Nanatea and Tsutsumi, Broiled Cheesecake

Well, I'm not sure about this local tea salon, Nanatea and Tsutsumi, on the south Omotesando part of Kitaaoyama. I was there early (before noon), before they had any customers and asked about take out cake. They asked themselves about what they had ingredients for, which seems strange, as I was at the display case, but then I ended up waiting a long time to get this, so they really did make it, which sort of makes it café dessert rather than patisserie cake, even if I got it take out. Now that I know that "aburu" means "to broil", I know this is Broiled Cheesecake, which is exactly what it seems like, with the top soft like melted cheese but with an overall texture between typical cheesecake and cheese. I have to wonder if you get it hot if you order it eat in and I should have broiled it, but they didn't tell me and I didn't know until now, when I finally looked up the kanji for the name in the menu and recalled what I was told at the time. I'm going to say it was good allow it, so eventually I expect I'll get back, by which time hopefully they will have other cakes (menu also includes classic chocolate and cake of the day, though they only had the cheesecake as far as cakes. 

Crayonhouse, Fruit Rare Cheesecake

Went down to try to cake from a new shop in the Harajuku-Omotesando area. Mostly, they were closed by the time I got there, but Crayonhouse was open and happy to sell me takeout cake. They tend to be healthy type and more on the baked side, but this at least is within the scope of patisseries. And it was good. The fruit had a sort of raison flavor, though not purely that. It might just be that it uses dried fruit. 

 

Pariya, Pecannuts Chocolate Shortcake

Finally really got a first cake from a shop in the Omotesando--Harajuku area, Pariya, which is a kind of eat-in deli. They also have a shop in Tokyo Midtown as of maybe a couple years ago. All their cakes are short cakes and bit enough that you could easily share them. I went with the pecan and chocolate, despite a recent complain about nuts slivers in an otherwise soft chocolate cake. This one has reasonably large pieces, all in the center, so you know when you are getting them. This cake is maybe 75% whipped cream, with very little cake, which is fine. I thought the chocolate as reasonable and the nuts were fine. It was good. I'm not sure whether the aftertaste was from nuts, milk cholate, or some unusually sweetener. It had a soft of banana flavor. I didn't care for it, but it wasn't actually nasty or anything. Milk would have probably been a better match for this than tea.  

Good is enough to get on the fine list, so eventually (in some number of years, as it's a really bloated list) I'll be back for a second cake.

Lindt, Truffle au Chocolat Framboise

Tried to actually exercise again today, beyond just walking. Expected that it might induce coughing, but no such problem. Went by bicycle down to Lindt first, as a quite fine shop that I need a third cake from. I got the Truffle au Chocolat Framboise, which was the only viable option for a new cake (more cakes are listed on their site, but I suspect there aren't that many at the Kitaaoyama shop).

Then I went over to the Fiorentina Pastry Boutique at Roppongi Hills and confirmed that they still have Estate, which I want for a cake-off tomorrow, so I should be set. Back home, I only did push-ups as indoor workout and I was pretty weak, but it's a (re)start. Maybe I'll do abs, back, and arms tomorrow.

The raspberry truffle cakes was definitely fine. Lindt might just be a big commercial chocolate maker, but they have a good brand and protect it. Not exciting but solid and dependable. They shouldn't have trouble hanging on to a position among the fine shops (targeted to be the bottom half of the top 127 Tokyo shops). Eleven more quite fine shops to confirm, including both of tomorrow's cake-off targets, who are top contenders to move up to the next level.

Cafe Landtmann: Landtmanntorte

Friday night, I got of work reasonably on time and did a run down to finish confirming the Minami-Aoyama east loop. The first fact meant that this took me by Viking Bakery F while they were still open, so I got half a loaf of Sourdough Bread, which is not something you can get a lot of places. It was definitely good. I toasted it and had it with olive oil, or at least most of it. The picture is at only half way through, after which I shared.

Saturday morning, I went out and just did photo of sites on the map I wanted to confirm. As usually, I found a couple I didn't know about, so the just expanded Roppongi 6 north loop got shrunk a little to take in a temple. I also found a Shuu coffee shop, and some day I'll actually go inside one and find out whether I'm including them for good reason.

I was busy otherwise much of the weekend, but I did go to a the Marunouchi Jean-Paul Hévin Chocolat Bar, which was crowded for the first time ever (perhaps related to them completing the neighboring building, so now there is more people to be walking around that area look for food). They just changed their special, so I went there and had Madeleine Fondue, which is chocolate fondue for

madeleines with whipped cream was excellent. Also had the O de Chocolat Brésil, which was excellent. I also had halves of two chocolate macarons, which is maybe not enough to judge (I'm not sure even a whole macaron is enough to judge) but seemed excellent, the Constanz, which is a Dominican Cacao ganache, and Crioca, which is Brazilian ganache.

Finally, Sunday for lunch, we went to Cafe Landtmann, which is a restaurant in the AO building. Being a restaurant, I wouldn't usually bother with trying to get and review their cake, but they are on the neighborhood course map and they have "Cafe" in their name, so I decided to allow them. It's a fancy place with good atmosphere, both physical and service, but not exceptionally expensive, considering. I got the Landtmanntorte,

figuring that it would be their best, since they've put their name on it, though maybe I should just have considered that other things already had names, so they didn't have the opportunity. Anyway, this has a little chocolate frosting on the outside edge, a top layer of raspberry sauce, more extensive layers of caramel, and a layer of orange cream. The cake part is cinnamon flavor and has an usual consistency, not sponge certainly, but sort of a wet and nutty, maybe, sort of solid without being hard. It was definitely good, but I should have gone with something with more chocolate. The other dessert was not cake, it was Marillen Palatschinken, which the English explains as Viennese apricot pancakes, though they are crêpes, as the Japanese clearly states.

Gerbeaud, Gerbeaud (Szelet) and Wafuu Mont-Blanc

Back on Thursday, I tried and failed to set up a cake-off, though I did manage to have some great cake. My plan initially went off the rails because Il Pleut sur la Seine is renovating and I failed to understand the details. Right now, the shop is still open but no fresh cake. They plan to reopen at the end of May, so I'll be waiting a while. Ended up down at Paris S. in Jiyugaoka, but either they sold out early or they have an abbreviated line-up on a weekday, as they had neither the several new nor the specific cake I was look for as a cake-off entrant, though I had just seen it the previous weekend, I thought. But it was good weather and good running.

Friday, I ran without cake, working on the neighborhood course. I failed on the revised East Shibuya loop, but reviewing, it didn't really make sense anyway, so I've revised it again; it looks simple enough now. I was finally able to finish confirming knowledge of the Minami-Aoyama--Shibuya loop and was successful for clockwise at the revised Minami-Aoyama 3&4 loop, so that completion will simplify my next attempt at the other two. I did have a snack from a new counter at Isetan for Beillevaire, which also has a temporary shop at Roppongi Hills and a main shop in Moto-Azabu, so it might count as a neighborhood shop anyway, but I need to confirm both of those. As an Isetan exclusive, they have Mille-Feuille Fromage Pie Blood Orange, which was good but not really that interesting as either pastry or cheese (which is what the shop specializes in).

Saturday, I was busy, so I didn't run, but I did get to Gerbeaud for lunches  and cake sets for two. One cake was Wafuu Mont-Blanc. I'l say it was good, though that is based on two bites. It's a simple cake and not my style even among mont-blanc. It was pronounced delicious but not as good as Angelina's Mont-Blanc, which is more comparable than my preference of mont-blanc, so I'm reasonably confident about the rating. I had all but one bit of the Gerbeaud (Szelet), which as the name implies, is very layered, like a pasty, alternating in apricot jam (like a Sachertorte) and walnut. It was like a cross between a pastry and coffeecake, dry, but not in a bad way. It was a big change from my favorites but a nice change. This was definitely excellent, so Gerbeaud'll make the cut as a quite good Tokyo cake shop.

Anniversaire Café: Anniversaire Chocolat and Rocolte

Went to Anniversaire Café for the first time. On one hand, this is definitely Tokyo cake, but no take-out, so technically its Tokyo café items. I got Anniversaire Chocolat, their chocolate cake. It's more traditional than I go for, so I'm saying its excellent partially on technical grounds, but it was certainly very good. One interesting aspect is that it is a layer cake, but the middle layers don't go all the way through, so the ganache (I would call it, mostly ignorantly) on the outside is uninterrupted by sponge cake.

The other cake is Rocolte, which looks like a mont-blanc, but there's no actual "Blanc" (whipped cream). The chestnut paste/cream is fairly thick. Inside, beside most chestnut, is a light (in terms of the amount of fruit/color) cassis cream, I think. This is definitely excellent. I'd like to get back here, but there are four other places in the area that I haven't visited/posted on.

Royal Garden Cafe [Aoyama]: Croissant Almonde

As my pastry, I made my first buy at Royal Garden Cafe, on the ground that now that the pedestrian bridge over Aoyama-doori is fixed, then will be on a neighborhood course, as soon as I get back to more ambitious running. I'm not putting every cafe on the course, but this does bill itself as a bakery cafe and there is a space set up for take out bread and pastries, even if they don't seem fully prepared for that when I actually buy something (though that might just be weekend part-timers). This almond croissant was of the flat/collapsed rather oily kind, which is not a wholly bad thing, but doesn't get them beyond good.


I actually ran this day, visiting Midtown to research something, though I don't remember what. Wait, now I remember: Sadaharu Aoki, which I needed a next cake from. Aoki had a green tea azuki bean rollcake, which is unappealing on multiple fronts. I reviewed the website and say that I needed to actually go to Shibuya Hikarie ShinQ.

Dolce MariRosa: Gateau Chocolat

Ran down to the southwest Harajuku area because I needed to check whether the bridges between it and the northeast part (on the other side of Omotesandou Street) were open for a pseudo-continuous run (the course will be continuous, without stoplight interruptions, but I'm definitely going to take breaks every hour or so, for health purposes). No problem with the bridges and no problem with that part of the course, as far as remembering it or being able to cross where I need to (there was snow yesterday one place where I had made a change, so I couldn't actually see the crosswalk lines).

For cake, I visited Dolce MariRosa, on the grounds that I should blog every cake shop in my neighborhood. I had a bad experience there previously, which is why I haven't visited and blogged about them until now. I went with the Gateau Chocolat as the most fancy French cake like, which is exactly what this shop is obviously not trying to be. This is a slice of traditional (French) chocolate cake in a tart shell (I still don't understand why) with a little whipped cream and strawberry. Actually, if was fine, which is to say good. Since I fear much worse, I'm quite satisfied. Not my kind of place, but that nice is open in that neighborhood, which has Pierre Hermé and Bubó Barcelona nearby, so they don't need another fancy cake shop, probably.

It's a little scary finding the bridges open. I may actually have to do a personal record-breaking endurance run this Sunday, though not if it's raining or snowing. A little rain and snow is okay for short runs or even a long run in the summer, but not now.

Lindt: Montreux

Got a second cake from Lindt, in North Aoyama and then traced Omotesandou Doori on the older route minus a loop and missing one turn and then made a second try in the future Tougou Shrine and SDA Tokyo Central Church neighborhood. The shrine is fine, but without backtracking, there's no avoiding crowds visiting the church because it's behind the Meiji Doori Omotesandou intersection, which is usually going to be too crowded fro running. I started running faster than recently but of course was slowed down in Harajuku carring cake. I walked the last 800 m or so, as I had already run 61 minutes.

The cake was Montreux, which is a pecan brownie base with a layer of caramel chocolate mousse (though a pretty thick one) with mascarpone cheese flavored with vanilla. The vanilla cheese part is definitely good, but the rest drags it down. Not sure that a brownie is every going to work for me as a cake base, but this certainly does. I'm going to be generous and say it was at least good (rather than just okay), but there's no huge hurry for the third cake.

Lindt: Gateau Truffle au Chocolat

Continuing from Friday, I walked confirming and running in the reverse direction loops in Sendagaya down to North Aoyama. Road was closed for the Zuienji Loop, so I'll need to do that one another time. Anyway, I decided that the one near the National Noh Theater should go around the front rather than the back, since that's easier and shorter. I suppose the reason I did it the other way was to run the length of the mark there, but passing the southeast side is sufficient for me. I also decided that I could just run by the front of Jinguumae Public Park rather than come the back way with the public housing drive (which has a posted speed limit of 8 km/h). I thought the Jinguumae Loop is fine, but now I realize that I don't need to come down Meiji Douri, cut over to Harajuku Street and the cut over again to Cat Street, I could should just cut over to Cat Street along the cross street and void the crowds and alleys (though I'm still going to run into crowds on Cat Street (though no cats).

For cake, I stopped at Lindt, who have a cafe on Aoyama Douri which I've been to several times, due to it's convenience and visibility, although not since getting serious about running and cake. They do take out, though, and I judged correctly that they wouldn't bother to adjust their line-up for Christmas. I got the Gateau Truffle au Chocolat and walked it back home the long way to confirm that  Bubó Barcelona also had standard cakes (my plan for Christmas) and see whether Takashima would have their normal Patisserie selection. They didn't, though they did have a small selection, because large Christmas cakes, so I might go there Tuesday and get something from somewhere I haven't posted on before.

The Lindt cake, while understandably somewhat like eating a chocolate crunch bar (though it was truffle, so thick ganache, not solid chocolate in crystal form) was reasonably good for a brand sold in supermarkets. I'm willing to say that it was excellent and plan on going back soon to try a second cake (they have four types total, and I'm not expecting those to vary much, if at all, though I haven't been watching).

Gerbeaud: Dobostorta (ドボシュトルタ) and Esterházy Torta (エゥテルハージトルタ)

Saturday, we went to Gerbeaud along Aoyama Avenue near Omotesando, on account of the Pierre Herme being under renovation. Still, I intentionly had prepared it as a back up. There was got the Dobostorta  (ドボシュトルタ, 630 yen) and a Esterházy Torta (エゥテルハージトルタ, 630 yen), which are both tortes and similar, but former is chocolate butter cream and the latter is not (perhaps, vanilla or cognac). I liked the latter more, for being sweeter maybe. It's nice to have this kind of denser cake once in a while rather than French cakes. Note that the for the former, this is the cake shown by Wikipedia, although I don't know that it is from this particular branch.

For a the running, on Sunday afternoon I went around and visited Cafe Mikuni's (first time to go up to the door, but didn't go inside) and Hertier (probably have been by here, but wouldn't have noticed it as anywhere special; also didn't go inside, but I could see inside; not very many kinds on cake) as future places to visit. It was 13 km total (I got a little off track and then decided to take an easier follow route coming back, or I could have done it in 12 km), at just within the upper bounds for 9 km/h. Still feeling like I'm running at my limit, as far as my left knee goes at least, so I'm not sure whether I'm going to have to give up running faster and just stick to 9 km/h as an upper limit. I'm certainly not intent on expanding my running budget while I've figuring this out.