Ginza Sembikiya, Ichigo Shortcake

Last Saturday, leveling up my quite fine shops that are available, I went back to Ginza Sembikiya and got their Ichigo Shortcake, which is not cheap, so I wouldn't take it as a first cake but figured that it represented what they were best at, so I'd try it as a 4th cake. I was not disappointed. Though I don't know one strawberry variety from the other 500 Japanese varieties, so I can't really say how great the strawberries themselves were. They didn't have that many, so I would guess that they're pretty special. It's shortcake, so just whipped cream, sponge, and fruit. That was enough to make this a definitely excellent cake, probably the best I've had. I'll have to reevaluate my attitude toward other high-end shortcakes. This guaranteed that would make a cut of the quite fine shops under the theoretical assumption that I'll find a few outside members before I need to level up to 5 cakes, which is likely to take a couples years, so not an unreasonable assumption.  

Noliette, Sicilian

Saturday, I hit one more remote potentially quite fine shops, Noliette out west in the north part (relative to where I usually go, anyway) of Setagaya. I went with the Sicilian. I went by cycle, since I can't run so far and didn't get up early enough to walk very early. Actually, I arrived at opening time and was second. I went with the Sicilian, which in this case was (milk?) chocolate with pistachio. This cake actually survived better by bicycle than I should have expected, but the weak point was the macaron on top, which caused the top to to crack and sag. Chocolate and pistachio is actually a difficult combination, but this was working well. It was definitely good, so I was satisfied. However, it means that I have too many shops with 2 good and 2 excellent cakes to make a cut. I've got a lot of fine shops to go through, so I might find a great cake among them, which is what it would take to make the jump to quite fine. I more likely way to add to the quite fine shops would be to find an excellent cake from some new shops. I've still got three more 3-cake fine shops, two that are really far out (so I'm willing to wait on the off chance that they'll visit a department store in central Tokyo) and one that's pausing on their cake, so one clearly quite fine shop might not be enough.    

Le Jardin Bleu, Tarte Chocolat Macadamia

Last Wednesday, for a third day in a row, I could get to a (now opening later) department store to get a cake from the current quite fine shop group. In this case, I wanted to get one of Le Jardin Bleu's cakes via Shinjuku Takashimaya, since the main shop is a long way away. Maybe because it is so far away (or because it was the end of the day, leaving only the least popular), I had only one choice, a fairly solid item that I imagine could be made far ahead. This is Tarte Chocolat Macadamia. The chocolate coating is fairly thick. The inside also has caramel, besides the macadamia nuts. So this is more like a candy bar than any typical cake, which is not a complaint. It was good, but that's probably not going to be enough to keep it in the quite fine group. 

Demel, Arriba

Tuesday, I again took advantage of Isetan being open until 8pm and my not working past that (not true every day this week) and visited Demel for a 4th cake. I got the Arriba, the other option having been a strudle, I think. Since Demel's signature cake is a Sachertorte, it's not surprise that Arriba is a very dense chocolate cake. It was good, with good chocolate, but I guess I don't need a whole piece of this dense of cake, not without some whipped cream or fruit sauce to bring in some variation, but it's unfair to imagine what I might like better, when it did a fine job to being as intended, I'm sure.

Shiseido Parlour, Mont-Blanc

The emergency declaration for the Tokyo region as been rescinded, so Isetan is now open until 8 pm. Searching for a new great cake within this month but still working through the quite fine shops, I hit the Shiseido at Isetan. The 8 pm closing time was new, so it was pretty empty just after 7 pm and already discounts from the non-dessert areas had started. I had two shops to choose from to visit and I went with Shiseido. Actually, I may not have had a choice. At Shiseido, I definitely didn't have a choice because they only had their Mont-Blanc. As it happens, that was pretty lucky, because this was definitely lucky. The special feature of this is that the cream inside (I think) has white chocolate. The result is a mont-blanc that tastes like (not wet) ice cream to me, and not much like chestnut, which actually I'm fine with. There were actually also exercises. Besides walking, I did squats, presses, and curls. The squats were only 5 per set, but I did too many sets, I found out afterward, so I was limited the next couple days. Now I have an incentive to building up those muscles. 

La Précieuse, Montelimar and Waguri Mont-Blanc

Though it doesn't feel so long ago now, last Saturday I got a couple cakes for two from one of the shops on my quite fine group, La Précieuse on the north side of the Yotsuya Station building. I got the take-out, though they have a café space that I've used before. My choice was Montelimar, since I've had good luck with at least one cake of that name, and I like pistachio (hard to see in the picture, but the bottom is pistachio cream) and I think the top is mousse with honey and fruit. It was good. 

The other cake was the Waguri (domestic chestnut) Mont-Blanc. The sign says that you have to wait a couple minutes, because they make them fresh, but I think they didn't take so much time in the backroom. It also was good and had a meringue base, if I'm remembering correctly. So it's definitely a fine shop, but will get cut if I every manage to do a cut (I'm running out of shops to test, so it will probably depend on whether I add any new shops that make it to that level).

Atsushi Hatae, Chocolat Noir

I was busy and then put off blogging, but not eating cake, so I'll update. On Thursday, I set off for Atsushi Hatae for a fourth cake, the target for the quite fine shops. Since the first three were all excellent, it's in no danger of getting bumped, regardless of the result, but I am urgently looking for something great I can put in a cake-off against the new to Tokyo JPH cake. This is the one I passed on last time for a less obvious choice, which means this is the obvious choice for me, as is also pretty clear from the picture: mostly chocolate. I think this is Chocolat Noir (tricky, because Noix would also fit, so I might have to update this later, but I'm not as mobile as I used to be, so I'm not sure when it's going to be convenience to do that). Anyway, thick chocolate, a little layer there at the bottom of pralin, and a good biscuit. Like the other cakes, sophisticated modern French petit gâteau, and excellent. 

Dandelion Chocolate, Mascarpone Chocolate Cake

Ran marginally farther than last run, which was Thursday, which means maybe an extra couple hundred meters, but probably still under 1.5 km. It wasn't as comfortable as I would want. Anyway, I made it to Dandelion Chocolate and got a new cake. They have perfect excellent record so far, which is enough to be quite fine and get a fourth cake. They don't have a huge line-up, so I could hardly double that anyway, but I would like to find a great cake, of course. I went with Mascarpone Chocolate Cake, which I've seen there before but haven't gotten. I was actually a little skeptical, since mascarpone is notoriously tasteless and just used as a medium for other flavors in cakes. I thought just the visible mousse/cream was the cheese, but the chocolate was fairly dense but cuttable, apparently due to cheese, and it definitely tasty cheesy, which is a first for mascarpone cheese cake for me. It was definitely excellent, so Dandelion Chocolate keeps their perfect record. Next I'll try the other shop with a three excellent cake record.

Tadashi Yanagi, Mont-Blanc

Working through the quite fine shop list to get them all up to at least 4 cakes, I picked up a Tadashi Yanagi cake, Mont-Blanc, from the counter at Shinjuku Takashimiya, as they are featured there on Mondays. It was good and had a meringue base, I think, both huge improvements over my previous Mont-Blanc. Unfortunately, that probably isn't enough to keep in it the quite fine category, but we'll see.

I note that I'm also going to want to go back there to get cake from Le Jardin Bleu for the same reason. Yanagi actually isn't that far away, even for Setagaya (they used to have a shop on Aoyama-doori Ave., but that's been closed for a while), whereas Le Jardin Bleu is deep in the western suburbs. Not that far but not as close as Yanagi, I note that Noliette doesn't have their counter there any more, so I should have visited them earlier at Takashimaya.

(Café) Le Pommier, Mont-Blanc

I'm probably not going to catch before the weekend, but last Sunday I hit a couple local shops. Imperfect is a chocolate shop that's gotten out of the cream puff business, so they no longer have anything that qualifies as fresh cake. Next in that neighborhood was (Café) Le Pommier, from which I got a Mont-blanc. I'd probably have a bigger selection if I went to one of the regular shops, but I was only looking for a fourth cake, so this seemed good enough. It's got the meringue-type base but the unusual feature is a chocolate coating. That's not a bad idea, but wasn't really making this special. Still a good cake, but probably not enough to keep this shop in the quite fine category. 

Camélia, Reine

I was free from late afternoon on Sunday, so I half ran half walked to Ginza and visited P. Camélia and got Reine, so a princess cake, perhaps. Anyway, lots of pistachio, including a nicely textured biscuit and a suitable balance of red fruits and a touch of chocolate. No surprise that I found it excellent, which makes four in a row from this shop. Still, haven't found a great cake yet, so it's staying in the quite fine group but I might get back to it sooner than otherwise from getting cake for two, as they'll have a counter at Isetan from April (I assume it's a 6th-month gig).

 

Café Mikuni's, Tarte Tatin

Finally caught up to last weekend, when I was busy, so not as much to say. However, it did involve cake for two, so in some ways there is more. First, at least in photographing, was a Tarte Tatin from Café  Mikuni's, which is on the list of quite fine shops and I only had three cakes from there, so a deliberate choice. We weren't very early getting there, so the selection wasn't very brought and the person ahead of us took the last two of what would have been our first choices, but I'm still looking for a Tart Tatin as good as the one I had at Viron's restaurant, which is probably an unreasonable comparison. This one was definitely good and had a crust with buckwheat, which is unusual but didn't make eating it that strange. Even though this shop probably won't make the cut to stay on this overfull list, it's still a fine shop attached to my favorite fancy French restaurant (Viron being my favorite, but casual). 

Blondir, Chiboust Framboises

Thursday last week, I took the morning off and did some errands, but only after bicycling for cake to Blondir for a fourth cake from this shop on the quite fine list. I've never actually been out there before, at least not since starting to keep track. Other cakes were presumably from a Shinjuku department store. This is actually my first time to use a Nerima-ku tag, so it's been a long time since I've been out that way. The route was complicated trying to follow the Google Maps recommendation, since it's going diagonal relative to the usual roads. Though on an unexpectedly narrow road, it's a really nice looking shop inside and out, had a good spread, and is probably the first place I've been served by an older man (I don't think he was the pâtissier, who's supposed to be only late forties). I went with the Chiboust Framboises, still looking for a great chiboust like I had several years ago when they were more of a thing apparently. This was basically, a raspberry tart with a "chiboust" layer on top. The tart was definitely good, but the eggy topping really doesn't add anything, unfortunately. Looks like Blondir won't make the next cut, but still a fine shop.

Les Années Folles: Sans Farine

Two weekends ago now, I was working through the quite fine shop list to get 4th cakes and visited Les Années Folles for a new cake. They had various nutty ones and I chose Sans Farine. I managed to photograph the card, so I can report confidently that it had caramelized hazelnuts, royaltine "diplomat", which is maybe a kind of paillete feuilletine (crape flakes), vanilla whipped cream, and orange. Under the (uncredited) chocolate shell is layers of cake and whipped cream, though I can't remember the distribution of ingredient's beyond that at this point. It's a little packaged snack-cake like in design, but I like it and can call it excellent. This shop will make the cut.

Amitié, Gateau au Chocolat

Top of the list of quite fine shops to visit for a fourth cake was Amitie up in Tsukijimachi. Most of their selection was tartelettes with different toppings that looked more like something from a bakery, not that what I choose was different in that respect, Gateau au Chocolat. This is fairly dry, but not inappropriately so, café-style cake, which is appropriate, since their were young couples inside eating in, making me think I should have spent more time waiting outside (but I didn't know one other customer was going to tie up all three of the staff). However, it wasn't better than good, so this shop is likely to get cut from the quite fine group and not visited again (but still a fine shop).

Asterisque, Montmorency

Last weekend when I was nearby getting Chocolat Cuit for a cake-off, I stopped also at Asterisque I got a fourth cake from them as I work through the list of quite fine shops alphabetically. The top got messed up, so this was a reconstruction from the best side. The outside is obviously pistachio and this layer is fairly thick and drying than a paste but similar. In the middle is a balanced about of griotte cherry, not withstanding the top decoration. Definitely a sophisticated place and a cake along the lines of what I lick, so it's getting an excellent and they'll make the next cut to stay in this category.

à tes souhaits!, Bijou de bois

Last Thursday, I finished off my caking with my first systematic visit to a reputably quite fine shop to get a fourth cake. Top of the list was A Tes Souhaits, which is way out in Msushina-shi, so I went by bicycle, since that's too far to run and walk in a reasonable time and anyway I was starting around 13:30 and had had a runny nose all morning. I over dressed, even after taking off one layer on the road, but better a little hot than sorry. I went with the Bijou de Bois, which is mousse "praliné" (actually pralin, I think) pistachio and apricot gelatin, according to the card, though the dual color makes me suspect there was another fruit in their, since it didn't make me think of apricot when I was eating it. It was definitely good, but not enough so probably to stay in the quite fine group and keep me making the long trip out there. Still need to find 8 better shops to cut the bottom third out of the quite fine group in this round (I could cut the bottom fourth last round with this group, that left it still bloated). Of course, I really hope to find a great cake to identify a challenger to the exceptional shops to keep the competition going.

 

Megan, Tres Leches

Tuesday, I went to Isetan before running and got the Tres Leches, which I had seen over the weekend. I was looking then because I was not sure they had any fresh cake (versus carrot cake or slices of pound cake), but they had this, so this was my aim. On Monday, which was a holiday, so presumable they had sold more by as late as I was there, they hadn't had it, I think, but they also had their strawberry (short)cake, which I've had before. 

As the name says, this is a pretty milky cake, which worried me a little bit, but it was good. However, half would have been enough, because there really isn't enough going on there that I need a full piece.

With two excellent and two good cakes, there's a good chance they'll get cut from the quite fine group, as that's the bottom now and if I can find 8 more shops with a third (of four) excellent cake, then I'll drop the bottom. It remains to be seen. There are 20 shops I haven't tried again, assuming none of them have gone out of business, and I've got three shops with one excellent cake down in the fine group that could move up with a second one, which I'll prioritize getting to once I finish reviewing exceptional and quite fine ones. 

I'll mention that the running was more brutal on my left knee than the previous day. Squats seem to help the most, I'm discovering, but it's continued through Thursday, when I did a shorter run with more frequent stops for squats. Friday, I'll take a rest so I can try to make it to Jiyuugaoka again sourcing for the first fifth-round cake-off.

Presqu'île Chocolaterie, Ruby

I took advantage of Presqu'île Chocolaterie being at Isetan to pick up a 4th cake from them, which is my goal for the 48 shops in my quite fine category. Ruby chocolate is still rare, and it can be great, so I went with their Ruby, though it's closest relative is probably Mure, which was my least favorite of theirs at the time. Nevertheless, it turned out well, as this was excellent, which means it will make the next cut (32 shops is the target number for this category, but just 3 cakes wasn't enough to make that fine a division). Besides being ruby chocolate with the traditional raspberry addition, the center is lychee liquor marinated grapefruit in lychee cream. It works. These days, I'm working late and doing more indoor exercises, though I still got in some running (not that I can remember now whether it was a 30-min or 45-min day).

  

Pomology, Pomology Shine Muscat & Tarte Tatin

Sunday, got cake for two from Pomology, a fine shop, at Isetan. Obviously fruit is their thing, which is not my thing particularly, so I won't be returning there just for myself (especially at those prices), but didn't mind an excuse to give them another chance (can't immediately find the post on the first two cakes, which were also for two, so maybe I never posted, though it was this year). From the choices given, I went with Tarte Tatin, because tatin can be very nice sometimes. In this case, I thought it was excellent, finally raising this shop above average, though the fruits were always obviously above average.

The other cake selected was Pomology Shine Muscat. Though I'm all about the cake, not the fruit, these high-quality fancy grapes made this a definitely good cake.