CUISINE
Herbal Infusions
One of the first things you’ll notice upon entering the restaurant and café wing at Roka are the one hundred+ glass bottles of colorful home-cured herbal infusions lined up on the counter, each thoughtfully labelled with a hand-embossed leather tag.
In addition to such usual suspects as lemongrass, peppermint, ginseng and rosehip, some of the more curious liqueurs include infusions of loquat leaf, desert broomrape, valerian, and seahorse, not to mention mamushi pit viper steeped in a liquor of wild ginseng. A range of coffee liqueurs is variously infused with lemon, mint, rose, and cinnamon. While the stock does vary according to season and demand, the knowledgeable team of herbal sommeliers at Moya and En are at the ready to recommend both sober and alcoholic drinks to meet your mood and condition, and the lunch and dinner menus offer omakase flights of these healthful infusions, primed to the season.
Need Vitamin C? Try a non-alcoholic tonic of camu camu sour berry juice, hibiscus syrup and tonic water garnished with cherry-blossom powder. For a boost to the digestive system, an aperitif of fennel and butterfly pea with lemongrass, fine-grained cane sugar, and dried lemon might be suggested, while old standbys like Kahlúa and milk with chamomile or a tonic of sweet ginger and lavender will invite a sound night’s sleep. For a fusion of Japanese and world tastes, try a lemon sour made from the fresh-squeezed juice of a whole lemon and garnished with powdered butterbur, or the housemade amazake of fermented rice blended with green tea and olive powder.
The herbal infusions prepared at Roka are overseen by the Medical Herb Liqueur Association, an organization dedicated to providing education about herb gardens and orchards and homeopathic methods of preventive medicine using botanical remedies.
In addition to such usual suspects as lemongrass, peppermint, ginseng and rosehip, some of the more curious liqueurs include infusions of loquat leaf, desert broomrape, valerian, and seahorse, not to mention mamushi pit viper steeped in a liquor of wild ginseng. A range of coffee liqueurs is variously infused with lemon, mint, rose, and cinnamon. While the stock does vary according to season and demand, the knowledgeable team of herbal sommeliers at Moya and En are at the ready to recommend both sober and alcoholic drinks to meet your mood and condition, and the lunch and dinner menus offer omakase flights of these healthful infusions, primed to the season.
Need Vitamin C? Try a non-alcoholic tonic of camu camu sour berry juice, hibiscus syrup and tonic water garnished with cherry-blossom powder. For a boost to the digestive system, an aperitif of fennel and butterfly pea with lemongrass, fine-grained cane sugar, and dried lemon might be suggested, while old standbys like Kahlúa and milk with chamomile or a tonic of sweet ginger and lavender will invite a sound night’s sleep. For a fusion of Japanese and world tastes, try a lemon sour made from the fresh-squeezed juice of a whole lemon and garnished with powdered butterbur, or the housemade amazake of fermented rice blended with green tea and olive powder.
The herbal infusions prepared at Roka are overseen by the Medical Herb Liqueur Association, an organization dedicated to providing education about herb gardens and orchards and homeopathic methods of preventive medicine using botanical remedies.
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