Jean-Paul Hévin, Kibune

Lacking enough new cakes to keep Jean-Paul Hévin even even with the next lower shops, I've been giving any excellent cakes that come back into the line-up a second chance. This time it was the Kibune, which was an exclusive in Kyoto when I had it before. Top to bottom, this is pistachio nougatine over a matcha mousse that's half the cake, then a griotte cherry flavored biscuit, a little Brazilian cacao chantilly, and then a chocolate (I assume) biscuit base. Seemed great to me this time, certainly not inferior to other great JPH mousse layer cakes. I've supposed I've had a lot more experience with green tea by this point and also found other cherry cakes that I appreciate. So after getting lucky and quickly finding a partner for one great JPH cake for a cake-off, I'm back to having another seasonal cake needing a partner (which is better than the alternative of not needing one). Guess I need to needing to prioritizing shops with the best records among the ones I'm trying to visit.

Atsushi Hatae, Griotte Pistache

Last Sunday, which was my most recent cake, from a relatively new place, Atsushi Hatae in Sarugaku-chou. Since the first two were excellent, I decided to take a chance on something a little different from what I might usually choose or the several nutty or chocolaty cakes and get the Griotte Pistache, which of course has nuts but pistachios are the fruity nuts and I've not particularly appreciated cherry cakes, but this one looked like a good bet as far as having a lot of structural aspects in its favor. Half the inside is actually white semi-solid, which I'm guessing was mascarpone cheese, just because it shows up in cakes a lot and has no particular taste of its own. It was choice dilute the pistachio and cherry. In general, I want a strong taste, but I can see where that might not be the correct choice and here I respect the balance struck and say that this bet paid off, as it was excellent, so it's going to stay pretty safely among the quite fine shops, regardless of how the fourth cake is, but hopefully that will be great. Many other shops to visit, so I might not rush it.  

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.

Lenôtre: Chocolat Griotte

Tuesday afternoon (still a holiday) and went for another run trying to do neighborhood paths, this time back to the new/revised Jinguumae--Kita-Aoyama loop counterclockwise, which I was successful at, and also tried the Takeshita clump and was doing fine and could have finished it (I had done all the hard parts), but decided that it was time to revise the north loop and stop running through the shrine grounds. Everyone cuts through there and it's really wide and nobody has ever yelled at me for running where I do (can't say that about everywhere, though nowhere on a course). So I'll need to do that again.

Out of order, earlier in the day, since Viron doesn't have any new cakes for me and I've had less items that from other shops in the superb group, I stopped by and got a Pain aux Raisins. It was quite eggy, which was my complaint about Excelsior Caffé's, so really I owe them an apology (and perhaps another morning visit). It was still good, but not my favorite.

On the run, I decided that I have to add Max Brenner as a site, even if I don't respect chocolate pizza, it's valid, and Strawberry Mania has take-out strawberry macarons (though you might have to buy a set of three, which would disqualify them on price grounds). Also, back at home, I noted that Strawberry Fetish is near there in Totti Candy Factory (or vice verses) and one of them has cake on stick, which is overpriced and I wish they didn't, but I might have to visit them some day.

After the run, and dinner, I had Lenôtre's Chocolat Griotte. My original plan for the afternoon (and it would have been early afternoon), was to go to Ryoura, as next in line for a visit of holiday only places, but I saw that Lenôtre had multiple new things that were sold out at the end of the day when I had visited before, so I figured I need to take this chance instead. Actually, they have 4 new things, but two have coffee and one is a glass dessert, so the Chocolat Griotte was the obvious choice. The inside is completely soft, which is probably why it's uneven. It was good, but not exciting. The inside is like a fondant, despite being chilled, plush there's more cherry. I'm not big on cherries, so maybe something else would like this flavor more.

As it stands, Lenôtre, which was promoted early due to a hole in the quite exception shop list when Origines Cacao dropped out and Viron got promoted, is dropped to the lowest position and is now under threat by Pierre Gagnaire. Since Lenôtre doesn't have another cake I'm in a hurry to try anyway, I can wait until at least next week to get to Pierre Gagnaire. I'll try a new cake from Jinguumae next and then finish bringing En Vedette even with other exceptional shops. (And Friday I'll rest, at least from cake.)

Frédéric Cassel, Pistache Griotte

I decided late to switch my next neighborhood run to Thursday, since I want to test doing a really long run (maybe on the scale of what started my foot problems last time, though I seem to be better, and wiser, now) Saturday. So I went down to try out the recently modified again Daikanyama-chou--Dougenzaka--Ebisunishi--Hachiyama-chou--Nanpeidai-chou--Sakuragaoka-chou--Sarugaku-chou--Shibuya--Uguisudani-chou loop. No surprise, but it needs further modification, again due to recent construction. I was fine until near the end, where I wasn't sure whether I need to run down a side alley before heading to the main road, so I scouted ahead before doubling back. Also, they've finished constructing a sort of park/pedestiran walk along Shibuya River, so I want to incorporate that into my course, though the last bit seems overly private/commercial to count, being more part of a food court than a park. Long run, almost 2 hours of actual running and I was feeling it in my muscles, which is rare, and yet still running strong at the end.

For a snack, I stopped at Hikarie, thinking that I would try again to get quiche from Quiche Yoroizuka, but they were gone, so no more Quiche Yoroizuka, as far as I know. I respect their effort, and there is no lack of other little tart places with people lining up, so it was not a ridiculous idea. Anyway, they were replaced by Stone Cold Creamery Sand, which are buttercream between cookies. I considered getting one, but they gave me a little sample of the mango (which I wouldn't have picked) and decided no, I don't need any more again. Instead, I visited Bagel & Bagel and was ready to get a chocolate bagel with white chocolate chunks, or something like that, but then I saw the brownies. I took the straight chocolate. I ate it in a park and it was fudgy and high energy, but it took frustratingly long to unwrap and was just ok, so I regret not getting something fresh.

Friday I again deviated from my initial plan and decided I'd do Frédéric Cassel instead, and got the new Pistache Griotte. I walked home, to save my feet for tomorrow, but I took an unnecessarily long path, swinging by Del'Immo and then through Hibiya Park and the long way back way down to Akazaka-Mitsuke. Fortunately, the rain did not return.

The cake was excellent, as mostly expected. I haven't appreciated pistachio and cherry cake much, or cherry cake in general, but this was a deep/dark cherry in some sense, with the cherry on top soaked in cherry liquor. There was also some crunch in a layer of the cake, as well as cherry gelatin, which was all fine. This is definitely on the sweet side, which suits me, but still high quality.

Jean-Paul Hévin: Verrine Chocolat Singe and Verrine Matcha

No cake Saturday, as my plan to go to Cova for lunch at Shinjuku Takashimaya was foiled by them having been replaced as the third-floor café (we did eat in Takashimaya, but not at a café). Of course, nor was there running, so there is a certain fairness to that.

Sunday's plan to go to Jean-Paul Hévin at Isetan, which does not have a café (in Tokyo, you have to go to Tokyo Midtown for that), but does have a chocolate bar with a drink and verrine set, did go through and even arriving at noon, we had the place to our selves, at least initually, so early Sunday is a good time to visit there. We got two verrine sets. I got the Verrine Chocolat Singe (I'm guessing for the last word, as there is no monkey in it, just basil and yuzu) and the other was Varrine Matcha, which certainly has matcha (powdered green tea) in it. Drinks were Nature Tradition, which is a cold chocolate drink, and Thé Glacé au Yuzu (no picture), or something like that.

Both verrines were excellent. The first had chocolate apparently infused with basil, though I couldn't tell, with yuzu gelatine in the base. The chocolate mousse was quite good, though just plain chocolate and it took some effort to dig down to the yuzu. I suppose I could mix it all up at the beginning (which I wouldn't have done this time even if I had thought of it, since we were having halves and I ate the first half of this one). The matcha, of course, had the chocolate and matcha up top, so you didn't have to wait. The gelatine in the bottom was griotte cherry, though I couldn't identify it at the time other than fruit, which is probably good, because matcha is subtle enough that you don't want to pair it with too strong a fruit. A child of a shop specializing in green tea assured me that it this was really nice green tea, which I beleive and would expect. Jean-Paul does a good job respecting Japanese flavors, in my experience.

The Nature Tradition (cold chocolate) was also excellent. It had been a while since I had had this. Unfortunately, the cold Yuzu tea was more like icewater flavored with yuzu juice, especially by the end, so I can't recommend it, but it was good to okay.

In the evening, I went for a run (about 24 minutes) and then walk (considerably longer), first to Libertable, at which I found a new pastry and bought it, justifying this by my not having had cake or pastry Saturday. This time, it was the Feuilletée au Almonde, which was definitely exactly like an almond croissant, specifically the type where there is almond paste both inside and outside as coating, on which there were also almond slices and a lot of powdered sugar. It was excellent, but not ideal for me, somehow. It was a little moist for me, I thought, and yet my other suggestion for how to improve it would be to add almond liquor, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about. Anyway, they remain  as a top tier place for pastries for me, so I'll get back there again to try to score something else this week. They also had an apricot tart today, as well as the two pastries that I have already posted on. I asked whether they had the same line-up everyday, and the counter person said that it varied and didn't offer any details, so I left it at that. If they don't have a new pastry for me next time I go, I also want a new cake from them, which so far has not looked like a problem, despite them still having at least most of the old ones.

In other information, Toshi Yoroizuka has both their great Cassis and Saint-Marc, but the Marunouchi JPH has switched to regular JPH cakes from having their own line, so I've lost access to Orly. I hope they put it the line-up again. I've had the (non-coffee) current new cakes from JPH now, but when I was in for the verrines, the menu included a tart that won't be available until later in the month, so now I'm looking forward to that.

Ryoura: Soyeux

As planned, I got a fifth Ryoura cake via Dean & Deluca at Tokyo Midtown. Of course, there was not much selection and I'm not sure home much it varies from week to week. Basically, they had three desserts from this shop, one cake that I've had before, one in a glass, and the one I got, Soyeux. On the one hand, it was pistachio. On the other hand, after pistachio mousseline (though fairly solid), it listed cherry gelatin, two things I don't want in my cake. But further on, actually there is some chocolate inside which smooths out the cherry and harmonizes with the pistachio. Also, the bottom is meringue, but a very powdery almond meringue that crumbles fairly easily; I haven't seen this kind of meringue before. Mostly reflecting my appreciation for good pistachio (though I've had plenty of bad pistachio cakes, especially with cherries), this was great.

I've been avoiding promoting shops recently, but two great cakes out of five puts this one at the top of the next higher category by one measure (but I apply a two-measure system, so not necessarily the actual top), so I'm designating it Quite Excellent. There was an opening even without demoting any suspended shops in that category, so no general shake up. That's a second great cake this week and the second shop (beside Yanagi) to get promoted. I've had good luck recently.

Cake-off: JPH: "Matcha" over Bigarreaux "Citron"

Still not running, as I've gone into a full-blown cold (after seemingly fighting something for a couple weeks but not stopping running), so I consoled myself with a cake-off sourced from Isetan. Although they did not have it back in February when I checked the main store, they had the Citron (500 yen) when Bigarreaux visited Isetan (though still no Le Plaisir, but they did not bring a very big selection of fresh cakes). This was excellent, with layers of lemony cream and sponge cake, and something that I would be interested to make (not that I've done a lot of baking laterly), but I was not feeling the greatness; since it was a fairly early evaluation (and thus a priority to revisit for cake-off), I'm not surprised that it doesn't meet my current standard for greatness.

The cake I got to compare it to was not very similar, but was something I was having a hard time matching something up to (it was a priority because I wanted to have it again before it disappeared from Jean-Paul Hévin, which supposedly will happen May 1, when they'll introduce a couple éclairs that I should evaluate). This was the Matcha (735 yen), which is a rectangular mousse layer cake. Being JPH, it's chocolate cake, and the matcha (powered Japanese green tea) obviously gives it much of it's color as well as it's name), though I'm not experienced enough with it to pick it out of the harmony. Actually, the main flavor comes from yuzu (which is citrus, which is how it relates to the Citron) and cherry, which in generally I'm not fond of, but again, I wouldn't necessarily be able to pick out of the harmony of flavors other than to note that something was working with the yuzu and matcha. This definitely is a great cake, so it easily wins this cake-off.

For Friday, I just got some bread to celebrate another work week over and a chance to rest and recover. This is their rye bread, and it was good, but not a really strong in flavor, so nothing special.

Jean-Paul Hevin: Matcha and Pyramide

I missed lunch, so it was suggested that it was okay for me to have (most of) two pieces of cake at the Jean-Paul Hévin Chocolat Bar at Isetan. I didn't resist the suggestion.

First, I had Pyramide, which apparently has a slight Cognac flavor in a cake of pistachio and bitter ganache. It was definitely good, and I'm going to say that it was excellent, but actually I can't remember well (I mean, I only remember that I was thinking more about other things than whether I was going to say it was good or excellent). This was 572 yen plus tax. Amazingly, apparently this is only the third of the five spécialités that I've blogged.

 I got it with オーボーデュフル―ヴ (ouboudeyufuruuv), which I've forgotten what it is when it's at home, some sort of herb tea, I think, not exciting anyway.

I also had some of Ghana hot chocolate I think, which was good, and parts of Vanille and Pistache'in maracon, which were excellent and good.

For the second cake, I has Matcha, because it's seasonal and because I didn't have my notes and knew that I had never blogged this, or maybe had it. Actually, it was great (maybe). Besides green tea mousse, which was not particularly strong, although that is the nature of green tea, is griotte (Morello) cherry gel, which is semi-Japanese, and yuzu cream, which is very Japanese. This was more expensive at 680 yen plus tax and is the second seasonal cake, not counting two types of éclair, despite being up to 14 cakes now.