Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett, Tarte Banana

Wednesday, I had to work late, but did a run down past Tokyo Midtown from 8 pm trying to get Sadaharu Aoki's Matcha Croissant, unsuccessfully. I did a counterclockwise run to confirm the Roppongi 7 east loop neighborhood course loop, which completes the National Art Center clump of loops. There was rain, but not heavy enough that everyone carrying an umbrella opened them.

I also tried to do the Nishi-Azabu--Minami-Azabu loop and I might have been successful if I followed my intuition, but doubted and checked my map early on. Anyway, I know I'll be able to get it next time, maybe Friday. On the way, I stopped at Café 3206 and got something like Croissant d'Almonde Custard. Not that there was much almond or custard, but the latter doesn't belong inside a croissant. It was good at least, but I don't need to return there soon. The run was about 80 minutes.

Thursday, I also had to work late but could run sooner. This time I went the opposite direction go to Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs to visit the Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett café. I arrived by 8 pm, but didn't need to. The eat-in places seem to stay open until 9 pm. This time I got the Tarte Banana. This is pretty thick and heavy, I assume with walnuts, because it reminded me of coffee cake (though that could mean just cinnamon). I should ask next time and update my label. Anyway, it got the balance right, not too moist or dry. I can easily say that it's best banana tart I've ever had, since I usually avoid banana in the my cakes. I might be being generous, but I'll say that it was excellent. Unfortunately, I forget to take a picture.

This shop is currently at the top of the excellent group and higher than some quite excellent shops, but with the advantage that I haven't had to dig as need into the line-up. I'm down to a seasonal Mont-Blanc (not available to me today) and a regular Tiramisu (which was, but banana seemed the lesser or two evils compared to coffee). For running, I finished confirming the new version of the Shibuya east loop. The next one in order is over by Yoyogi, so not so convenient.

Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett: Chocolat Framboise

Ran down to Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs to visit the Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett café again. I promoted this shop to excellent already, but it's also challenging some quite excellent shops by giving nothing but excellent cakes. Nothing I need again, but still there is potential to find a great cake there. Today I had a few choices but went with the Chocolat Framboise as this seemed to be seasonal. It was very fruity, which is not my favorite. Still, the quality is difficult to deny. I'm not sure that this was not just as good as JPH's cake, though different. The raspberry is definitely foremost compared to the chocolate, and actually there is a cream layer rather than stacking in more chocolate to compete with the raspberry. In the end, I think I'm going to have to say this also was excellent, the fifth in the row. It looks like I'm going to be continuing frequent visits until I run through their line up, though I'm close to doing that. Probably won't finish this month, though. Still waiting to see how frequently the seasonal ones change.

Did lots of little neighborhood loops, including east Shibuya (not even officially added, since I discovered I need it), Minami-Aoyama 5, Minami-Aoyama--Shibuya, and Minami-Aoyama south loops. Just adds up to a few kilometers (plus the kilometers to get there and back, so it was more than 1 hour of running). Since I'd like to go to Sadaharu Aoki at ShinQs next or hotel pastry shop further along the same road, I'll probably do the same loops tomorrow (though I finished confirming both directions on Mianami-Aoyama 5).

Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett: Tarte Fromage

Did another run down to Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs. I was trying to get something from Sadaharu Aoki, but I guess I should have been more efficient about leaving home, as it sold out just ahead of me, so I went for a fourth cake from Le Chocolate de H at Paul Bassett. They only had one variety left that I hadn't had, but I didn't mind getting the Tarte Fromage. It's simply baked cheesecake in a tart shell with whipped cream on top. But it's better cheesecake than I've been able to make (I've given up on the old recipes and haven't been looking for anything new) and keeping it simple avoided ruining it, so I'm going to say it's excellent. Actually, that's four excellent cakes in a row, so I'm going to go ahead and promote it to the excellent group, as the 15th member (still space for one more).

I did counterclockwise runs on a lot of little loops on the way back: Shibuya west and north loops and the Jinnan and Jinguumae-Jinnan loops. That brings me past 37 km in successfully reviewed loops. I need another 13 km before I'll allow myself to add a new loop, though I might make an exception for the newly created one that expands on an old link.

Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett: Chocolat Earl Grey

Did a run combining various purposes. First, I ran to Il Pleut sur la Seine, where Saint-Marc is still in the line-up but Chiboust Poire has not returned (probably I need to wait for pear season is, whenever that is). Also, on the way, I notice Landtmann in the Ao building along Aoyama-doori, so that's another cake place on my neighborhood map to get to.

Then I went to Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett at Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs (my current newly visited neighborhood shop) and got, I think, the Chocolat Earl Grey (a seasonal cake). Like the previous cake, this was very much a café cake versus a patisserie cake. It was not solid like a torte, but softish biscuit or a coarse sponge, not sure which (it's somewhat spongy but not the spherical bubbles of a sponge cake, more a bread-like weave). The chocolate is also not dense, but enough for flavor and it is balanced by the small amount of fruit. I was completely ready to just call this good and keep this place firmly in the quite good category, but I ate in and had it with just water, so there was an after taste: I really nice harmony of chocolate and raspberry, it's inconvenient, but even though it's not what I look for, this was an excellent cake, so I'll probably back back soon, since now it's challenging a lot of my excellent shops.

Next, was a visit to the Shibuya Seibu, which I had overlooked. In stretches over a few buildings and the food section is tiny and fairly empty of customers. I wouldn't be surprised to see them go out of business, although I was probably going minutes before closing. Isetan or Mitsukoshi would have several times the density of people. Anyway, they have two places with cake Factory Shin, which I've visited in Kobe, so I've blogged them, but not as Tokyo cake. The other is Kihachi, which is at Isetan.

Lastly, it did the Jinnan loop of my neighborhood course correctly this time, so I can do it and the other loop in that clump counterclockwise next, though I'm maybe not going to get time until Saturday night.

Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett, Chocolata

Tuesday, I mostly took a rest. I did some running, trying to pick off the clockwise run of the Jinguumae Northwest route, but I knew when I started that I didn't really know it. I just changed the route and need a turn at a particular alley along Takeshita Street, which is crowded and filled with similar shops: lots of crepe and lots of youth fashions. Now I remember that the convenience store marks where to turn to link up to the next loop and the turn after that is to continue on the Jinguumae Northwest route. For a snack, I stopped for the first time at The Deck Coffee&Pie. By pie, they mean in the sense of a fruit pastry pocket, though I actually got a slight variation in the form of the Chocolate Nuts Stick Pie, which is a chocolate and peanut pastry, so it's a little oily with peanut oil (it's hot pot). I'm not making it sound good, but it was. I wouldn't mind trying one of the fruit ones, though it's not a priority.

Wednesday, JPH finally updated their webpage, so I see that they have a longchamp cake that I haven't blogged yet, so I'll try to get that tomorrow, and the Tonka is back, so I'll tentatively plan for that as the cake-off entrant to go against Saint-Mark Praliné from Sadaharu Aoki, who've announced pistachio ice cream for Tokyo Midtown and Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs, but not what the new exclusives will be at the other locations. Related to the latter, today's run was down to Hikarie ShinQs, but not for ice cream. I wanted to visit the Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett café. This time, I got the Chocolata, which features orange peal and walnut. Not sure where the walnut is, since it's not obviously nutty, but I would guess that the biscuit uses walnut flour. My first thought was that it was not that exciting, since I usually like a heavier cake or light in sense of mousse, whereas this cake is very much a café style cake, being a like a torte, with just ganache between layers of biscuit. The biscuit is very light and thick, but it's not short-cake like sponge, but neither is it one of the tougher cakes. As I ate it thought, "good" did not seem sufficient; even if I usually go for something more decadent, I can enjoy this and it's a nice change and among such cakes, this might be what I would choose, which is sort of my definition of excellent: if I could make it, it would be worth making. So that's too excellent chocolate cakes (my bias). They have third, a raspberry as the seasonal cake, I think, so should go for that before it disappears.

For running, I finished off verifying my memory of the trivial Shibuya central loop, and the similarly tiny Shibuya west loop, though I did expand it slight, so it now reaches the northeast corner of the famous Shibuya scramble intersection. I've also noticed that I've never gone and looped at what's in the Seibu basement food area, which is the northwest corner. They might not have any cake, but they have counters of a few brands I like, so I should check. They have a Factory Shin, which I know from Tokyo as good or quite good, but that doesn't mean they have cake there (it's not like they're going to import fresh cake from Kobe). On big loops, I failed on the Shibuya north loop counterclockwise, but I can get that when I do the west loop again. I did get the Jinguumae northwest loop, which was my priority, as far as being the closest in not confirmed. Tomorrow I should work on the east area around Gaien.

Le Chocolat de H/Paul Bassett: Imporatore

Tuesday, I went down to Monday's backup. I've been wanting to visit this place since I realized that they were hiding cake in the back (the Le Chocolat de H counter doesn't have fresh cake, but in the Paul Bassett part, they have the cake). This doesn't count as an unvisited local shop because I've visited the Ginza Le Chocolat de H, but there, as cake, I've only had a café dessert (made fresh), which is a different category. However, among local cake shops that I haven't had cake from, I figured this was the prime choice for someone who likes chocolate cake. Certainly, it has a relatively high-class atmosphere and is in good company in Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs.

I choose the Imporatore, which is pretty standard in someones, having vanilla crème brûlée in the middle of milk chocolate mousse surrounded by a chocolate coating and on a dacquoise base. Usually this type of cake is a glazed dome rather than a coated cylinder. The almonds in the coating are a small but appreciated touch, and the shape allows some whipped cream, on which there is chocolate (I think there is a special name for that shape, but I'm not looking it up now) and dusted with coco powder, all of which I appreciate and wouldn't mind seeing on more cakes. While I prefer mild chocolate, this was still excellent, so I'll probably be back there next week or so for a second cake.

On the way back, I practiced clockwise runs on a couple small loops without trouble, except I found a Benten branch temple (a Buddhism-based Japanese new religion) on my Shibuya north loop, so I should add that to the map.