Sourire, Sicilian

Working on the last two of the 9 remaining 2-cake possibly quite fine shops that aren't accessible on a weekday, I cycled (since it was above 30 degC at 9 am) out to Sourire. Since I was not willing to buy beverage, I got take out and consumed a box and three ice packs (perhaps I should figure out how to re-use those, but they get dirty easily) bring it back.  That took about an hour. Then I went out for another two hours and hit two shops north looking for maboroshi (phantom, by which I mean not visible) great cakes on the north side, of course not finding either, as always.

After lunch, I had the cake of choice, Sicilian. I didn't actually read the card beyond the name, so I left it as a surprise what was inside. Actually, it remained a surprise as I ate it, but by the end I could tell that the center mousse was (milk?) chocolate. It harmonized better than maybe dark chocolate would, though in general I prefer dark chocolate, if not necessarily with pistachio, but still, I don't think it was a good choice over fruit, which I don't generally prefer, though maybe it would work with stronger, fruitier chocolate. It was well-constructed and pretty (and traveled well by bicycle), but I can't rate it higher than "good", so Sourire doesn't make the cut and get sent down to join the fine shops, though in the upper fraction that will make the next cut of them, which I have about 60 too many of.

In the late afternoon/evening, I went for a run to confirm changes to the the Jinguumae central loop to add the Starbucks on the west corner. Noticed a tea shop that should be added on the current route. I need to make a slight change to avoid running through the middle of a outdoor eating area and I confirmed the Starbucks at Omotesando Hills, which replaced a Tully's Coffee, I think.

Setagaya H&C course, Sourire

The Setagaya History and Culture course runs from Shibuya Station to Futakotamagawa Station. I started down the wrong street from the beginning and had to back up, although I know this area and tried once before to follow this route, walking. Mostly, it's nice. There are a couple misplaced marker tiles suddenly showing the route coming from some place that would not make sense, but at least they point in the correct direction to continue. The bad part is near the end: after Kinuta Park, the marked route takes you back to a canal with reassuring tile markers telling you to continue and then turn right, after which it apparently gives up. What you need to do is turn on the river and not worry about the fact that you won't see any more of those markers. There are some new markers and a big map of the usual style showing a more direct route from the park, though I haven't found an on-line reference.

After a snack from the Paul at the Takashima there, I was able to take Komazawa Dori/Street back, although got way off track looking for a different route than my normal when Komazawa links up to old Yamanote.

On the way back, I picked up Caramel Noir from Sourire for 500 yen. This was kind of a challenge for this shop which I marked as "worthy" of special attention, since I'm not fond of some flavors of caramel, both a challenge to the shop and a challenge to me to expand my palate, if that word is appropriate. It's a walnut caramel and a chocolate caramel, I think, or maybe I misunderstood the card. Anyway, it was interesting and although not my thing/great, I would be willing have it again as something shared if someone wanted to get it.



Sourire: Caramel Noir

In other running news, I may have already mentioned that they repaved the part of the Meji Jingu Gaien course that they had ripped up. The timing probably had to do with an event that I say last weekend taking place. Comping back Saturday, half the width was roped off for people running in an event, although they were not going so fast, so I thought it was a short race (and someone was in a reindeer jumpsuit). When I went by Sunday morning, they were still going (including reindeer man), although there were some walkers and even standers. It turns out, I learned from asking staff, that they were doing a 24-hour run. That explained the sensor mats across the path. So there are crazier people than me, although know that idea is in my head. Fortunately, running in a circle is not my usual thing.

As far as a my map (first link above) goes, after being strict with Origines Cacao, I decided that I had to be stricter with everyone, so I demoted Bigarreaux and Fraoula, though I love them both. Just, I want to save "great" for places that mostly have great cake. Ryoco is still in there (and when they recover from Chirstmas cake season and reopen when I can go, I'll visit), but Aigre-Douce is on the edge. I expect to be strict with the "worthy" ones and even "good" ones, which I'll eventual review, unless I find a new reliable source for good unvisited cake shops.

Saturday evening: 15+ km to Sourire

The recipe that's been looking at is a Marjolaine, so I Googled the name and thought I'd try one. It showed up at Sourire, which I've been to a couple times and gotten a tart and maybe cheese cake, so never really regular cake, for whatever reason. They are open until 8 pm and I can get there in an hour, so I should consider them for longer runs, which is what I did and tried out the new watch (but used the old shoes). I did alternating 1 minute intervals (pausing the timer where necessary at stoplights) and managed 10. I had my usual problem with my left foot, though: when I run hard, I apparently don't run well and do some damage. I can run 40+ km without problems (because I never run that hard) of that sort, but a few hard intervals are a problem. I may need to see a professional and get some running advice.

Added Sourire (as well as others for later posts), which is near Youtenji, to the map. This picture I can post. Marjolaine is hazelnut Japonaismasse cake with praline cream and whipped cream layers. I was expecting a stronger taste from the cake part, since the hazelnut powder can be the most expensive part, but you can also get cheap stuff too, which I'm not sure works the say, so maybe that's what happened here. I would have expected the cake to be firmer and darker, although as far as firmer, you are supposed to add the filling and then give it a day for the moisture to soak into the cake part, so maybe this is just the way it's supposed to be. It was not bad. In fact, it was very good, although, as I said, it was not what I was expecting, and less whipped cream would have been better for me (which is maybe why I don't like Japanese [strawberry] short cake, which tends to be a pile of whipped cream with strawberries and little tasteless sponge cake inside). It was 480 yen, which is reasonable.