Tried a new shop as my second/last weekday cake. This was a spontaneous decision, though I had noticed the shop before, but the next neighbor running course shops was planned to be Citron, on the Minami-Aoyama loop in the Gaien clump, both of which I'm up to date on. But I was doing the Minami-Aoyama--Nishi-Azabu on the other side of the main north-south road and noticed that the hotel lounge/cafe had cake, so I went in there, and sure enough they have a few types and if was available for take-out (at least during corona times). This is Albida Lounge, for the record. I went with the Chocolat Fondant, which came with whipped cream, though I didn't take good care of it. The cake isn't cheap but pretty large as fondant go and quite a fine texture, so I think it's reasonable to call it excellent. That's not enough to take me back immediately, but its enough for it to keep its place in the fine shops long enough to get a second try when I get around to getting second cakes from similar shops.
As a result, I had to revised the loop. Actually, this shop is on an outside corner with sites on the two interior sides, so I had to make the block its own loop, but the clump stays together. I didn't feel a need to re-practice the whole think, just this slit loop.
Actually, I had one more weekday thing, but it counts of a pastry. Friday at lunch time, I got an Apple Pie from Yatsudoki in Shinjuku 1, on the grounds that it looks like a Chauson aux Pommes. It really is more of an apple pie. On the plus side, the inside is well cooked. On the minus side, though it might because I heated it up (3 minutes at 120 degC), but it seemed overly greasy. It was good, but it doesn't give me an incentive to explore there further.
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My last cake, bought and eaten, of the weekend was a new cake from a reopened shop on the exceptional list, Ladurée. Usually I would buy from Ginza Mitsukoshi, which was still closed, so this is from the Aoyama shop, which also has indoor and outdoor eat-in space, which was in use, though I got take-out. This was the only new cake, as they were keeping their line-up lean for the first weekend reopening in a neighborhood that's still mostly closed. It is the Saint-Honoré Rose Framboise. I like saint-honoré, but I've had one from them before, and the pastry is different from what I'm used to. For example, the large bottom is flaky, which seems impossible, though I haven't experimented with choux pastry that much. Anyway, the rose and raspberry flavors were sufficient rich, that I forgave them this time and allowed that maybe this pastry could be allowed, at least enough to call this an excellent cake.
I had after an evening running where I got maybe 60% through my 13 km neighborhood running course around Daikanyama. I was coming up to a turn and noticing a red brick tower in the distance ahead and had trouble thinking what building by the station it might beyond to. Then I noticed a cross on top and realized that I had missed a church on a side street. It's a nice building, too, though there a couple bigger ones in this neighbor (which has more churches than any other I know in Japan), so I was happy to find it, and quite my run, went back to my bicycle, and got some photos I was missing for Shibuya sites.
No running Saturday, but about fine hours of shopping afterward, which is more than my feet are up for. Before that, I finally over for some cake from Yoku Moku (via the Blue Brink Lounge) on the Minami-Aoyama 3 & 4 loop of the neighborhood running course.
