Dalloyau: Architexture

Walked fast (6 km/h) to Ginza (5.5 km) Dalloyau (photo of the back street entrance)

for Architexture (594 yen), 

which is a mousse dome with the usual vanilla cream center, I think, but the chocolate is flavored with tonka bean, which I wasn't sure of, but was fine as a different flavor (it's a normal thing with chocolate, but not my favorite, though my experience is shallow). It was perhaps excellent, meaning I would enjoy having it again, but don't have a particular aim to.

Walking back was a little slower (for one thing, because it's the uphill direction), at 5.5 km/h. It's about time I raised my speed, but I'm out of practice. I should warm up and then do intervals instead. Not sure whether I'll get out Wednesday night or where I'd go, but I have some time Thursday morning, so if I got then, I'll try going to Le R Cinq, which opens at 8 am, but might only have baked things then. Thinking of shooting for 9 am.

Rue de Passy: Caramel Salé

As planned, I did a round trip walk to Rue de Passy, 16.5 km, at a steady 5.5 km/h, which is a determined but fairly effortless (for the first 10+ km) walk. There's a eat-in space behind the curtain on the left (facing south).

Around the 5 km mark in Daikanyama, I stopped at Boncaffé Bondolfi and got a cannolo for 430 yen, which was just okay. I don't have any reason to believe that it was not exactly how a cannolo from a café should be, but next time I'll see what Chez Lui nearby has, as far as snacks.

The cake was Caramel Salé, which was the Chef's recommendation and 496 yen. It was definitely good, but I was hoping for better. I'll set them back to "good" on the map, which was what I originally figured. I'll probably get back to have the Pistachio Opera again some time to see if it was really as great as I thought the first time.

Zuckerbäckerei Kayanuma: Marillenkuchen

Though not a priority, I want to get to the "good" shops that I haven't actually posted on. I might find one that is better than good. I needed go nearby for shopping, so I chose the Austrian "Konditor Meister", Zuckerbäckerei Kayanuma, near the U.S. Embassy. (Also, I had lost their card.)

I went with the seasonal Marillenkuchen for 540 yen, which is a very light almond and apricot cake. It was good for what it was, but I'd rather eat homemade vanilla macarons, so I did that too.

I seem to have gotten good at walking slow, though the rain and shopping bag helped, except I was slower before shopping. I walked the equivalent of 2.8 km at 4.5 km/h and 4.6 km at 5.0 km/h. It was not deliberate, but it puts me at exactly my target weekly walking load (10% estimated increase over last week). Since tomorrow is my big day, even if I just match last week's speed of 5.5 km over 16.5 km, I can still sneak in a little walking on Monday or Wednesday and do a Marunouchi/Ginza run Tuesday at 50/50 of 5.5/6.0 km/h.

Yesterday, I got a croissant from Sadaharu Aoki at Isetan for the first time. They don't always have baked things. This is 432 yen, and it was very good, not so much that I need their extra expensive one. Somehow, it seemed more precise and crisp than average, which might mean sugar.

Clair de lune: Chocolatine

Big walk mid-week, using a half-day of soon to expire vacation days. Trying to avoid overdoing it, and was a little too successful: the first 8.4 km averaged 4.5 km/h, which I'll count as 3/4 load of 5 km/h. Actually, that was to a pastry and bread goods pro shop first, which was not particular exciting (they had lots of forms for making different shapes).

Nearby in the cheapest looking place I know (it's about on the level of a 40 year old dry cleaners, with a heavy manual sliding door), but the cakes are at a more sophisticated level than one would expect to the exterior. They were working hard in the back (also tiny) seemed like, so I suppose they have contracts somewhere.


Anyway, got the Chocolatine for 540, which is just your standard chocolate mousse cake under chocolate glaze with a little pistachio mousse in the middle. They asked if I wanted take out or each in, which surprised me, but there is a sort of shelf bar created by one side of the baked goods display table, so you can sit back there under the liquor bottles and next to the mini-fridge or freezer with a couple bags of almond powder on top (see first photo), for lack of anywhere better to store them. So I ate in (declining the 200 yen coffee, since I don't drink coffee), and when she brought the cake, she said that ideally I should wait 1 or 2 minutes for it to reach the optimal temperature, so I did. And it was great. Still just the standard cake, but it totally worked as chocolate mousse (pistachio wasn't very strong) and I doubt that I've have better, and I've had several I think, but only blogged a couple, from Yamamuro and Toshi Yoroizuka. So, still an excellent shop after three cakes.

I walked back at a more normal but tire pace, 10 km at 5 km/h. My plan is for the next two shops to also be third cakes from they same tier, since I did three supposedly great jobs in a row, and there are only three of them left with new cakes anyway, so it the blogging and visiting was getting kind of repetative, but most other places are farther away, so I either need to go slow or weight until I build up my distance. I'll rest tomorrow (well, stretch inside) and then hit a near by one Saturday, maybe, and do another similar distance one to day on Sunday.

Walking to Dalloyau: La Pomme

Another walk to Dalloyau in Ginza. Was going faster today, which means I can't increase my distance as much/fast this week. Basically, the first couple kilometers were 6 km/h, the middle 6.5 km were 5.5 km/h, and the last couple kilometers were 5 km/h, I think (and the rain was starting).

Got La Pomme for about 600 yen, which is apple, of course. It's a dome, I think mascarpone cheese based, but it's so humid that the display case was too steamed up to read much through the glass very quickly. The outer gelatin is fairly thin, then the main white dome, like the flesh of an apple, so probably some apple juice in there (I remember reading enough to see a mention of apple juice). Certainly, the taste of the outer parts was a mild apple taste not unlike a real apple. Then, in the middle is some filling which is sort of apple sauce like (well, puree then, I guess), but solid/dry enough not to run when cut into. It was definitely good, but I didn't decide that I could call it excellent until the end. Some of the reason of "excellent" is just giving a great shop the benefit of the doubt, but as an apple cake, it was definitely one of the best I've had, I enjoyed it, and I wouldn't mind having it again, although I'm okay with not having it again.

Jean-Paul Hévin bar(re) in Marunouchi: Goutte d'Or and Aquitaine

Did a café-ish stop. This is the casual budget version of the chocolate bar in Isetan Salone Men's, which I scoped out last week. It's sort of hidden, Google might help you find it, but it currently doesn't identify Isetan correctly and assuming that you come to the correct block, the signs outside telling you and dozen shops and restaurants inside include neither, because they are only for the ones you can get too after you enter the main interior hall, not the ones that have only their own street entrances. As I read on someone's post and observed yesterday, never became full over the almost hour we hung out there (there aren't really that many customers to justify the Isetan shop, either; maybe it's temporary until the building across the street goes up, though huge skyscrapers take some time, I would imagine).

They have only a small selection of the chocolate drinks and they come in paper cups, but at about half the price (and they have coffee). Also, just a few cakes, but almost all not at the main Isetan. I got one advertised on their web site as an exclusive, the Goutte d'or, which is almond I though I read (the good thing is hollow chocolate with sugar inside), but the website points out star anise and sesame as accents, which I have reason to doubt. The other cake was Aquitaine, which has cheese (and maybe it has almond, since there's some nut on top), which might be a first for me from JPH. These were each 640. Both were excellent. Neither was especially exciting, but they were both interestingly different from other cakes I've had. Besides the different themes, the Goutte d'or was a fairly hard drier cake (not sure were the glare in the middle came from: must be reflecting off the camera)

and the cheese one was soft (sorry, it's upside down; actually, they put both on their sides, though that is reasonable, even if they don't display them that way in the case).

There were a couple other cakes there that I haven't had yet, but there are a couple seasonal ones at Isetan that ' haven't had either. Decisions, decisions.  

Morning: walking to Paris S'éveille for Peche Verveine and Gâteau Basque

Walked to Paris S'éveille. I figured I could do the round trip at 5 km/h or one-way at 6 km/h, but settled for 1.5 of the way at 5.5 km/h (16 km total), which puts me exactly at my target budget for walking, but I'll need to rest tomorrow, which I should anyway after a long day today.

At Paris S'éveille, I got a Gâteau Basque for 450 yen, which I ate almost immediately, and a Peche Verveine (?) for 600 yen, which I took by train to Shibuya (where you have to switch lines) and then walked from there home (well, the 100 yen food shop first).

The Gâteau Basque, which is not fresh cake, so I treat it as a pastry, was good but nothing special. This one was just pastry cream as filling (which is custard) rather than fruit.

The peach doom didn't travel well. I really should have gotten the Fondant (really: I need some excuse to go back and get the Fondant). It's sort of like somewhat gelatinized peach sauce on top of, I'm not sure what, a smaller cream dome on a thin spongy cake base. It was good, but I'd rather have good peach jam on an English muffin.

So this bumps Paris S'éveille from "Great" = "Must try every one" status, leaving just four great shops: Jean Paul Hevin, which has the all-chocolate thing going for it, as well as lots of great cakes, Frédéric Cassel, which limits its variations, Henri le Roux, which has only four cakes, only one of which is definitively a cake (the other three are a couple pie-type pastries and a mousse), and Dalloyau, which is just barely hanging in there which its variations as I sample the last least-promising cakes. I've already calculated what the 9 semi-great shops from among the "Excellent" ones are, but I'll continue filling out the third cake from each of "Excellent?" category shops before I make the split. I've got about 5 more of those to visit.

Tried a picture of the shop and one of a temple, neither of which I was happy with. Frankly, there's so much glare, I can barely tell what I'm taking of picture with when I use my phone. Might upgrade to a smart phone, which might involve a better camera, but I should probably just take more shots to sort through and think harder about the framing and lighting (I least thought enough to avoid a worse picture in each case).

Saturday: Frédéric Cassel: Tarte Ruby Roman and Mille Feuille Vanillle

Walked to Ginza, 1 km at 5.5 km/h and 4 km at 5 km/h. Went to Frédéric Cassel and could get both the Tarte Ruby Roman (there just thru Monday for a Ginza Mitsukoshi fair) for 1080 yen and their frequent sell-out Mille Feuille Vanillle (I certainly have not seen it recently at night, if ever before) for the usual 777 yen.

Ruby Roman is, or at least was, the most expensive grape in the world. Certainly, the tart was excellent and interesting for a fruit tart. I didn't realize that it was grape when I bought it, thinking this was some strange kind of chestnut.

The mille feuille was also excellent, and really big, for example, compared to their special "inspiration" Mexican vanilla finger mille feuille. Like that one, though, this is vanilla cream but not a custard. Since I'm tired of custard at the moment, I was fine with that.

Walking to Frédéric Cassel, macarons

Walked to Frédéric Cassel, again in on again off again typhoon rain (tail end, or maybe the next typhoon). My goal was their vanilla mille feuille just mentioned on the website (not the seasonal "inspiration" finger version), or macarons if not. I was so focused on that, that I missed that they actually had another cake I could have gotten until after ordering one each of Macaron Vanille and Macaron Chocolat for 260 yen each. Now, I'm too used to my chewy homemade ones (probably I should bake them less, but I'm still working on other problems to spend time experimenting with that), so while these soft ones were good, I'd rather get chocolates there next, if I don't get cake.

On the walking side, I did 10 km, with the first at 6 km/h and then the rest at my target 5 km/h (distance over speed).

The cake I didn't get was over 1000 yen though, for a single-serving-sized "ruby" chestnut tartlet, which requires mental preparation. I think I'm there now, but I wouldn't have wanted to carry it home walking in the rain, and I'd rather share it.

Walking to Limevert: Mer

Had a half day off today, so walked to Limevert patisserie café, which took about 13 km at I guess 5 km/h (had trouble with starting and stopping chronometer correctly), sometimes in heavy rain (tｙphoon pasｓing through tonight). Happy keeping it slow, as I want to work on my distance before trying again to regain some speed. Managed to follow the correct route in the middle for once going to this area.

The end is easy, because I'm following the elevated train line for several stations. Never can remember the station name (Soshigaya-ohkura), but recognize Ultraman (not sure what the connection is, and there's at least one more in Yokohama).

Shop does not really stand out and is narrow, but they have the usual stuff and pastries. Already ordered the canelé (230 yen) for the road before noticing the bostock (which would have been hard to eat neatly walking down the street), but it was good (it was a well-baked one, which I like over soft ones).

The Mer (550 yen) is various things: earl grey flavo(u)red milk chocolate, apricot gelatin, and caramel walnuts. It was definitely excellent and I'm going to call it great because I haven't had one this before and I'd like to have it again. For good or bad, the flavor makes me think of pie. For one thing, it's not very firm, but it took a while to bring it back. Not sure what the connection to the "Sea" is.

Almost forgot, tried a couple more caramels from Henri le Roux yesterday: Citron Vert (lime) and Diable Rose (banana, raspberry, and passion fruit). Very good candy and it's interesting to taste very good candy, but I prefer the chocolates.

Paris S'éveille: Éclair Printanier and Bombe Amande au Citron

Some recent leg pain seems to be from a new stretch, which I  been doing morning and night. When I did it at noon, I realized it's effect. So (i) I can stretch the part that hurts, which is good (the stretching, not the hurting); (ii) I should do it less strongly.

Today did about 13 km at 5.5 km/h to Paris S'éveille and got an Éclair Printanier (spring eclair) for 630 yen and a Bombe Amande au Citron (lemon almond bomb) for 450 yen. (I also got a Bostock from fraoula on the way, still the best I know, because they caramelize the bottom.)

The éclair is chocolate custard with liquor-soaked cherries under pistachio cream. I'm still not into cherries but the liquor flavor balanced them out as far as meeting the general excellentness of this cake. Also, I'll say it was interesting because I haven't had that many éclairs.

The pastry is in a crust but is mainly non-sponge almond cake, flavored with lemon and also a little raspberry on the bottom. Sugar-glazed. Definitely bomb-like in being heavy, but excellent.

Miss-framed the photo of the shop again. Have to try again next week.

Dalloyau: Douceur des Is

Leg not happy, so went to Mitsukoshi by train and bought some stuff at Cuoca and found one fresh cake at the Dalloyau counter that I haven't had, the Douceur des Is for 540 yen. It's tropical fruits: coconut, banana, mango, and passion fruit. It was good, but definitely not my thing. I'm near the end of their selection, but also down to the least appealing cakes. Not sure whether they'll stay in my Great list to the end. I guess it's the chocolatiers that can consistently satisfy me the most.

I was thinking I might take the train to visit Paris S'eveille tomorrow, but now I'm thinking that if I can't walk at least one way, I'm wait another week and get more when I go. Tuesday afternoon is also an option.

Ryoura: Image

Still obvious that I overshot my walking limit last week, but stubbornly walked 12+ km at about 5 km/h just to prove it. I rested relatively yesterday (just some unnecessary window shopping food) and plan to do so tomorrow and keep scaling back until I find a safe level I can build up from at a reasonable rate.

Today was Ryoura, which is among the newer and less visited (by me so far) apparently excellent shops. I got the Image for 520 yen (and brought it home by train). It is many kinds of chocolate: biscuit, bar, dark and milk chocolate cream, nibs in ganache,.... Stopped looking as soon as I saw this. And it was definitely excellent. I'm tempted to call it great, but this time that feels overly biased toward the ingredients. Still, I'd like to have it again.

Frédéric Cassel: Mille-feuille Vanille Mexico

No surprise, that last weekend was probably too much and I was sorer than I wanted to be, so rested yesterday and tried to keep it slower: 5.5 km/h for 5 km out (then walking underground), and 5 km/h for 3.8 km coming back (didn't count after the supermarket).

The cake was, as planned, I got the Mille-feuille Vanille Mexico from Frédéric Cassel at Ginza Mitsukoshi for 777 yen. It's vanilla mascarpone cream in their standard mille-feuille form, and though I always want a stronger vanilla taste, this was creamy and delicious mille feille, and ultimately great: I want it again.

Yesterday, I had another chocolate from Henri le Roux, the Noisetine Noir, which was excellent.

Paris S'éveille: Tarte aux Fruits Noir and Pont Neuf

Walked to Paris S'éveille, as planned, averaging almost exactly 6 km/h. Coming back was slower, but still closer to 6 km/h than 5 km/h. Next exercise plan is go to track and try a kilometer at 7 km/h again.

At Paris S'éveille got one "fresh cake", the Tarte aux Fruits Noir for 600 yen, and one "pastry" (my terms) , the Pont Neuf for 450 yen. Both of these are good, but nothing special that I would want them again.

The picture of the tarte didn't work out, but came out super bright, as it tried to use the really dark fruit as a light reference maybe. It was blackberries and a dark blueberry or something similar on a custard tart. Good fruit, but I want cake and the tart doesn't really add anything (I'd rather eat each alone). This was the "Chef"'s (their term) recommendation, or I would have gone for the pistachio eclair. One more not-excellent cake before a great one and I'd have to demote them, and the other unsampled cake is another fruit tart. However, I've left out the Fondant, which I count as fresh cake (although it has a separate display) and I'm optimistic about.

The Pont Neuf is a standard type that I see around patisseries but have never tried before. It's sort of a butter tart with a baked custard dome (not solid custard, but more like the inside of a canele). Also, there was a lump of fruit baked inside the bottom, maybe apricot, as well as some fruity (?) glaze.

Photos of the shop were also poor, so instead I got one of the entrance to a shrine that is an official sightseeing point in Meguro District (#55) that I've often seen the edge of just off my main route but not the entrance. Now that I've found it, sometime I'll actually go in to see the old trees and statues.

Yoshinori Asami: Zebra

Walking and condition same as yesterday, started (from Yotsuya Sanchoume Station) with 6.26 km in just over an hour with some soreness but without seeming to strain anything.

Been a while since I was this far north, to P. Yoshinori Asami, where I got Zebra for 500 yen. It's alternating biscuit (maybe almond based) and (praliné?) ganache under chocolate glazing. It was good chocolate cake, but not any better than that. Disappointing compared to the two cakes of his I had via Isetan (which I did not see in the shop). Could be that higher-class stuff is sold at Isetan or could just be that the cakes during a heatwave (tho here only 35 degC, the heat being centered in the west) or summer generally are different. Parfaits seem to be more popular now. The piece of (actual) coffee cake (for eating in) was okay with me. I may get used to coffee someday. 

Went on to visit Kappabashi Street to see kitchen stuff, which ended up making the walk 23 km. So, guess I'm okay to do a round trip to Jiyugaoka.

Friday night, Dalloyau: Vanille Fraise

Walked 6 km/h for 6 km (so, the long but nice way) for a Vanille Fraise from Dalloyau, vanilla cream and strawberry compote combined with white chocolate (there's a thin square visible in the middle) sandwiched between between pink dacquoise, for 594 yen.

As usual, leg tendon was a little sore from previous walk, tried not to over-do it, walked back slower, again avoiding straining, and seemed okay but a little sore the next day (but no burning).

Park still crowded with zombies, but got a better seat. This was excellent. More something I would want for someone else than myself, but a really nice strawberry flavor that I don't get too often. The dacquoise was soft enough to cut with a spoon without the cream completely squirting out, though a little dangerous eating without a plate.

Sucre-rie: Framboise Chocolat

Walked to a new shop. Speed was definitely around 6 km/h for the first 2 km, but no timing after that. Probably slower the next, while I ate a delicious croissant from P. Shima, and then maybe faster, but slow enough not to strain anything. I'll try farther definitely 6 km/h tomorrow night, if things go as planned.

The shop is Sucre-rie in Nihonbashiningyōchō. Sign on the door at 4:30-ish was that they were sold out of cream puffs, so that is presumably one of their specialties. Not much looked tempting, but a few. I tried Framboise Chocolate, for 500 yen, which is chocolate mousse with raspberry-flavored cream. As chocolate mousse goes, that part was good, though not something I need anymore. The raspberry cream in the middle was sufficiently generous (often you get a tiny amount of cream center in chocolate mousse cakes), but didn't really make it special. Also, it was a little painfully sweet, but I would forgive that, taking into consideration that it could be expected to be eaten with some usual beverage, such as milk or tea, but at the end I hit a tiny piece of bland spongish cake (probably a base), which seemed completely out of place (I would expect something crisp or crunchy), so I'm rating this just okay, so probably will never get back there. This is why going to new places stopped being my main aim.

Got a picture. Should have gotten closer, though don't like to stand in the middle of the street.

Henri le Roux: chocolates

Little sore, but hope special midweek afternoon walk still okay, at least 5 km/h. No cake or running, but got two chocolates from Henri le Roux. These were both excellent, so I'm beginning to see the appeal but have my hands full focusing on fresh cake: Praliné a L'ancienne, which is crunchy amond and hazelnut homemade style praliné in dark chocolate, and Soizig, which is Bretagne buckwheat flour biscuit with homemade-style praliné in dark chocolate, each for 324 yen. Can't choose between them. 
.

Homemade dessert assembles cheesecake tartlette, chocolate ganache (from macaron), and whipped cream (from the rest of the cream for the ganache).

Frédéric Cassel: Tarte Vanille Ghana

Walked too much, although was trying to be good: 1 km at 7 km/h, which was semi-intentional, and then I lowered the next kilometer to 6 km/h; the rest was supposed to be 5 km/h, but really hard to make myself go that slow so another 2.5 at same speed it turns out, after which I stopped timing. Could feel discomfort on the way back, so probably did do 5 km/h then, which, along with a really hot bath (someone likes 43 degC and now I'm used to it, but only soaking about 5 min), maybe fixed things. We'll see tomorrow what the damage is.

Goal was Frédéric Cassel at Ginza Mitsukoshi, where I had unreasonable expectations for Tarte Vanille Ghana, for 648 yen. The web description oversells it, but these mascarpone cheese tarts are really mild, whereas I like my vanilla intense. Still, definitely good and probably excellent, but I'm going to get tired of these minor variations.

Ate in Hibiya Park, which must be a Pokemon Go spot, because there were 50 to 100 times more people than last time, thus the well-lit bench was not available..

Sucreries Nerd: Framboise Jus (?)

Visited Isetan on last day of Sucreries Nerd and got Framboise Jus (?) for 518 yen. Cake is almond based, and has good texture, there's some kind of custard, and lots of raspberries. Excellent

Did track work, just with 1 km of 6 km/h and maybe 2 km there/back of 5 km/h, to get a feel for the difference.

Now need to deal with pistachio cake disaster.