is walk down Knox Place and follow the sweet scent of crepes wafting out from their shop window.

It's odd but nowadays they do not allow people to photograph inside the stop.  I actually snapped a photo before MerlinFan pointed the sign out to me, so out of courtesy to Harajuku Crepes, I won't post it.  Last year, I brought a friend from overseas here when she came to visit, and a man (I think he may have been the store owner) was very friendly, all smiles and let her take photos inside, in front of the crepe display.  I haven't been back since then, but when we came this time, the two girls working behind the counter were all grim-faced and not a hint of a smile anywhere even though it wasn't extremely busy at the time.

The crepes are made in front of you as you wait.  They are paper thin, crispy, warm and come wrapped up like an ice-cream cone.

MerlinFan's favourite has always been the Brownie Deluxe.  She added vanilla ice cream.

Brownie Deluxe - brownie slice, strawberry, cream, chocolate topping

MerlinFan said her Brownie Deluxe was perfect.  The brownie had improved since last time - it was moist, dense and chocolatey, with chunks of chocolate in it.  

I had my usual Banana Delight, with vanilla ice cream as well.

Banana delight $6.90 - banana, nutella, custard

They used to do the banana in slices inside the crepe, but today, annoyingly enough I had a single piece of banana stuck aggravatingly to the bottom of the crepe cone, so I went through half the crepe without it.  I also liked it better when they used to put nutella right to the top, so that you don't go through most of the top layer of the crepe with no filling, just ice cream.  I finished my crepe feeling as if it wasn't the best Banana Delight experience I've had over the years.

Another thing I noticed was the skyrocketing prices!  The website prices are not updated, so the prices in store are probably a good 50 cents more.  It comes down to what each person would pay for food I suppose, but to me, $6.90 for banana, nutella and custard seems a bit steep.  No doubt, the crepes here are nice, but I've tried the bubble tea once before and never again.  Self-explanatory.

I would probably come to Harajuku Crepes more often if the crepes weren't so expensive, and if they actually had more seating around.  There are just two benches outside and a few chairs scattered inside.  Granted, the crepes are wrapped in cones so that you can eat on the go, but with chunky stuff like brownies and unsliced bananas inside the crepe, I'd rather sit than wander around tearing through a crepe like a savage with melting ice cream and custard trickling unglamorously down the bottom of my cone.



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