Rue de Passy, Éclair Caramel

From their last cafe-off win, I owed Rue de Passy another visit, so I was there August 14th and picked up their Éclair Caramel, which worked out well, since it was excellent.

Rue de Passy, Figue Fromage

Avoiding the one-cake surcharge, I had gotten two cakes from Rue de Passy (the second from the previous cake-off win): Figue Fromage. It's as named. Can't remember what type of cheese, though not one of the strong ones, so fig dominated. It was definitely good and was a nice change from other cakes earlier in the day. 

Rue de Passy, Chocolat Pistache

When they didn't have the great cake I wanted for a cake-off two Saturday's back, not to waste the trip at a time with fewer opportunities to get cake, I choose the Chocolat Pistache, on the reasoning that the other best cake I've had from there was this combination. This was a more traditional cake, though, and was maybe cream rather than ganache, so I should have eaten it at a warmer temperature. Actually, this combination is tricky, as while pistachio can accent chocolate, the latter has a strong taste that doesn't benefit from being diluted or give way to other flavors easily, so I didn't really feel like this harmonized the best, though it was still good.

Happily, I did much better on Sunday for a cake-off, which I failed to photograph, apparently. The cake-off was a third round between two cakes from the double-loser's bracket, between Pistache Chocolat from Coffee Parlor Hilltop and Concert from Lenôtre. I learned from Saturday's mistake and let the Pistache Chocolat sit out for 5 minutes from the refrigerator. It was definitely great and the light pistachio and chocolate taste was harmonizing well, though it still lost to the chocolate simplicity of Concert.

While I was at Ginza Mitsukoshi, visited Johan and got a pastry (which used to be my favor pastry source when they were in Shinjuku). Ig to the Kouign Amann. This seems to be the traditional shape, which is not my favorite, but I felt that I was recognizing it's good points finally, as this was excellent.

Rue de Passy, Mille-Feuille Praliné Citron

Started my Sunday run by heading down to Rue de Passy in Meguro-ku. They are on my exceptional shop list and were near the bottom, so I had been giving the top of the quite fine group a chance to challenge them but no replacement, so I finally went for the next two cake from them, #8. I ate in, which is usually the most convenient thing to do, but can affect the results. I decided that the Mille-Feuille Praliné Citron was the most promising even before noticing that it was the one recommend by the chef. The chef gave a good recommendation, as this was a great cake. Neither the praliné or the citron was very strong, but all the parts balanced well and I liked how a more buttercream filling rather than custard worked with mille-feuille. Not sure that it was actual butter cream or just there was enough nuts in the praliné to give that effect, but it worked either way. Too great cakes in less than a week: I feeling like I'm doing pretty good.

On the way I kept a sharp eye out for what shops were open, as I found too closures Saturday night and hadn't noticed some others. Lotus is looking different these days, and is hard to spot. I decided that Chavity right before them deserves to be a site on the neighborhood running map, but I'll need a different photo, as I got serious glare on the one I took. I'll also add Candyapple in Daikanyama-chou. Down near the Daikanyama Stn. the entire Tenoha shop block seems to have closed, so I'll probably need to revise that 10.4 km loop, but I'll put it off until its time do that clump.

Rue de Passy: Peru

As planned, I worked on two revised neighborhood course loops and skipped the big loop to work ahead on something different. I started with the Jinguumae 5&6 loop, which I quickly messed up. I needed to think 3 sites ahead to figure out which way the current course looped. I continued as a practice, which I needed as I needed several turns. Discovered Hotel Chocolat on the new route, which was useful, and added Brook's Cafe, nullifying the old route. Also, I realized that the old route was never good, even with the sites I knew about, because it went by the back of a building it needed to go by the front of. I had to add a U-turn to resolve the problem, but the new cafe simplifies at end, so I should have an easier run next time.
Before I even got to that loop, I stopped at the nearest Excelsior Caffé, which I had noticed had fresh pastries in the morning and is the highest priority food site. I tried the Pain aux Raisins. It was okay, but too soft for me, or maybe it just didn't have anything going for it especially. Not shocked that they aren't a prime source of pasties, but I need to give them a try. This was early in the run, so I let it be enough for a couple hours, whereas usually I've very strict about regular Calorie Mates, since with long runs, I think I've underfed myself in the past, which led to getting sick later.

The next two loops went well, together stretching from near Shibuya Station up to near Hatsudai Station: the Kamiyama-chou--Tomigaya--Udagawa-chou and Tomigaya-Yoyogi loops (also, finishing off the tiny Yoyogi 5 loop that I had done one direction Friday night). While I was nearby, I confirmed a Starbucks and a tiny private (?) temple on a dead-end street on the Hatsudai loop, so I could revise that one for its turn. Back at Shibuya Station, I explored Shibuya Scramble Square, the new building: lots of sweets brand names listed, with shops on two floors and maybe some cafes elsewhere, though the floor I visited seemed smaller than ShinQs', where I went next to get a Croissant from Sadaharu Aoki as my second snack. This croissant had a clear sugar (and egg?) coating, which transformed it from a bread croissant to a proper pastry. Great! It was the only flavor they had, so I need to get to Midtown or Marunouchi maybe to get chocolate and matcha versions I saw recently during the day to get them fresh in my review.

From there, I ran to the recently promoted Rue de Passy and choose Peru this time, a chocolate cake. It was good but didn't stand out among chocolate cakes. This enough to keep them in their current exceptional position relative to the one it deposed, but it's vulerable to attack from a couple other shops from below, so want to resolve those challenges before getting another cake from Rue de Passy.
Though I was tempted to take the train back, I (mostly) ran, so I ran almost as much as if I really had done the big loop, which was more or less my plan.

Rue de Passy: Paris-Brest aux Cassis et Noisette

Monday afternoon I did my first run for a while. There was some walking too, especially where I swung past some marked locations on my Central Tokyo Neighborhood Running Map. Actual, in western Jinguumae, I found a temple that I had missed and a café next door that's related to Le Petit Mec, which is a bakery I respect, so I've had to introduce a new Jinguumae-Jinnan loop, though looking at the map, I have to wonder whether I've actually shortened it and so should have had this as part of the route anyway. I means all my kilometer markers past #21 on the previous long run and some new ones that I had made since are invalid. Anyway, my next run is going to skip some places from last time so that I can do more new parts of the route within increase the length.

Since I was off in the afternoon, I to get a new cake from Rue de Passy, who won the previous cake-off. I got Paris-Brest aux Cassis et Noisette because it was "Chef recommended". Like the previous cake I had calling itself a Paris-Brest, I don't understand the naming of this definitely now circular éclair a Paris-Brest. Anyway, since it was cream-based, I let it thaw a few minutes, though it was still plenty firm even then. Also, the pastry was nice and crisp. The mixture of currant cream and hazelnut also worked well, so I don't have any problem calling this excellent, which firms this shop up in the very good category (which is pretty bloated, so I'm going to have to cut some of these eventually, after I get to having a third cake from each, which I'm not yet in a hurry to do).

Tuesday was also a pretty long run. First, I managed to get to Donky again in Tomiyaga near Yoyogi Hachiman Stn. and this time they weren't closed early. I went with the croissant, which I walked and ran a little down to the nearest park in Shouto as part of practicing what's currently labeled as the Kamiyama-chou--Shouto loop but should actually be merged with a much larger loop extending out as far as Hatagaya. I failed, in that I turned correctly but with the wrong route in mind (I should have gone clockwise but was thinking this was part of the counterclockwise route. The rest I was okay with without checking my map, so I don't need to practice this again until I need to learn new kilometer markers for the next big run, which I haven't set yet. The croissant, while bread-type, had at least some layering in the crust and was fresh and buttery, even though Donky was minutes from closing. Don't need to go there again, but wouldn't mind if I needed to.

Rue de Passy: Noble

Did a workday run down to Rue de Passy for the first time and got there in time, no problem, other than turning one street too soon (so 100 m more than necessary). It's about 8 km each way and the first half out was around 11 km/h, but I was just on the 10 km/h side overall for going. I was able especially to maintain a high speed for the couple kilometers along Aoyama Avenue, which is hard with the crowds but good for making the lights, which are the other thing besides the crowds that make this potentially the slow part of the trip that could make me late. Running fast there is also a good strategy for endurance/fat burning: warm up a couple kilometers, go fast for a couple kilometers, and then go slow and long for several kilometers. Coming back, I was almost exactly 9 km/h, but it felt more uphill.

The cake was Noble (573 yen), which is a dense chocolate cake. I was happy with this cake. It was definitely good and I like chocolate, though there was nothing to strongly distinguish it, but it still confirms this shop as quite good. I was not disappointed.

Cake-off: Rue de Passy "Opera Pistache" over Fraoula "Angers St Laud"

This time my side trip to Fraoula looking for "Angers St Laud" paid off. My original plan in looking for it was to see it through the window and go on to get the second cake, picking this one up on the way back, but the the usual counter person spotted me and pointed to the cake, so I had to come in and buy it, especially since they said that they had specifically made it because I had been asking about it (the patisserie was also out front). They are very friendly and I'm very recognizable, but also not that many people probably come asking about a specific cake and then stalk them over the next few months looking for it. I decided to take it home first rather than carry it 13 km, most of that with a second cake. Actually, I was faster going home, 10 km/h versus 9 km/h, both 4+ km.

I was equally successful for my first choice of a match for this, as Rue de Passy still had their Pistache Opera. This time I was faster going (10 km/h) than coming back (9 km/h), both 8+ km, which is reasonable for a second run where I'm not trying to make a particular pace, but rather trying not to over do it. Just watched a show on two "talents" trying to do sub 3.5 marathons, which requires a 12+ km/h average speed. Neither made it, though each was close in his way. I'm just not enough of an athlete, but at my speeds, I never have trouble with specifically muscle pain stopping me, like they did, so I'm not sure that I really need more training. Instead, I'll try to use my capacity to get where I want to go without causing any tendon or joint failures, or compromising my immune system.

These were both early evaluations of shops I've mostly moved on from (though Fraoula has great pastries). This Angers St Laud is a little different from the one two years ago. On the plus side, it has a great pistachio flavor and is well complimented by the almonds and biscuit. On the downside, it has somewhat gelatinous parts that slide off each other (you can see the white top and green bottom) when you cut into them. I still think it's excellent, but I have a hard time saying that it's great. In contrast, the Pistache Opera is a standard layered cake of biscuit and thick praliné/ganache, so in that way it's not exciting, but I like the taste and like the structure of this type of cake, so maybe those are why I am choosing it over Fraoula, at least today.

So I guess Yu Sasage is for next Saturday. In the meantime, I need a shopping run or research run with no cake to balance out the extra cake today. I also want to get to JPH for a Verrine this week, since they only have these and summer and classify them as cake; I don't consider them cake or like them much, but I should give them another chance while I have the chance: they have three varieties per month for 4 months, so they would keep me busy if it turns out that they are worth trying. Also, I want to work in a new shop and now I owe both Sadaharu Aoki and Rue de Passy another sampling, though I definitely won't get to the later this week. Not sure whether I'll take a rest tomorrow (probably not, as I'm not that tired or sore) or whether I'll need a rest Friday before my Saturday run (again, greed/obsession will probably prevent that). I'll probably keep the Saturday run to only 30 km, which is easily done but I'd like to stop by some other shops on the way for research purposes, though I'll also need a snack for that long a run, as Yu Sasage doesn't have eat-in space to eat my cake there and I'd rather avoid eating outdoors.

Matterhorn: Damier

Two days in a row I could try for barely reachable weekday targets. This time was Matterhorn near Gakugeidaigaku Station, which is about 8 km out. This time, I kept the first kilometer to 10 km/h as warm-up and then the rest at 11 km/h. I was in time (they close at 7:30) and coming back was on the low end of 10 km/h, intentionally.

The cake is Damier (ダミエ; 300 yen), for the pattern. It's sponge with some buttercream and chocolate. At that price, I wasn't surprised that there was no box, much less ice. They have cake wedges and layered rectangles for not much more. It's definitely good but also definitely nothing special, just simple cake, frosting, and chocolate coating.

Sunday afternoon run: Rue de Passy and S'éveile

In running, I was looking for a better Marjolaine, so weaved a little and stopped in a few places. I looked in at Takagi at Gaienmae, then Chez Lui (which is just somewhere I go past frequently and doesn't look particularly promising, although it might be fine for what it has) in Shibuya, then Cacahouete just inside Meguro-ku, by Sourire again, just because that was the best route, a pop in at Matterhorn by Gakugei University/College Station (where I wouldn't expect to see a fancy cake), to Rue de Passy a couple blocks away, where I got the Opera Pistache which is related, in being nutty, and closely related to Opera Praline, which is the second recipe in the same book, although it a recipe that is much more complicated and so I would not imagine trying it.

I'll call this a great cake (and it was not particularly expensive) and say that I should consider whether this is a great shop. Unfortunately, it closes 30 minutes earlier and is one station farther away than Sourire, so I don't think I can easily manage a weekday run there unless I learn to be faster.

I continued on to Jiyuugaoka and stopped in at the Dalloyau, just in case, on the way to m.koide, which I decided to downgrade from a great shop just because the selection is pretty small, although they were open on a Sunday this time.

That leads to my actual second cake, which was Le Suprême from (Paris) S'éveille, for 620 yen. This was blackberry and chocolate mousse, so I recommend eating it in the shop, although I managed to get it to a park with minimal melting despite that it was not well packed. Still, great cake, even with the limitation of being mostly mousse. There are still lots of cakes I need to sample from there (for blogging: I've probably had this cake before).
Later, I had some of the chestnut cake below (1200 yen from Aoki). It's fine. Sorry, but I don't know what it's called. It might be exclusive to Shinjuku Isetan.