Tante Marie, Lu'bre

Still working my way through getting third cakes from all the shops on the quite fine list. Tante Marie, a newly added shop, was a priority because I rated the first two cakes as both excellent, so it had a chance to take over the top spot in the group to challenge the exceptional group. I went for the Oazo shop, next to Tokyo Station, since it's open until 8 pm. I did a loop around the imperial palace ground, clockwise, to be able to use the running course (you can't go against the pack on the north part, though with ran today, there wasn't much of a pack).

The running was 4-min running (first minute slow, last minute fast) intervals separated by at least 2 min (usually exactly 2 min of walking, but there are traffic lights and one stop to purchase cake). Was just in the 48th minute of running when I ran out of course. Next step is 3:7 ratio of walking and running, but not tomorrow, I think.

The cake I choose was Lu'bre, if I remember the name correctly (and I had doubts) which Google Translate tells me is Corsican for "the sun". It's chocolate mousse and vanilla cream. I caught a glimpse of "raspberry", so maybe there was a little in the chocolate to give it fruity flavor, but not enough to be easily identifiable. It was definitely good, as these chocolate and vanilla mousse cakes go, but I still can't see the point of these cakes other than as a safe choice. I should have gone for the Gorgonzola cheesecake, since cheesecake is their specialty. Well, I'll get back for a 4th cake eventually, though it may take a couple years. Hopefully they'll last. Look at where to go next, I see that Shirokanedo is gone, not just from Isetan but from the neighborhood of the same name. I guess Sourire is next among ones to visit on holidays. 

Tante Maria, Camembert Cheese Cake & Tarte Pistache

Was busy Saturday and not fit to run, but I'm feeling less hopeless about my feet, which tells you about how my week was going. Anyway, cake for two, with drinks (required) in the max 3-group, 8-person eat-in area of Tante Maria in the Marunouchi Oazo building. I've passed by the regular home shop, though I've never stopped. Since it's their main thing, I choose the Camembert Cheese Cake and the other chosen cake was the Tarte Pistache. Based on half of each, and allowing some leniency in a first visit, these were both excellent.

The cheesecake has a distinctively strong cheese taste, though it still managed to be cake (it looks like it has a mold rind on top, but it's actually powered sugar). For its attention to cheesiness, I can say that it is excellent. They have two other cheesecakes, though the brie seems to be whole cake takeoff only, though it is smaller than the other whole cakes.

The Pistachio tart was mostly as expected, though it was softer than others I've had recently, which doesn't generally appeal to me, but it came without a sacrifice in flavor, and in fact it was more flavorful than some recent good pistachio tarts, so it also gets an excellent.