Cake-off: Jean-Paul Hévin's Duja Pistache over Pièce Montée's Mont-blanc

Changed my plan and did this weekend's cake-off early, Thursday afternoon. After a half-lunch, I ran to Pièce Montée in Ginza and got their Mont-blanc. They let it just slide around in the box, so I planned to take the train back and do a bigger run later. After stopping at Origines Cacao to confirm the ingredients of their Saint-Michel, I went to Jean-Paul Hévin and got their Duja Pistache, which is not seasonal but I'm not sure how long it will stick around, so I'm glad I didn't wait too long to get the first-round cake-off done. I'm more worried about availability of a cake for the next cake-off, but it requires a full day free, which I'm not going to have this weekend. I also noted that Lenôtre still has their Feuille d'Automne, along with a red version, so the second cake is definitely available, and the backup is this week's cake-off. (The Concerto is gone from Lenôtre, but I wasn't expecting to getting around it its third round this year.) I also swung by Rire Ginza, a "Sweet/Cafe Salon", just to confirm that I could find it, but I didn't climb the stairs in my jogging stuff with my cakes just to peek inside. I did feel free to go inside Sadaharu Aoki in Marunouchi, hoping to find a Croissant Chocolat, but they just had the Croissant Matcha (still an excellent choice), so I'll have to keep looking. I was hoping to try the Tokyo Midtown location Saturday morning (I'll have enough time for that), but it looks like I might get grounded by rain.

Neither Jean-Paul Hévin's Duja Pistache or Pièce Montée's Mont-blanc disappointed me, but neither stood out dramatically from the other. My preference for chocolate, though, led me to the Duja Pistache in the end, though the Mont-blanc remains outstanding as a simple Mont-blanc, why I'm still not sure.

The run was a revised Akasaka--Roppongi loop (fun running from home and back), though it ended up starting at 20:00, due to a nap, video chat, and indoor workout with weights. This time is was revised due to shown picture, which my old course passed behind. Now if only Google maps hadn't stopping letting me upload pictures, I could add it to the map.