Pierre Gagnaire, Mousse au Chocolat au Lait

Sunday, I didn't feel a need to get up early. Actually, I didn't get out until about 10 am. My goal was Pierre Gagnaire, but I started southwest rather than southeast because I wanted to try to get something from an unsampled shop over in the Omote-Sandou west area for bread. Went by Neko Neko Cheesecake, which I should sample for cake now that's not Neko Neko Shokupan, so maybe the gourmet sliced bread boom has faded. Actually, I had two targets for bread along Aoyama-doori, though I ended up getting a Croissant au Chocolat instead one of them, the bakery counter at a grocery store, Kinokuniya International, which has a super slow checkout line because of the extensive packing and general carefulness. The pastry was good, but it's a relief that it wasn't better, giving me a reason to go back. Some day I should see what the selection of chocolate bars is there.

I'm two cakes behind on Pierre Gagnaire because their line-up is tiny and rarely changed, and actually didn't even include both posted cakes, at least not that I ever saw, and I even asked once. Now they had one different cake I've had before, a couple standards, and two cakes new to me. I went with the Mousse au Chocolat au Lait (can't guarantee the auxiliaries), which is milk chocolate mousse in a hard shell. I can tell from the beginning that it was definitely good, as good as any milk chocolate mousse I've had, as far as I can remember, but even with just one cake, a cup of tea wasn't sufficient to get me all the way through this. I know that I've saturated on plain chocolate mousse even years ago, so I should have prepared more. I guess I need to start buying milk for cake, instead of relying only on tea. As I said, it was definitely good, but there was more than enough for me, at least without something varying it. 

In the afternoon, I was back around JR Harajuku Sta. to see what Aux Bacchanales might be like on a weekday (no line), what's in Eataly (short line and a couple brands of chocolates, as well as cookies), and where the heck the elevator that gets you to the Shiseido Parlor (elevators on the lower floors only cover the lower floors). Also, Trip Port Sweets seems to be reorganizing itself (there were people in there discussing something and the upper floors of the building are closed now, though maybe they were always closed).

 

Lenôtre, Tartelette orange

Due to EV's weak performance, Lenôtre got another chance to improve it's standing. Best bet seemed to be the Tartelette orange. Unfortunately, it's exactly what it looks like, a tart with a lot of raw orange on top. The base is hard with some custard. The ingredient if fine, but not a combination that's probably ever going to work for me. For course, I can say it's good, but so far their tarts have been their weakest items.  

Ryoura, Récif

Sunday as a big cake and running day. First, I did the run out to Ryoura. I stopped at Hikarie to check Sadaharu Aoki, but it seems to be one of the shops closed during a 1.5-month renovation. Next, I went to Viron and got their Bostock aux Pistaches, which I decided was excellent, though I'm not convinced that pistachios, much less with cherry, are an improvement.

At Ryoura, I decided that chocolate was a dependable choice (plus, I've had most of their line-up), so I went with the Récif, which I hadn't seen before. This is chocolate and whipped cream, with oat and currant sablé and cacao-scented blancmange, which sounds a little weird perhaps, but the taste was a definitely good chocolate cake, but it didn't really stand out. Maybe the interesting ingredients actually cancelled each other out. I'll included the double picture and split up the post, since I don't have enough space for all the labels.

Viron:Tarte au Chocolat

Tried the Daita-... loop again, having just updated it. I failed again counterclockwise, but quite a bit further along than any previous attempt, in Kitazawa 3, which might be half way, though still outbound on the larger southern section that is maybe two-thirds of this route (my next map update might make it easier to quickly clarify that) and at a point that I modified during attempts clockwise, so at one point in time my left turn would have been correct. I wasn't so disappointed, as this is my biggest challenge and I expect I'll be trying it one way or another for a long time, so I'll keep alternating with other routes. I continued on, though not necessarily all running, to Kitazawa 2, to confirm in person the last revisions around there and take photos. 

Extra snacks were only on the way back (besides a couple Calorie Mates cookies). I got a Pain au Chocolat from the Crossroad Bakery inside the laundromat in Uehara along the main east-west road by The University of Tokyo's Komaba Campus, which I think has either mathematics or economics. The outside of this pastry was really well layered, as shown, but the inside had soft white layers, which usually makes me think they are lazy, but actually I can see where this works and I should be appreciating the different textures, since the inside wasn't raw or bread-like: excellent, even if not my ideal.

I decided early on that Viron would be on my way back, since they are one of 4 shops in four different shop categories challenging a shop in the category above them. Before that, I wanted confirm a coffee shop, but that took me through the sleazier parts of Dougenzaka, where I found a tiny park. It's hard to believe this is a real public park, but it's got the signs to prove it, so that destroys two loops, since I think I'll merge the Maruyamachou--Shinsenchou and Dougenzaka loops to fit this in, though I haven't done that yet.

At Viron, I got a Tarte au Chocolat for home and their huge Croissant for eating just outside. The latter was fluffier than I usually like, and yet they seemed to completely nail what they were after and it wasn't bread-like, so I'll have to say that this also was excellent.

On the way home with cake, I stopped by the Flipper's Stand near Harujuku Station and confirmed take-out that qualifies them being on the map, so once again I'm revising the Jinguumae 5&6 loop to add something. At least during the main run I detoured to get the Tomigaya loop clockwise, so I have something achieved, however trivial.

Chocolate tarts are inherently limited, but Viron's seem well made and with good chocolate, so I can rate it as an excellent 17th cake, which leaves them still a challenger for the superb category, though they've got a lot of cake to go to join Origines Cacao there.