Michalak, Religieuse

Monday, I was obsessed with the recently revised, than re-revised, then revised again Daikanyama-chou--Ebisunishi--Hachiyama-chou--Nanpeidai-chou--Sakuragaoka-chou--Sarugaku-chou--Shibuya--Uguisudani-chou loop. I'm still a little fuzzy on navigating the stairs at Daikanyama Stn./Dixsept shopping center, but I don't have to be so strict there. However, I noticed "it Coffee" off my course and shifted the course to add it, so Sunday's success was nullified, and I turned too soon after the new chocolate shop, so I failed Monday near the end. I was, however able to do the updated/corrected Shibuya central loop clockwise, so there was progress, and the run was really refreshing until the 10 km mark, when suddenly my hip was tired (this loop might have the most stairs, especially now, at least until I get to the part I split off from the main Akasaka loop).

Cake came on Tuesday, which is also the first day of the month, a good day to go to Isetan. I had the afternoon off, so I sent to Isetan and got two things. JPH's new cake in the lineup is an excellent one I've had before, so I didn't need get cake from them, but Michalak had their Religieuse, which I haven't had and I was two cakes behind on them. Unfortunately, they removed the almost identical Paris-Brest, which I hadn't done a third-round cake-off with yet, but I can wait a year. The other thing I got was a fresh viennoiserie (avoiding the vaguer term "pastry") from Andersen, the Choco Stripe. I had the latter first, before going out for exercise. It was good, but the concept sounds better than the practice, I think, because having the chocolate layered in loses crispness.

The exercise was once again practicing the Daita--Daizawa--Hatagaya--Kamiyama-chou--Kitazawa--Motoyoyogi-chou--Nishihara--Ooyama-chou--Shouto--Tomigaya--Uehara loop. I could go about an hour before I didn't have it memorized correctly. I added a shop with Australian sweets to the loop near Shim-Kitazawa station and shifted the course after that so I go by the Kitazawa Koushindou (a kind of traditional road-side shrine). Near the end, coming south from the northern most point near Hatagaya, I added a site marked Myōdōkai Kyōdan on a plaque, which is a Buddhist society, although the building just looks like a really nice residence. Still, I like this route more than staying on the main road, so I'll keep the change, and keep practicing until the route stabilizes and I learn it.

The Religieuse (which French and English authorities agree is a pastry but is cake for my purposes) really tasted very similar to Paris-Brest, but I prefer the latter. Still, excellent, so I don't begrudge them the variation, other than they timed it to coincide with JPH's introduction of Religieuse, which was announced a month ago. I should say that, though they told me hazelnuts, the recipe they showed me indicated, besides mostly caramel cream, pate almond. The top is whipped cream and a little fudge square.

Au Bon Vieux Temps: Mont-Blanc

As usual, I'm behind on most things, such as answering mail and messages. Sunday, I went cycling for about 3 hours. As reward for winning a cake-off, I got a new cake from Au Bon Vieux Temps, Mont-Blanc, not that it's likely new to them. Unfortunately, for the cake, it had a long trip by bicycle after that, so it was plastered up against the side of the box by the time I got to it. I scraped it off as best I could, but imagine it symmetric to begin with, but still small. It was a pretty basic Mont-Blanc, being a cream surrounded by a relatively thin layer of mind chestnut paste on a forgettable meringue base. It was basically good but pretty far from what I want in cake. I more positive news, The cake I want for the next 1st-round cake-off was still available, at least as of last Sunday, so I'm going to go for Afternoon.

Monday, I tried to get the new cake appearing today at Jean-Paul Hévin but I was pretty late, so it seemed to be sold out (lots of other cakes still there after 7, though. I'll try again tomorrow. Instead, I got a Croissant from Andersen. I've had their Croissant before and knew to expect something good but not great. What I really wanted to do was see whether heating it up in the oven a little would be okay, since, in this weather, I've had experiences with pasties that I regretted eating cold. 2.5 min at 100 degC seemed fine. The outside flake wasn't very stable to begin with (it perhaps did not have the most gentle return home, since I had other shopping to do and my normal bag to carry) but wasn't harmed by the over. The running Monday was just over 65 minutes down to the Kirakawachou-Kioichou Loop, where I turned too early going north, and then back along the Akasaka North Loop, where I missed one turn. However, I discovered a crosswalk that I had not noticed before connecting to the Akasaka West Loop and making it possible to have one big loop from Akasaka down through the north edge of Roppongi rather than long links that I have to return by. The 60-kilometer run is going to wait until I can sort it out.

[Th] Pierre Hermé: Mont-blanc Hommage

I'm way behind. I was busy preparing for a busy weekend, and then I got a new phone that I am still setting up and learning to use, like how to get it to stop blinking and sending me endless messages that I (probably) don't need, in Japanese.

But back on Thursday, it was time to visit Pierre Hermé at Shinjuku Isetan and run around the neighborhood course again, which of course, I've send completely revamped to combine all directly (no stop lights) connected paths between temples, shrines, churches, at least semi-public parks (ones that I can enter for free at most times that I would want to), and cake shops (that I've acknowledged). Again, my plan is to label all these at least minimally and add photos where Google Maps lets me (I haven't found it consistent about that). This day, I went about 11 km, I think, but anyway definitely 77 minutes.

The cake was definitely good, but fell in the category of mont-blanc that I'm not into: really dense chestnut paste (with pear, of course, that being the combination for the monthly ones). There are more in this series, but I think I'll got for the pumpkin tart first, which will at least be different.

Friday, I didn't have time to run, but I did have time to get a Cinnamon Danish from Andersen, and this I found excellent. It really is pastry rather than simple a roll.

Paris S'éveille: Éclair d'Été

Did a run down to Paris S'éveille in Jiyugaoka, to complete my sweep of the three Superb-level patisserie. It was really not (I learned that, technically, Paris S'éveille should open at 5 a.m., but maybe they can argue that's when they start baking). I started off at 10 km/h for at least the first 4 km, which was fast for the heat and not having warmed up much (I got up late, and intended to stretch when I was stopped waiting to cross a street, which I did), and then slowed down but still ended up on the 10 km/h side of the actual ~9.5 km/h. It was ~11 km long and I took the train back, not only for the cake but because I was scheduled to picked up my new bicycle (which I should take a picture of and post, before it gets stolen) at noon, not that they probably cared when I was going to actually show up.

I only had one choice for a new cake, Éclair d'Été, though I suppose I could have gotten the new version of Everest (it's oval instead of circular, but maybe that's the only different). As usual after running, and because I would not remember anyway, I didn't read the card, so I'm not actually sure what is in it, but obviously it's an éclair and it's got chocolate as the main component (and whipped cream), and some sort of fruit in the middle, so the question is, what is the fruit: I can't even tell from the dried fruit bits on top, so it maybe be something exotic, but my best guess of the moment is grapefruit. It was mild and tropical but too tart to be orange although not really all the way over to lemon or yuzu. Maybe pineapple is equally likely; it does not have the usual pineapple taste, but then I did not recognize the distinctive grapefruit taste, either. In any case, it fits with this cake and this is definitely excellent, so I'm pleased.

I went over to Isetan to see whether they had the same new cakes at Sadaharu Aoki as at Tokyo Midtown, which they did, and I got greedy and bought some bread at Andersen. The new thing is the Denmark Roll, which is sort of halfway between a usual roll and a cookie, in terms of texture and shape. It as icing, so of course it is good, and it was pretty cheap, maybe 120 yen.

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Henri Charpentier: Sachertorte

Well, I avoided them for two years, but illness and cake lust drove me to finally go to Henri Charpentier, which was most convenient at Isetan. My avoidance was because they generally have soft boring cakes, which I bypassed this time by taking the Sachertorte (540 yen), which is a relative heavy cake, even there. And the balance with the apricot and sweetness (the chocolate probably matters, but is relatively weak, which is what I would expect) means it was unexpectedly excellent, so I can't dismiss them as uninteresting, though I've never thought they were incompetent, so it's not a shock. On my personal list, they now come on the newly arranged "Quite good" list, which is the bottom few dozen of the top several dozen Tokyo cake shops, most of which I've only sampled from a two or three times. Only one cake means I should get back there and try something else sometime relatively soon.

I haven't had any other fresh cake lately, but I got some Mohave Raisin and Walnut Brod from Andersen, which was excellent toasted and buttered (so it's not really fair to compare it to untoasted and buttered bread), and Cinnamon from Hediard, which is very heavy on the walnuts and good, but not better than my modest expectations, both again via Isetan, which is about as far as I'm up for currently.

Del'Immo: Remy Martin

Ran to Midtown to check whether Toshi Yoroizuka has Annya this early, but though the service person agreed that it was a great cake, they get the rhubarb from Hokkaido, so maybe it will come back in the summer. Next try will be one from Dalloyau, which I plan to visit tomorrow.

Next I went to Del'Immo in Akasaka, since I haven't been there in a while. Got the Remy Martin (レミーマルチン; 580 yen) , which is named for a kind of brandy. It also has tonka beans in it. Not sure what disagreed with me, but though I didn't mind eating it at the time, despite obviously not being my thing, since it was interesting, and I was initially willing to consider it "excellent", the aftertaste bothered me, so I'm afraid "good" is the best I can do. Still an "excellent" shop, but I replaced it by Origines Cacao for the new Top 15 "quite excellent" group, which I have visited enough for now.

The run was about 9 km and I wasn't pushing too hard, just 11 km/h for the first part, 9 km/h through Akasaka, and 10 km/h coming back with cake. Felt pretty good.

I'll also note that Andersen at Isetan had "Fondant Chocolat" for 320 yen yesterday (I was there because Le Petit Mec had no baggets), which seems in no way to be "fondant", but just a pretty thoroughly baked sweet, but it was excellent (sort of a like a lower fat higher sugar brownie).

Au Bon Vieux Temps: Chocolat Fondant

Had a long run today down to Au Bon Vieux Temps again, last time being Dec. 18. As predicted, I was faster, just at the bottom of 12 km/h going out (12+ km). I walked to the park this time, so that cut out 650 m of running, but then ran 11 km/h to the Jiyugaoka Station Couca and then home at 10 km/h, again maybe both just barely within +/-0.5 km/h. So I haven't increased my distance, but I definitely increased my speed, by too much. I need to work on my consistency, which is where long training runs would be helpful, if I had time. I would have overrun my running budget but this makes the weighted amount of 12+ km/h running more than half, so I normalized 12 km/h. Still, I don't have much left for tomorrow and the day after that, so I might have to wait until Wednesday for more running and cake. In the meantime, I decided that I wanted to go by bicycle to the Mitsukoshi Cuoca rather than try to jog with 2 km of sugar and chocolate (which might not be great for the chocolate, against my back).

On the way, I stopped for energy at the Minamiaoyama Anderson and got Pain au Chocolat (パンオショコラ, 280 yen) again. It was softer inside than Maison Kayser's, which I don't think I prefer, but it was fresh baked and definitely good (as well as a little cheaper).

At Au Bon Vieux Temps, I reviewed the cakes and found that the one I thought I was going to get included coffee, so I went for Chocolat Fondant (チョコラフォンダン), though why it's called that, I'm not sure, since it was basically a block of raw chocolate. It is soft, so I suppose you could make it melt easily; maybe I should have taken it home and microwaved it a little. I know you can buy pieces of chocolate like this, but I'm not sure what that's usually called besides just chocolate. Anyway, this in no way resembles Fondant au Chocolate (which was obvious when I got it). It was still definitely good, but I'm not that interested in this type of chocolate. This bumps off this shop out my 2nd-tier "Superb" category, which comes as no surprise. At some point when I find another excellent shop, I'll split the excellent ones into top and bottom groups so it can stand out again as at least being at least among the top 20 Tokyo patisseries.


On the way back, I stopped in the Dean & Deluca Bakery under the tracks next to Himonya Park (which finally reopened recently). I got the seasonal Croissant Chocolat (クロワッサンショコラ, 224 yen), which is not that much different from Pain au Chocolat. It was cheaper, but only because everything was discounted for some reason (not because it was late in the day), which maybe they always are at that place. It was too much food, though, and only 30 min running after the cake, so I felt more full than I liked. Maybe I should have waited for Perch (coffee stand just above Nakamekuro on old Yamanote Road), but I was okay and that was probably not why I was much slower than going out.

Thursday: Andersen Walnut Scone

Didn't run, nor will I be running for another couple weeks, but went to Andersen Isetan and this time I got actual bread: a Walnut Scone for 248 yen. Besides walnut, it seemed to have maple in it, but in any case, it was excellent.

I also tried cooking. I've got some new ingredients around the house, specifically, at lot of almond powder and also powdered egg whites, so I looked in the Super Patissier Book and found something that I could sort of do: I have the ingredients for the cake part (but not the filling, which is way too complicated, as they often are), which is macaron-like, and thus starts out like meringue, which I've failed with over and over again. This time, it looked reasonable, although still, merginue is a mystery to me, since there are hints not to over-whipping it or you'll break the proteins and they do it in just a couple minutes on yuutube, and elsewhere I've read and been told that it takes a long time (one recipe recommends 9 minutes for the degree of stiffness required), so I'd like to see whether I can get it a little stiffer. Just case, I also prepared ingredients for financier, in case I found myself with just a bowl of egg whites and sugar, but those went back in the refrigerator. I don't have the baking supplies for the recipe though, though, so the bottom was still a mess, but that didn't stop me from eating it. One project for the weekend is to buy a Silpat and that thing you squeeze pastry out of with 1 cm diameter nozzle.

Run to Jiyuugaoka, Origines Cacao: Quiza

Ran to Origines Cacao in light rain. This time I got the Quiza for 545 yen, which is a chocolate cake. Maybe the description would tell me more about the construction, but there was a no-photographs sign and I can't remember anything special. The cafe space was closed (didn't go read to sign as to why), but I could eat outside under cover, although it was cold, as I was still in my summer stuff (although next week is supposed to be somewhat warm, possible almost getting up to a summer temperature).

My impression of this cake, like several other chocolate cakes, was that it was a little watery. There were chocolate cream (?) layers between cake and glazing all around (even the bottom was a solid chocolate), so I don't know what that means. I assume that it implies low butter content, but I'm not sure. Anyway, if this was not a shop I've had great cake from, I'd figure it was bad and plan to never go there again, so you and I should keep this in mind when interpreting bad (marked yellow) shops marked on the map.

Rather than try again to get great cake today somewhere else, I scaled down to get some good bread at a great bakery, in this case Andersen at Isetan. Actually, the first item is cake, Denmark Cream Cheese Cake for 216 yen, which was nice. Much more flour than my cheese cake, but then it had a nice tang that mine lacks.

The other was Trekornbrod (sp?) (three grain bread) for 356 yen for a half loaf, which is full of sesame seeds, which I hope to extend to tomorrow, or at least one more meal. This is my favorite non-sweet bread from there. Good with various spreads, toasted or not. Along with my regular breakfast and a big double salad, these baked goods helped me recover from the bad cake. I hope to have better cake luck tomorrow, when the rain is supposed to be less and dissipate in the afternoon, but otherwise I need to get over to Pierre Hermé Paris again.

No running

Since yesterday was my long run day and today it hit 35 degrees in Tokyo, no running, although I did some weight training indoors. I might regret it tomorrow, because rain is forecast. I went to Isetan for cake and checked out the Sucreries Nerd counter, but did not get too excited and ended up with just bread from Andersen, including this,

a ricotta cheese lemon pie, which was okay but not as great as I hoped. Next time I'll try the cinnamon bun. I still have a card from Sucreries Nerd, so maybe I'll go by when I run out of other places, since being at Isetan is recommendation enough.

Of course, I still had half a homemade chocolate-topped cheese tart. This time in adding the chocolate, I mixed in a tablespoon of yogurt to break up the crystal so I could cut through it rather than just break it into loose pieces, which worked. Today I added raspberry jam, which also worked. I asked at Jean-Paul Hevin about their sauces the other day, but they are about 3000 yen for 200 g and you ideally should finish the jar within two weeks of  opening it. I decided that 3000 yen was too much for me, so I'd stick to cheaper toppings, at least until I have company.

Rest Sunday: Seijo Alpes and Andersen

I also got bread bread, but this sweet, Chocobar (チョコバー), was 360 for the box of three, so I could not resist. Energy- and flavor-wise, it might count as three cakes, even if it is less than one cake in terms of price. Very delicious, maybe great pastry. Andersen at Isetan is maybe my favorite bakery. 

The iPod is crippled, so I dug out a ten-year old digital camera which I hope to use from now on. The bread photo was fine, but I had to take a dozen pictures and fiddle with various settings (with unfamiliar icons or Japanese) before I could get an in-focus picture of cake (I don't know what the auto-focus thought I wanted a picture of before I got it right).

After loading up on pastry energy from the bakery, I went out scouting my normal weekday running route to see where the up and down slopes are within the Yotsu neighbor west of Akasaka Palace, which is usually the first place I go to from the National Stadium. I don't have time to jog longer, so I would like to introduce more slopes (but I don't want to do laps). There was running, because time is limited, and even running with heavy groceries. Amazingly, I managed to not break anything, despite having two bottles.

After the groceryrunning (shower, laundry, and eating a vegetable), I ate the cake that I had bought at Isetan. I know I've seen Seijo Alpes before, presumably at Isetan, but I don't seem to have any records. Maybe I hated everything I tried and/or it was before I started collecting the cards. This is Brenda (?: ブレンダ), which was 460 yen. It's caramel, which is always difficult, as there is variation in the taste of caramel. This was the same caramel taste as in standard Japanese pudding, which I hate. Maybe it's not sweet enough, and that's why it has a smoky taste that makes me think of coffee (which I don't drink and actually has a definitely much worse taste that lingers on and on). Anyway, this failed for me but I won't hold that against them. I had the chocobar earlier, so I don't need to go out and get anything else. Still, I'm not sure whether I'll try to hit them at Isetan again or save them for a Saturday run, when I'm ready buy cakes from multiple shops anyway, so I can be prepared with great cake from somewhere else. Speaking of which, I need to prepare my next Saturday map (and pizza dough for tonight). Trying a place that was convenient to my normal haunts this weekend did not work out so well, but I want to try Quatre anyway. Then I've still got to get to Bigarreaux and maybe Jun Ujita, which I stopped by once and got something simple and confirmed that they are okay. After that, there are some remote ones that are coming into my running range that I might visit. I figure, as long as I start in Tokyo, it counts it's suitable for this blog (and these are places that have visited Isetan).