Cake-off: Jean-Paul Hévin's La Figue over Libertable's Charm

First, let me mention Friday night's run, which was another long run that brought me to the most north and most east parts that I've done yet on any kind of neighborhood course run, reaching to Nakano Ward, not so far away from a neighborhood I spent part of one summer. This time it took about 80 minutes to reach the new loop on the neighborhood course and another 50+ minutes to run the 8 km loop. That was the Hatagaya--Honmachi--Minami-Dai--Nishi-Shinjuku loop. It was a new loop, and I was in a hurry to run it before I really knew the course or the neighborhood. I almost immediately found a flaw and had to improvise and missed on of the known parks. Also, I ran most of it with Google Map displayed, which isn't really how I want to be doing these, so I've rethought how I want to continue. Besides wanting to actually learn individual loops in the course before moving on to others, I want to do in full the pedestrian/green ways, which this course and the actually the course leading to it both have. Any I've found another public park that should be on the map, so I've added that, split the loop leading to it into two loops, and also had to slip off a couple slivers into mini-terminal loop leaves to pick up landmarks that otherwise would require even longer convolutions (I won't combine two loops if that increases the total running length).

For fuel, I had hoped to get something from a bakery cafe in Harajuku, but it had transformed into something else in the last couple days. It's really hard to keep up with Harajuku. Everything after that was long closed (the new loop and one below it are pretty heavily residential), even leaving home before seven in the evening, but I walked home and passed by Shinjuku Station, so I picked up a Sheraton Chocolat from Hakuo for 20% off. It's sort of like a pain au chocolat, with layers, but very thick layers and not very baked (or they absorbed back a lot of moisture by that time of night) and the filling was milk chocolate cream rather than just chocolate (so it was refrigerated). It was just ok as a pastry but appreciated as energy, though I didn't eat it until I reached home (no cake for Friday).

New Number Sugar

Saturday, I got a late start on running to Akasaka and then Tokyo Midtown to get cakes for a cake-off: first Charm from Libertable and then La Figue from Jean-Paul Hévin. Then  I went back out and scouted what I thought was going to be the next level 12 loop (it still is, but running it is no long my next priority). I got a sample from Candy Show Time (the one on Cat Street) and decided that even though I've added chocolate shops to my map, I didn't need hard candy shops. It's just sugar in a different shape, and it's unclear what advantage handmade has. I expect a machine could do a good job, though maybe it wouldn't be as pretty. Not sure yet whether Number Sugar, which has a shop just off Cat Street nearby, will stay on the map. They just opened (or are preparing to open: they were taking opening pictures when I went past, though I didn't see any customers) a big shop much closer on the southeast end of Sendagaya, which isn't really a tourist or shopping area, so I'm not sure what the idea is. Are they going to do cooking lessons there, and need the space?

Saturday was a second-round cake-off between first-round losers, but I'm happy with both as great. They both take fairly standard flavor and add something unusual to give a distinct accent. It was difficult to choose in the end, but the mont-blanc (Charm) is a really sweet cake that one could start getting tired of toward the end (at least when eating it along with another piece of cake, but only one small cup of tea), whereas I could have kept eating La Figue. Sorry Libertable guy (who I just noticed on an NHK special as I was setting up whatever recording I was actually going to watch during lunch today).

Cake-off: Bien-être's Framboisier over Jean-Paul Hévin's La Figue

On Monday, a national holiday, I had a first-round cake-off for the seasonal (I assume) La Figue by Jean-Paul Hévin. I pitted it against a standard from Bien-être, their Framboisier. These both held up as great cakes and I really enjoyed them (it's good to live in Tokyo and know where the great cake is). I'm giving this round to Framboisier because there are a lot of chocolate cakes that I like a lot (and even a lot of cakes from JPH similar to La Figue, in different seasons), but it is the only great cake I know that gets by on just raspberry as the main flavor (the closest is Perfum, which is raspberry and rose), though white chocolate is usually a good assist.

I ran for the cakes (one at a time and one-way, taking the train back from Bien-être, though that requires at least one train change and either a few extra stations or extra fee to change lines) and afterward went for a long ride checking shops for great cakes that have yet to have a first round (the only missing ones for second-round are ones I visit regularly anyway and Cuba from Les Cacao). First though, I revisited Bien-être to correct a mis-order (I'm resorting to reserving cake, so I hope it doesn't rain hard again Wednesday) and get my loyalty card stamped. Next I hit Bubó Barcelona to try their Croissant, which was definitely good as a fluffy buttery pastry, though you can always add butter to hot bread and get similar results, perhaps, so I'm not as interested in it as their more decadent creations. Could check two shops (the third was closed, as it always is on Monday) for great cakes without finding them, but had a few-hour ride around the city.

Jean-Paul Hévin: La Figue

Took two months this time, but the JPH line-up has changed, bringing back a few old favorites (like the one in yesterday's cake-off) and one new cake: La Figue. I was willing to take a couple tries, since my aim is only three pieces of cake for weekdays, so I wasn't devastated that La Figue (and maybe all the cakes new to the line-up) were sold out at Isetan. I did however change my plan to do a neighborhood run and instead tried Ginza Mitsukoshi, where I also had a back-up in F. Cassel. But I didn't need it: they were not sold out (not as busy a place as Isetan, so I was not surprised). Hope they still have the F. Cassel cakes tomorrow when I go, but I can try again Wednesday and Friday (long shot) if not. Ran both ways with no stops except to walk underground from the Ginza scramble intersection to Mitsukoshi. Coming back, I checked in at Origines Cacao (still none of the old great cakes, nor were there any at Dalloyau, neither surprising) and then surfaced and ran back.

La Figue is a very Jean-Paul Hévin cake: crunch on the bottom, thin layers of fig, main layer of chocolate mousse and a layer of solid chocolate on top. It was dependably great, getting the right balance of fig and chocolate for me (I don't need a lot of fruit).