Ryoura, Mille-Feuille Mistral

Finally got back Ryoura a while back for a new cake. I can get their one (available) remaining great cake at Tokyo Midtown, but the selection there is fairly limited so I did a bicycle ride. I wasn't quite as crazy there as last time. They have actually been limiting the number of people inside, but probably I can't remember well. Anyway, even at the main shop, I've pretty much had all their standards already, so it's touch choice. On the grounds that Mille-feuille are a fairly safe choice and I have had one excellent one from there (and one just good), I tried the Mille-feuille Mistral, which is F.Cassel like in having a gelatin layer for the flavor, which honestly I'm not that convince is a good ideal but is a reasonable simple variation. A Japanese source reminds me (not that I probably read in this detail at the time) that its passion fruit and mango mousseline and the gelatin is rhubarb and strawberry, which sounds about right. It was good, but I'm more convinced that gelatin in my mille-feuille is not optimal, but not the worst, as I've found out.

Éclat des Jours, Tarte aux Fruits

While I was visiting Éclat des Jours for a cake for a cake-off, I also got a new cake for their previous cake-off win. My choice was between a tart and a glass dessert, so I went with the latter, even though it obviously wasn't a great back for me. Specifically, I got the Tarte aux Fruits. It's not the first time I've had this kind of tart. The good point is it features various kinds of small fruits, all high quality. The bad point is that's about all there is to it and I'm not sure a connoisseur of fruits. Still it was good. 

Blondir, Chiboust Framboises

Thursday last week, I took the morning off and did some errands, but only after bicycling for cake to Blondir for a fourth cake from this shop on the quite fine list. I've never actually been out there before, at least not since starting to keep track. Other cakes were presumably from a Shinjuku department store. This is actually my first time to use a Nerima-ku tag, so it's been a long time since I've been out that way. The route was complicated trying to follow the Google Maps recommendation, since it's going diagonal relative to the usual roads. Though on an unexpectedly narrow road, it's a really nice looking shop inside and out, had a good spread, and is probably the first place I've been served by an older man (I don't think he was the pâtissier, who's supposed to be only late forties). I went with the Chiboust Framboises, still looking for a great chiboust like I had several years ago when they were more of a thing apparently. This was basically, a raspberry tart with a "chiboust" layer on top. The tart was definitely good, but the eggy topping really doesn't add anything, unfortunately. Looks like Blondir won't make the next cut, but still a fine shop.

Asterisque, Montmorency

Last weekend when I was nearby getting Chocolat Cuit for a cake-off, I stopped also at Asterisque I got a fourth cake from them as I work through the list of quite fine shops alphabetically. The top got messed up, so this was a reconstruction from the best side. The outside is obviously pistachio and this layer is fairly thick and drying than a paste but similar. In the middle is a balanced about of griotte cherry, not withstanding the top decoration. Definitely a sophisticated place and a cake along the lines of what I lick, so it's getting an excellent and they'll make the next cut to stay in this category.

à tes souhaits!, Bijou de bois

Last Thursday, I finished off my caking with my first systematic visit to a reputably quite fine shop to get a fourth cake. Top of the list was A Tes Souhaits, which is way out in Msushina-shi, so I went by bicycle, since that's too far to run and walk in a reasonable time and anyway I was starting around 13:30 and had had a runny nose all morning. I over dressed, even after taking off one layer on the road, but better a little hot than sorry. I went with the Bijou de Bois, which is mousse "praliné" (actually pralin, I think) pistachio and apricot gelatin, according to the card, though the dual color makes me suspect there was another fruit in their, since it didn't make me think of apricot when I was eating it. It was definitely good, but not enough so probably to stay in the quite fine group and keep me making the long trip out there. Still need to find 8 better shops to cut the bottom third out of the quite fine group in this round (I could cut the bottom fourth last round with this group, that left it still bloated). Of course, I really hope to find a great cake to identify a challenger to the exceptional shops to keep the competition going.

 

Yoshinori Asami, Mille-feuille

In the afternoon, I hit the last of the exceptional shops that I intended to visit for new cake at this stage. I didn't even try to run with my current problems, I went by bicycle, which was fine for what I got, Mille-feuille. This shop sticks to rather basic/Japanese-semitraditional (not Japanese sweets, but relatively old Japanese versions of western-style sweets). Since mille-feuille fits in with this, and this being an exceptional job, I found it an excellent cake, which I usually do for traditional mille-feuilles, so it's sort of an easy cake to impress me with, if you take the trouble to make it, which I appreciate that they do.

This leaves Les Cacao as the low shop to beat as I start more seriously on the quite fine shops, which are going to take a while to get through.

Yu Sasage, Montélimar Noisette

Took a half day off and didn't accomplish many things. That's normal, but I actually did try and did accomplish a few things, as the list of things is pretty long now. However, especially because I mistook the Sadaharu Aoki schedule (there was a new cake today, but only in Nagoya, which gets special treatment from JPH as well), I did go for cake, by bicycle. Yu Sasage is along the borderline between the exceptional and quite exceptional shops and was in line for a cake to try to make the jump. There were a couple promising new cakes, the other a chiboust, but I went with the Montélimar Noisette, which was explained as having Montélimar mousse, which I didn't find informative, since Montélimar is a place name, though I guess I new it was associated with honey. Actually, they were using it to mean honey meringue, which I'll have to try to remember and confirm that as tracking with what other shops mean. Other components are, obviously, hazelnuts, in mousse form, as well as dacquoise. It was definitely good, but is maybe too small and light a cake for me. This might be a case were some fruit would help.

 

Sunday August 23, I hit the Omote-Sandou Stn. north area hard, starting with getting cake from a coffee shop, Nikka Block Cafe. I had had an excellent sablé from there. On the negative side, no cake take-out, but no drink requirement, so I figured if the cake's good, I'll make it a cake site on the new neighborhood course map. Unfortunately, this cake hits back hard. It's not stale, and a certain amount of hardness is expected, but it didn't really work for me. Ok, but needs a lot of whipped cream.

In better news, I liked the sunflower seed macaron from Cooing, which is evidently Korean.

In other local sweets news, Streamer Coffee Company Harajuku had a nice cookie, whereas the basement cafe in Omotesando Hills was manufactured on the other side of the country and not so great. I also didn't appreciate the pound cake from Ratio&C bike shop. Finally, though they apparently used to sell Kobe Donuts, now they are into muffins from a company called Berry Wise. Actually, definitely good, though I don't usually do muffins. This one was macadamia nuts and chocolate, maybe.

Paris S'éveille, Savarin Exotique

 Still trying to catch up, I can't even remember what flavor this was. Also, road vibration wasn't kind, so the topping is what I scrapped up from the sides. It's a fruity verrine (their instagram account says its Savarin, which I'll believe), so doubly not my thing, but it's the season of verrine and the new cakes are all fruity (which is reasonable to balance the standards, though there are a couple old fruity ones I'm missing). Still, good cake/verrine/savarin.

Here's what it's supposed to look like https://www.instagram.com/p/CDfV_wdpTUG/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Tarte (Framboise Pistache)

This is the sad story of a cake that traveled by bicycle, though in my defense, it was a blog to begin with, just a round one instead of a square one, and maybe taller. This is a tart, in that there is a hard slab underneath. The flavors aren't terrible, and I don't to punish it for my hard handling, so I'll say it's good but still not post this to Twitter. With this case Au Bon Viex Temps looses it's chance to take over the superb cake shop spot temporarily held my Viron. Instead, it goes to Bien-Étre, which I've tried more cakes from than either of those.

Paris S'éveille: Tarte Matcha Mangue

Now I'm almost two weeks behind, so it's not clear when I'll catch up. I've gotten a little head of revising my new neighborhood course map, but mostly I've been wasting time on other obsessions are just exhausted from the heat. Way back on Aug. 1, I stopped in at Paris S'éveille on the way to ABVT (since it was their turn to try to enter the superb shop category, though they have the farthest to go) and happy to get this cake. Actually, it wasn't chance, as I had seen it posted online, so I suspected it was a new cake. The base is holding mango and mango cream, so it has to be pretty moisture resistant, thus it's a pretty hard tart, which it's great for texture but is necessary. The top is matcha, of course, but I forget in what, probably white chocolate, though coconut cream would fit with the theme. Sorry, I can't remember. The important thing is that it was excellent. Their new cakes are all fruity, whereas their classic great cakes are mostly nutty or chocolaty (their most fruity great cake has been out of the lineup for a while), but the new fruity cakes keep improving, so I'm actually looking forward to the next one. Still slightly behind on this one, because they don't have so many cakes and I don't have such a great way to keep up with them, plus they will a lot of cake-offs, so actually I've had more new cakes from them than any other superb shop, and two of those I'm ahead on because they got dropped down from quite superb and only gotten new cakes from cake-off wins for years.

Bien-Étre, Mangu

Sunday afternoon, went out by bicycle to see what was available at shops, as well as do some cross-training. The first stop was PS, where there was a line outside and nothing new visible through the window, so I didn't wait. No surprise there. The second stop was Bien-Étre, where I wasn't expecting anything, but mango had come into season, which included Mangu, so I used up my week's cake allotment. This cake was excellent, with the base sable's strong flavor memorable. BE remains at the top of the quite exceptional shops.

At the beginning of the trip, I stopped at Nikka Block Cafe and got their sable. I didn't stop and eat it until just after buying the above cake, but I really needed it. It was excellent, so I should try their eat-in cake some time. They still close fairly early for weekdays, but they are a neighborhood priority. Meant to do a long run in the evening, scaled it down, then found that I could keep to the route, so I gave up pretty early. My muscles felt energetic, but mentally perhaps I had had enough exercise for the day. If only rotating images was still an option with Blogger (or my phone or Google wouldn't automatically rotate them versus how I took them to begin with).

Cake-off: Bien-être's Mont-Blanc over Au Bon Vieux Temps' Chocolat Framboise

Sunday, I went out by bicycle, as a little cross-training is good, plus it was predicted to be around 30 degC, although it wasn't sunny, so it didn't seem especially hot on a bicycle. The goal was to get cakes for a third-round cake-off, which I'm still trying to finish off: I'm up to October at the same time I'm current on the fourth-round. This time was between two one and one cakes. I started by going to Au Bon Vieux Temps to get Chocolat Framboise, as the far point. I got few hundred meters and I was thinking I would visit Paris S. nearby, and realized that I hadn't actually looked carefully at ABVT, so I went back and confirmed that the two great cakes I haven't seen for a while there still aren't there, whereas the other one I have is there, ready for its next round. At PS, I saw they had a new cake, so I made a plan to visit Sunday, but kept to the schedule to go up to Bien-être to get their Mont-Blanc, which they always have (and it was early enough that they we're close to selling out). They seemed to have three new cakes, but (looking ahead) one had disappeared the next day and one turned out to be a known cake by a different name. Still, I should get the Melon Shortcake soon, before it's gone.

Got home and had lunched and then went out again, this to to Ginza Mitsukoshi to get what I missed the previous weekend, special croissants from Frédéric Cassel, by #2 shop. These just started last weekend, only on the weekend, don't start selling until noon, and were sold-out last Sunday before 3 pm. I got the regular Croissant and the Croissant aux Almondes. While I was there, and because I've been busy during the week and gotten into the habit of squeezing all my cakes into the weekend (plus I'll be busy next weekend), I also got a new cake, though I was surprised that they had two. My choice was two cakes similar to ones I just had, but that's not much of a problem with a shop this good. I went with the Roulé Pêche, though I'll get to that in a different post.

The croissants came with instructions for heating them up, so I followed them, even though usually I prefer not to, as I'm not so much into the soft croissant. I have a regular oven rather than a toaster over, so I went with 150 degC, which seemed about right. These were both excellent, I can say, and certainly high quality, but didn't convince me that FC's viennoiserie should be that high a priority, though these were only the 2nd and 3rd of those, since usually they stick with cake and packaged things (and macarons). Still, after their cakes, these are the best I've found from them so far, but usually (when they aren't closed for two months), I don't have trouble satisfying myself with just cakes from them.

Having put it off to the end, as my might have noticed from the photo, the Chocolat Framboise was a little worse for wear: the top of the brownie shifted off the rest of the base and circled, so I had to shift it back and break it up a little to get it back together. Probably not a big deal, since the different parts don't hold together under cutting anyway, so I don't think it affected the texture. Still, I have to acknowledge that, as I have having trouble feeling the greatness this time. It's appear is chocolate and raspberry, of course, a little strong on the raspberry and definitely rich with the chocolate on top, with the brownie base there to keep it grounded. Still excellent, but I'm not sure. The Mont-Blanc, which doesn't have any obvious tricks or accents, like currant or meringue, and yet still great. I think maybe there is liquor or something that vaporizes so that you get a lot of flavor in the back of your mouth. Despite moving to lose some excess mont-blanc from the greats list, this one definitely stays, and should see a fourth round this year, since it's only got one loss.

En Vedette, Chou Nougat

From now I guess the last Sunday of the previous month, the other shop I visited was En Vedette. Well, I also visited Éclat des Jours to return some glasses and get a croissant, but I've already forgotten how the croissant was, so I'll just have to get a different pastry from there. The cake of En Vedette, though was more like a pastry than cake, though with extra touches tipping back toward cake: Chou Nougat, where I'm not sure what's in the nougat, but there are some almond slices in there. The cream is crème diplomate, which I need to look up. In the middle there, protecting the bottom from the cream, is a macaron. It's a weird chou cream, but I've decided it's unique design deserves at least a semi-excellent rating. It's small, actually, but only half the price of a normal cake. 
 

Frédéric Cassel, Tarte Rouge Printemps

Sunday the 1st was a greedy day, though I have to fit everything nice into the weekend with shops closed during the week. Now, things are starting to open up a little bit and maybe work is occasionally calmer. I started with some Tokyo viennoiserie in the form a visit to Sadaharu Aoki, which is compensating for lack of other things by making more pastries. I had in the past, but not in my review of getting this fresh (that is, not at the end of the day), by getting their Canelé Nature, which I at least haven't labeled before, even if I've posted before.
As I recall, it was excellent. However, I also got something new that fell more or less under the viennoiserie category, since it had certain elements but was not all dry. Actually, the name is actually Paris Viennoiserie on the receipt, but I'm pretty sure that's not what it was called. I need to go back and update this, if they still have it. Unfortunately, it's only good, being not such a greet idea. It is mille-feuille pastry, raspberry filling, and an florentin top, so let's call it Framboise Florentin for now and then forget about it.

For cake, I went to two places, one being Frédéric Cassel. They had three new cakes (to me) and I showed great restraint after some months and only got two of them. The first I ate was a tart, Tarte Rouge Printemps, which is a fruit tart with strawberry and rhubarb as filling on a biscuit that has hibiscus. I'm afraid it's too subtle for me, but it sounds like it should be matched to the right tea. Still, of course it was good, though the strawberry pieces got pretty scattered on the bicycle ride, so that above is a reconstruction.

Cake-off: Bien-être's Chocolat Cuit over Très Calme's Mont-blanc

Saturday, I tried again and was successful at getting Bien-être's Chocolat Cuit. I wasn't quite as early as I intended, but it didn't look like they had sold much based on other items, even though they only had two of these out. It's was too light for the trip back, even though I was half running half walking. I did come back a longer way than I needed to because, in my confusion, I stopped at the newly opened Isetan, though the counter I wanted for the other cake-off cake was not available. Still, I bought the nonfood item I wanted. Once home, I took off by bicycling to get up to Très Calme and get their Mont-blanc, as a second two-wins-one-loss cake for a fourth-round cake-off. 

It was getting late at this point, so I also got a croissant there, as my first pastry and ate that first. It had a coating of syrup, I assume, or at least a coating that ended up sweet in the overall flavor, which is what I ask for in a pastry croissant versus a bakery croissant, so I can easily call this excellent. I'm back to the new interface on Blogger, which doesn't give me an option to rotate photos before uploading (whereas, somewhere something automatically decides to rotate long pictures so they are vertically oriented).

The Chocolat Cuit, despite the name, is pretty raw, being a very rich chocolate mass, which I'm giving the win. The Mont-Blanc is distinctive in being my favorite coffee cake, which adds coffee-flavored meringue to chestnut paste with cassis accent on whipped cream  in a way that you can taste all the flavors and yet the bitternesses of the chestnut and coffee cancel out and are together pacified by the sugar in a way that makes this acceptable to someone who doesn't like coffee (me) or chestnut (the chef). It stays among the greats, no problem.

Cake-off: Éclat des Jours' Rhum Raisin over Dalloyau's Croquant Fraise

Monday, I did a cake-off with what I could get together on a Monday afternoon. I first picked up Éclat des Jours' Rhum Raison on the way back from the airport. I was thinking that I could get a cake from BE, but they were closed down for walk-in cake for weekdays (which they had announced and I forgot), so I ended up cruising south in the late afternoon searching for a matching cake. I had to try two more shops, but found Croquant Fraise at the Jiyuugaoka Dalloyau. This was for a 4th-round cake-off for two wins to one loss. However, as it happens, these are both rather weak entries to the great list, or at least the Rhum Raisin failed to impress me last time as deserving to be among the greats, so it needed recognition this time to stay. It got it: I appreciated its simplicity and how filled a niche. The Croquant Fraise also fills a niche, being an excellent balance of tastes and textures, except I should remove the croquant part as early as possible, because it tends to soak up moisture too quickly as take-out. I actually had more trouble with that the previous time (now I remember), but the Rhum Raisin has the edge regardless. I maintain my respect for both these cakes. 

Très Calme, Figcannelle

Last Sunday, in response to their cake-off win the previous day, I visited Très Calme, by bicycle, and chose a new cake to try. I went with the Figcannelle, which is fig, red wine, and cinnamon. Though it's pretty solid, the top half, under the coating, is actually a thick white cream-like layer, which was probably for balance, since the main ingredients are strong. It was excellent. The fig flavor was central, but not too strong and clearly balanced and smoothed by other flavors, which were not obvious. Unfortunately, I was tired, so I forgot to get a picture for presentation, so I'll slip in the picture from the shop (unlike some shops, no sign saying not to photograph) that I actually just to remember the name. 

Cake-off: Ryoura's Soyeux over Pierre Gagnaire's Mousse au Chocolat et Yuzu

Trying to catch up through May cakes, I did a fourth round with the recent Mousse au Chocolat et Yuzu, which is two for three rounds. Next in line to match it (chronologically by month then year), was Ryoura's Soyeux. I ran for the mousse cake and then walked it carefully back. Since I wasn't sure what the situation would be with Soyeux (so I might have to search for a replacement), I went by bicycle, even though I knew transporting it home safely would be a challenge that way. No problem with Soyeux, except Yoga's shopping street is crowded and customers in the shop weren't into the whole social distancing thing, nor was staff limiting people coming in. After a month of "stay at home", adherence seems to be dropping, as is the usage of masks (though that might be related to the heat). Anyway, I escape as soon as I could and carefully got my cake home.

The mousse was as always, so no complaints there, but I'm more interested in pistachio these days, plus the Soyeux offered more variation in texture, between the pistachio mousse and the crumble and fruit inside, so it's not hard to give the win to Soyeux, even though it isn't the strongest cake (it's only lost once, but to a cake that's only two and two).

Afternoon, I tried to do the Nogizaka--Roppongi Sta. clump, but failed trying to do the new Akasaka west loop counterclockwise where I had to cut through basically the driveway of apartment building, which there is more than one. Hopefully I recognize it next time, maybe tomorrow. Abandoning that project, I spent time in south Roppongi taking photos (or not) to confirm (or not) sites for that future part revised part of the neighborhood course.

En Vedette, Fromage Blanche

Saturday's other cake (cutting down on trips) was Fromage Blanche (I know, but that's the logical interpretation of the phonetic Japanese; if only there was some Chou pastry, it could be Fromage Blanc Chou). White cheese is pretty tasteless, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the raspberry was just the right amount, and cheese mousse has a great texture, so I'm much more confident calling this excellent than the previous cheese cake I reported. Also, it didn't suffer from the travel by bicycle as much as other cakes last Saturday.