Lenôtre, Verrine Baba Agrume

Monday, wanting to fit in a couple weekday cakes this week (since I was busy this weekend), I did my first run to Ginza Mitsukoshi and was somewhat successful. I wanted to get a cake from Lenôtre, which has two seasonal cakes that I haven't tried yet. I could get my preferred choice, but I figured that I would get to both eventually, so no worries. I got the Verrine Baba Agrume, which is a baba in a glass with lots of fruit, specifically orange, pear, and Japanese apricot. While verrine and baba aren't my preference, I found the abundance of a fruit an improvement over my previous similar cake and can say that this was definitely good. Actually, this puts the shop in danger from challengers below, so I'm not sure that I'll actually get to the other cake, but there are also cake-offs coming up, so I remain optimistic.

Bien-être: Anzu Fraise Chocolat

It's been a while, but its been a busy week. First, Monday and Tuesday I tried to get the new cake from Bien-être (the last time I had a new cake from there was more than 11 months ago, though I haven't been looked so frequently of late) and failed, though I was fairly late. Wednesday, I had the afternoon off, so I reserved a piece to pick up in the afternoon. I also tried to get the new cake from JPH, but I dallied elsewhere, and so the last piece disappear in front of me. One place a dallied was the quite superb shop Sadaharu Aoki, which does not have a new cake, so I resorted to trying something else again. I prefer to get fresh baked goods in the morning, so I went with the Sablé Choco Chocolat. It's a chocolate covered chocolate sablé-type cookie and was excellent.

I got my ordered cake, passing through the Takeshita area, which I've completed the neighborhood running course clump and by now I have done both the new loops, clockwise and counterclockwise, though I was still working on them then (not necessarily successfully). As expected, the shop was full for eating in, so I brought back my cake for later. Then I went out by bicycle to see if, by chance, I could score the JPH cake at either the Marunouchi or Ginza shops, but no such luck. At Ginza Mitsukoshi, I did hit another quite superb shop which doesn't have enough new cakes to satisfy me, Frédéric Cassel, where I got one of their moelleux, Moelleux Pistache Figue. It was good, I'll say, but I don't need to try others in that line. Still looking for other good types of things from them.

For my second run, I did another neighborhood course, the Suga Shrine clump. I'm mention now that Monday and Tuesday I decided to start sampling the bottom-layer of cake purveyors in that neighborhood. I started with a cheese tart from Lawson 100 and a chuu cream from the Family Mart, both ok to bad (not sure which one left the nasty after taste, because I ate them on the same night): just tasteless. The Waguri Mont-Blanc from the Ministop on Tuesday was definitely bad whipped dairy with a bad aftertaste. Wednesday, though, I got a Chuu Cream from the 7-Eleven, and it was relatively good.

The main event, of course was Bien-être's Anzu Fraise Chocolat. They have this instead of the Cuit Chocolat that had been looking for last weekend, so I thought it might be just that with a different topping, but it's not a baked chocolate cake. I'm sure it's as designed, but it was not working for me at all, so I can't rate it higher than ok (which isn't as devastating to my rating of them as it used to be, but still they were only marginally open to promotion, but not any more, though another shop among the quite excellent shops is, so that should be at least one of my destinations Monday). I should say that this does not reflect what I assume were azuki beans on top, which were fine (though not particularly strong in taste, so maybe not azuki beans, or just ones soaked in anzu juice).

Thursday, I did the large loop of the Suga Shrine course counterclockwise to confirm my memory of it. I didn't try to get real cake, but instead got the Whipped Cream Roll Cake from the grocer My Basket, and it was reasonably good (which is the best any roll cake as been for me).

Friday, even though they failed on the tart, I got a Chuu Cream pack from Lawson 100, because I used to buy these probably years ago now, and found them reasonable. They still are reasonably good.

Looking forward to the weekend, when I can get to shops early enough to get good cake. Actually, based on my reconnaissance Wednesday, I'm planning two cake-offs this weekend, to take advantage of limited availability. 

Paris S'éveille: Arbion

Did another cycling day, about 3 hours, this time out to Paris S'éveille. It was a little soon to go back there, but it seemed like a good choice for a weekend and I wanted to check the Dalloyau line-up at their main store (their two mont-blanc are in, but none of the cakes I'm looking for). On the way, I took a few photos in the area around Meguro Station, but even before that, I stopped at Café Le Cordon Bleu for my first pastry from them, which I think was called Croissant au Chocolat (or at least should have been), and ate in. This was super fresh, complete with the fresh bread smell, whereas I'm used to buying pastries late in the day on weekdays. I think that they brushed it with egg white, because the outside is well sealed. Definitely seemed very "by the book", so no complaints and I can say that it was excellent.

At Paris S'éveille, they no longer have signs on their tables saying "no photographs", so I ate in. I choose the "chef-recommend" Arbion, which is new and features Japanese apricot mousse, almond milk mousse, and lavender flavored milk foam surrounded by white chocolate. The taste balance was fine for me, as a light fruity concoction, but not really my thing; still, definitely good. Maybe fall and winter will bring some new heavier cakes. Completely forgot to confirm up-coming cake-off cakes, but I wouldn't get to them this month anyway, so I guess it's okay.

On the way back, I confirmed that Les Cacao still doesn't have Cuba, the only great cake that I've had from there, swung by Toshi Yoroizuka to confirm recently spotted great cakes remain, though no new old favorites. Lastly, I stopped by Bubó Barcelona and got their Croissant au Chocolat (I think), which I ate at home. Wait, I also confirmed La Vie Douce still doesn't have a yuzu chiboust, or any kind of chiboust or yuzu cake right now. The second croissant had a balance of buttery flake, fluffy interior, and chocolate that makes we want to say that it is great.