ELLE Café celebrated the 10th anniversary of ELLE à table magazine this month. For a decade, the Parisian-born publication has showcased delicious recipes by popular chefs. ELLE Café’s menu is similarly glamorous, their current range of original Fairy Cakes are presented in stylish Swedish cups and topped with edible flowers.
We met this month’s energetic guest Alice, from the Philippines, in the bright and stylish ELLE Café. Alice herself is no stranger to food- she opened her own Filipino restaurant “Delgados” in Yakuin, 2002. She tells us, “Many Japanese people think Filipino cuisine is spicy, but that’s a misunderstanding. We use lots of vegetables, with coconut milk and fish sauce. It’s quite mild, really.”
As there aren’t many Filipino restaurants in Fukuoka, Delgados has become a hub within the Filipino community. Alice explains how the Phillipines’ high unemployment forces young people to go abroad to find jobs after graduating university. Moving far from their friends and families can be stressful, which is why Alice tries to support other members of the Fillipino community in Fukuoka.
So much so, that many have come to think of Alice as an motherly figure in Fukuoka. People love visiting Alice’s restaurant because she’s always happy to chat and help them out. Alice remembers the help that she received when she was setting up her life in Japan – from both foreign and Japanese people – and now she strives to help others similarly.
Soon, Delgados will also celebrate its 10th anniversary. After 10 years of managing the restaurant, Alice is looking positively into the future.
Menu: Fairy Cupcake set (1 drink + 1 cupcake for ¥840) Drink selection: Red wine, white wine, tea (hot or ice) or coffee (hot or ice). Cupcake selection: Strawberry, blueberry or orange.
Hakata Hankyu ELLE CAFÉ
4F Hakata Hankyu, 1-1 Hakataeki-chuogai, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka
Tel: 092-419-5832
Open: 10:00 ~ 21:00 (last order 20:30) ELLE CAFÉ ONLINE http://ellecafe.jp
Originally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn161, May 2012)