If you want to eat good food in a cozy cafe, head over to one of my favorite restaurants: Kozui Green Tea Cafe at Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

Kernie was the one who introduced me to the place because he loved to hang out there for the food and free wifi.  I ignored that tiny cafe at first because I wasn’t really a fan of bland green tea. But when I finally did, I fell in love with the place.

I love the healthy menu and the cool variants of green tea which are surprisingly good and yummy. If I could, I would eat there everyday.

Cool name

When I asked owner Anthony So why he named his cafe Kozui, he said he just thought it was a cool name! Z was for zen, “zui” sounded good to represent healthy stuff while “ko” was a common prefix for Japanese names.

Although Anthony did not know exactly what the term meant, he establisheded Kozui in an old building along Tomas Morato in 2007. If you think about it, putting up a tea café in a coffee – crazed city seems real risky. But being a tea lover himself, Anthony said his business instincts told him it was worth a try.

He chose a location filled with coffee shops on purpose so that he would really stand out. He believed that people would welcome the option of hanging out in a café that offers healthy drinks and healthy food.

And he was right because Kozui did stand out with its soothing vibe that beckons people with tired feet and hungry stomachs to come in, rest and have their fill.

Green haven

Putting his graphic design skills to work, Anthony created Kozui’s interiors to become a green relaxing haven.

Going inside the green tea café feels like you’re entering home — a loft-type condominium to be exact.
Everything about its interiors invites you in: fluffy green couches that beg to be sat on, hanging raffia lamps that reflect soothing light, and vibrant walls filled with photos of green fields, bamboo and a friendly – looking server offering cherry blossoms as if a welcome gift.

Opposite the counter stands a rack of cute curios with a row of self – sealing cup covers (P125), pacman – shaped holders (P180) and hand – shaped stirrers (P98). On the second row are bags of premium green tea leaves (P110 – 200) ready for the taking.

Next to the rack hangs a bulletin board with a collage of customer photos: colleagues, friends and families who troop to this restful place for healthy comfort food.

Healthy flavors

With Japanese and Filipino chefs working in his kitchen, Anthony said Kozui serves a fusion of Japanese and Chinese cuisine with a hint of Western influences.

One thing for sure though: everything in the menu had to be healthy.

Just like the Minced Spinach Soup (P120), a green mixture with bits of carrots, rice noodles and bean curd. It only has the slightest hint of flavor prepping your taste buds for more intense tastes to come.

A must try in the Kozui menu, the Takoyaki Balls (P98) are made of ika (squid), ebi (shrimp) and negi (leeks) bundled into a ball of batter topped with Japanese mayonnaise, house sauce, shreds of nori (seaweed) and wispy bonito (shipjack tuna) flakes.

These spherical dumplings have a melt in your mouth softness with bursts of flavor: the rough and salty sauce on top is tamed by the smooth and bland batter capped by the crunchy ika-ebi-negi trio.

Fancy some greens? The Karaage Chicken Salad (P168) combines crunchy chicken balls and crisp salad greens mixed with slices of juicy tomatoes and hardboiled eggs. The slightly bitter black sesame sauce adds a nutty kick to this very filling salad while the grainy yolk of the hardboiled eggs puts in textured twist.

If you like your salad on the go, try the Karaage Chicken Wrap (P148) that sandwiches the deep – friend boneless chicken fillets, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers in a grilled pita wrap.

A salad done Japanese style, the Spicy Cold Dandan Noodles (P148) is a study in contrasting flavors. The creamy spicy sesame dressing is balanced by the chilled fresh egg noodles, diced cucumbers, fresh cilantro, ground pork and onions. Even those with low tolerance for spicy food can give this one a try.

A sweet and meaty noodle salad alternative is the Hiyashi Chuka (P148) that combines the egg noodles, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots with strips of ham and chunks of egg omelet swirled with a sweet sesame soy dressing.

If you need an ever more filling meal, you can opt for the donburi rice bowls like the Toridon (P178) steamed rice topped with boneless chicken in teriyaki sauce and sprinkled with toasted black sesame seeds, bonito flakes, nori strips and negi bits.

Delightful desserts

A popular dessert in Kozui that looks almost too good to eat, the Anmitsu (P148) is the Japanese take on the Pinoy halo – halo. It’s a heavenly assembly of azuki beans, green tea jelly, pink and white dango balls and taro jam sitting on a bed of crushed ice, topped with a swirl of green tea ice cream and your choice of fruit.

Eating this dessert is like an adventure in taste and texture. Pick on the ingredients one by one or mix them all together. The Mango Anmitsu teases the palate with the mixture of rich green tea ice cream, sweet taro jam and bittersweet mango cubes. The dango balls (similar to the Pinoy galapong), taro jam and azuki beans add a sweet chewy velvety touch.

Of course, Kozui’s mochi balls, which I wrote about in an earlier post, are still my all – time favorite desserts here.

Time for tea

If you think green tea is just another one of those flavor – less hot drinks, think again. What lacks in taste, it more than makes up for with health benefits.

Green tea has anti- oxidants called catechin polyphenols that kill cancer cells, reduce bad cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease. Some studies also reported that green tea also helps boost metabolism and hasten weight loss.

On the beverage menu, you’ll find a short guide on the eight premium green tea. Among those you can choose from are the sweet and nutty Genmaicha, the smooth and delicate Dragon Well and the fragrant and floral Oolong tea.

Kozui matches the coffeshop fare with its own ice-blended and latte drinks with the green tea twist.
If you love lattes, you can have yours hot or iced with Matcha Tea, Roasted Green Tea or Black Tea (P90 – P100).

Craving for an ice-blended mix? Go Korichio.

The Fruit Blend Korichio (P105 – P120) is a cool and fresh concoction of ice blended green tea mixed either with lemon, pomegranate, passion fruit or pineapple syrup and topped with fruit jelly.

The Matcha Korichio is a creamier yet more sinful treat with flavors like butterscotch, chocolate and oreo capped with a dollop of whipped cream. If it’s any consolation though, Matcha is ground green tea leaves — the variety with the highest level of catechins.

For a refreshing and healthier drink, grab a glass of Lemon Green Teaz (P70 – P85), iced green tea sweetened with just a little bit of lemon.

Healthy hip hangout

Only months after establishing the green tea café did Anthony search for the meaning of kozui. By serendipity, the resulting webpages turned out the definition “fragrant water” which according to folklore was drawn from the well in Wakasa on the Japan sea coast and drank by people to expel sickness.

Kozui’s relaxing interiors, morning to midnight store hours and free wifi make it a hip hangout to the young crowd craving for a coffeeshop alternative.

But for some, it has become a sanctuary in the city where healthy eating equals good food and relaxed dining promotes a love for all things green and peaceful.

Kozui is located at 258 – B Tomas Morato Ave, Quezon City. Open daily: Monday to Thursday (9am – 12 mn), Friday to Sunday (9am – 1am).

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Thanks are definitely in order for my Kozui eating buddies: Analyn, Boojie and Jonathan. They were the reason I was able to review a lot of dishes.

Have you been to Kozui?

Tagged as: Food, healthy eating, Kozui