Cake-off: Au Bon Vieux Temps' Chocolat Framboise over Bigarreaux' Le Plaisir

Friday, before a 60+ minute run trying the new Roppongi-Akasaka Loop and Akasaka East Link (yes, I've renamed all my routes again to focus on the neighborhood names on this neighborhood running course map), which I did not do perfectly but good enough that I'm ready enough for a 60 km run, when it fits in my schedule (I'm thinking in two weeks). As desert, as "pastry", I got a Gâteau Basque from Maison d'Ahni, who are visiting Isetan now. This was definitely good to the point that I would probably call it excellent if I were more into this type of baked good, which is a sweet biscuit with jam inside priced like cake.

Saturday, as indicated by the title, I tried a cake-off run, which was foolish given that I could not start until almost noon. I followed the lights and ended up at Shibuya Stn., where crossed via the 1st floor of Hikarie, which is much more reasonable that the pedestrian walks outside, in terms of crowds. The lights kept me going west rather than south so it turned out to be faster to go to Bigarreaux for Le Plaisir (where I bought the last one) before Au Bon Vieux Temps for the 1st in the list for 2nd round cake-offs, Tentation Chocolat, which was sold out. Fortunately, I have a smartphone now so I could look up this blog and see that I could use Chocolate Framboise as a backup (though that was pretty far down on list, which is only based on the order I originally blogged this cake). The total run was 14+ km and then I walked two stations to see what the Jiyuugaoka shops had for future cake-offs.

Though both these cakes were losers in the first round, I reported them as still great. Starting on them, though they were definitely good, it was not immediately obvious that they were great, so I had to adjust my strategy with the first half of each cake of alternating between small bites of each to larger bites continuously of each, which worked for recognizing their greatness. Le Plaisir is a little subtle, having lots of cream, so you need enough to get a good experience of the flavor. I'm going to go with the Framboise Chocolat, though, which is ironic in the usual way of contradicting what I just wrote earlier in the week about having a brownie bottom is a bad idea (though this has a couple thinner layers, unlike a brownie, which makes a difference).

Even though I still have to get to Tentation Chocolat as a priority, my next 2nd-round cake off will be between two former winners, which is more interesting. However, I've got a couple recent new great cakes that I'd like to do a first-round with, so I'll see whether I can manage that, even though I'm not going to be able to start any earlier than this week. On the plus side, both target shops open later and are closer, and one has multiple branches, so I can try a different location if I fail at the first.

Cake-off: Jean-Paul Hévin's Feuilletine Praliné over Bigarreaux's Le Plaisir

As planned, I took advantage of Bigarreaux's simultaneous reintroduction of their Le Plaisir and their visit at Isetan to do a midweek cake-off. I took a chance, in that I didn't confirm that Bigarreaux even had their Le Plaisir at Isetan or that it was not sold out before buying the  Feuilletine Praliné at Jean-Paul Hévin because I saw that there was only one of the latter left. Fortunately, it worked out fine (Bigarreaux's was not mobbed on a Thursday; Friday would be harder day, but I would have asked to reserve me a cake for tomorrow if either had been sold out and I hope that it would have been possible, though I've never tried it).

The run was to try my neighborhood run around Omotesando Hills. I had included some more little parks, including one I've now just labeled as No-name Shibuya-ku Park, since it is maintained by that park system but does not seem to merit a name (which is understandable). Also, I expanded my runs farther into the interial, which I'm less thrilled with. Narrow dark streets are not so fun (it was nice to reach the temple and graveyard, as that is a lot less creepy than in interial road going by a dark educational institute---at least that as much as the sign told me) and streets with fast moving taxis are also no fun, so I'm bumping my made back to the main street and shrinking a new loop back to just running around the block. It was 8+ km at about 9 km/h.


Cake-off: these were both definitely great cakes, so I'm completely satisfied with no cake tomorrow and heading out to explore a new place Saturday morning. Both are chocolate, but the Le Plaisir has caramel and orange, whereas Feuilletine Praliné has, obviously praliné, as well as meringue. The Le Plaisir would probably win against an average great cake, if there is such a think, but the Feuilletine Praliné is so great and so much of what I like that it is not hard to select it as the winner. I high recommend getting either both before they stop being available.

I'll probably wait at least a week before the next cake-off, but I can justify the high frequency back a backlog of JPH cakes and hope that more ones will appear in December (though I'm not sure what will be left to match them against unless I find some more great cakes soon: November hasn't been very productive in that way. 

Saturday (1st shop) 30 km to Patisserie Bigarreaux: Le plaisir, Citron, and Pithivier

Well, since I had put together almost 26 km in two runs last time, I had planned to run 28 km, but I have to add 1 km for not looking at the original map and 1 km because I missed a turn (I updated the map), so I suppose I should plan 32 km for next time and see whether I can stay on course.

I ate in the store, Patisserie Bigarreaux on Sazae-san (longest running television animated series) Street, so given how tired I was, as soon as they put them in front of me I dug in (but in small bites, dissecting). However, since I was still in the store, I could take pictures afterwards.

First is Le plaisir, which, as you can see from the card is 540 yen and has hazelnuts and orange and some caramel-type flavor mousse chocolat. It is just the kind of mousse, cream, and crunchy base that I like. I'll say great cake, knowing that this evaluation might have more to do with the kind of cake I like than whether it was actual well made, but that's just the way it has to be.

The citron (lemon) for 480 yen is a lighter sweeter cake with actual somewhat spongy cake and lemon icing/cream. Again, great cake. 

The Pithivier for 340 yen, which is an almond cream filled mini-pie/tart, did not work following the sweet lemon. It did not taste bad, just a little bitter, so I did not appreciate it. I assume that it's actually fine, normally.