Sadaharu Aoki: Tarte Caramel Salé

Went to Isetan and got Tarte Caramel Salé (タルトカラメルサレ; 720 yen) (although there may be an "au" missing in there), more for yesterday's run than today's which was pretty pathetic. I needed a clearer goal. Rather than more 13 km/h intervals, I decided to try hill work, but with my running budget, going out to the Akasaka Palace course didn't leave much for the actual hills, so I tried running along Gaien West Avenue from in front of the Sokagakkai Shinjuku Cultural Center intersection (or where the Shinjuku History and Culture Course meets Gaien West Avenue), down to the Daikyoucho intersection, which is good as far as grade, but is only about 280 meters and is a little narrow if anyone else is walking on it. It's not so busy, but I was making a nuisance of myself, so I only did about four downward runs at 13 to 14 km/h (plus upward runs at 9 to 10 km/h, which not really enough to even get sweaty, as cold as it was. I won't try there again for that.

The "cake" seemed great. This was a soft, semi-flowing, if that makes sense, caramel under the top. Wasn't particularly salty that I noticed, which is just as well. It has limited availability, though, and isn't on their website. 

Jean-Paul Hévin: Longchamp Chocolat Lait

Got the last cake I know of currently available from Jean-Paul Hévin, the Longchamp Chocolat Lait (ロンシャン　ショコラ　レ; 680 yen), which took two tries. Note that I previously posted on the Longchamp Chocolat Noir. It's possible that the Marunouchi chocolate bar will have some special cake for the upcoming Valentine's Day, since they surprised me with ones for Christmas, but otherwise I might have to wait for spring for something new, which means I need to finally getting around to reviewing all cakes I've rated as great and start comparing them to each other, which I haven't looked into yet (as far as, where I would start).

For running, my goal was to do 6 x 300 meters intervals @ 13.0+ km/h, down at Meiji Jingu Gaien, which was a little crowded when I got on, but I didn't see the largest group again once I passed them. Unfortunately, my fourth interval fell below 13.0 (but was still around 13 km/h), so I have to watch out for intervals over the last couple hundred meters of the course, which is where there is a slight upward slope. To make up for it, I did an extra interval (I would have kept going around third lap anyway). Actually, I had three intervals that were 14.0+ km/h, the last being closer to 15 km/h, plus another interval between 13.5 and 14.0 km/h. In the end, I got my 1.8+ km @ 13.0+ km/h, and 0.9+ km @ 14.0+ km/h, so I can use that as a start point when I want to deliberately do intervals at 14.0+ km/h, which I had been planning to do. First, I'll try to do 8 x 300 m @ 13.0+ km/h for my next training run.

Cake was great, which is no surprise. In some way, it is an extravagant cake, being a light chocolate mousse meringue (I assume, since the description says meringue and chocolate mousse, although maybe chocolate mousse is still chocolate mousse after you bake it, though I assume it would just melt) around maybe just plain meringue, with a milk chocolate coating with almond bits. On the other hand, it's a pretty simple taste, so maybe just my bias is talking. Nothing is stopping other shops from making similar cakes, though.

Actually, I tried to get this cake the day before and failed, so I got Pain aux Raisins from Maison Kayser, which was actually just okay (too dry for me, but maybe I shouldn't buy fancy bread in the evening).

The day after JPH, I tried to go to Octobre, thinking they are open until 8, which they are not. I could have then tried Plaisir, which is very close and theoretically should have been open (I know now), but was too stubborn and/or really did not care that much (after 8.1 km @ 10 km/h, I was pretty mellow, though now I'm disappointed that I hadn't managed 11 km/h). I'll get around to Plaisir eventually, but I've been there before, even though I haven't blogged them, and there are closer places I could do first, as far as revisiting places. Returning, I missed my turn and ended up connecting back up with Yamanote Avenue on a completely unfamiliar road that was none-the-less going in the right direction and well framed by routes I use regularly. Similarly, heading toward Yoyogi Station, I tried a slightly different way and ended up going past a school south of Shinjuku Gyoen that I didn't recognize buried back in a neighbor that I go frequently, just on different streets. Ended up 9.1 km @ 11 km/h coming back, even though going seemed more down hill (although a lot more worry about navigating a new route).

So no cake Wednesday, but I had great cake on Tuesday, I'm not underweight, over-lean, or over-slim right now, and I've got definitely not great homemade desserts in the freezer to use up, so no worries. Thursday, though, I'm getting cake from Isetan before Valentines Day chocolate sales makes things too crazy over there. Speaking of which, I would have stopped at a bean-to-bar place on Yamanote Avenue if they had been open and if it had not been packed with people receiving a lecture, presumably on how to make chocolates. (I've never been in there, but I've noticed them before and seen some stuff online about a few such places in Tokyo.)

L'atelier Motozo: Monte Bianco

Ran first to Motozo, though I got a little confused and ending up running around a couple blocks and checking the map near P. Glycine because I forgot that I had to cross Yamanote Avenue first and mistook it for the expressway after Motozo. Still, the run came out 7 km, which was what I expected, and it was (a low) 12 km/h, so faster than necessary but respectable. (My goal was 11 km/h for the trip, wanting more consistency of pace than last week.)

There, I got the Monte Bianco (モンテビアンコ; 583 yen) to compare with last time's Monte Bianco Giapponese. I choose eat in, since all the seats were free and it's cold this weekend. I was fine with that coffee was not available yet, which maybe explains what the bar arrangement is for. As it happens, I didn't care as much for this one. I recognized the taste of chestnuts, of course, so maybe I just don't like whatever the most common variety of chestnuts available here is, and that's why some mont-blanc I like and some I don't. It was still good, but that's not enough to get me back quickly.

After that, things were complicated. First, I looked of Octobre and overshot and had to come back, but it was where it was supposed to be and open. Then I looked for Plaisir, which was not where it was marked on my map (but close). I found it and they were closed again, with a sign on the door explaining that they were taking a week off (which is not marked on their website, calendar, unless it is buried somewhere in the long, rambling, poorly formatted posting), so this is still not a place that I would head to without planning a backup.

From there, I traced my way through Shimo-kitazawa, which was pretty active but not as crowded as I feared, so it's not unreasonable to run through there on a Sunday, in search of P. Main Mano. I was a little confused about which two of the three shops had closed and confirmed that this was one of the closed ones. There is still a café somewhere (it's on my google map, but I hadn't marked in on my portable road map), and they may have cake, but they don't have "patisserie" in their name, so since I'm not out to visit every café in Tokyo anyway (or Patisserie, really, just I sort of arbitrarily decided that I should find out whether this place was any good for cake after getting a cream puff there once), I think I won't worry about this place further. I'm hoping to get to Octobre later this week, as a long midweek run.

The long way back was about 10 km and averaged 11 km/h, as planned. I started on the high speed side and dipped in the middle but increased as I stopped needing to be concerned with navigation and could just focus on keeping up my speed.

Maison D'ahni: Iéna

Got down to Maison D'ahni for the first time (at least going inside). Had a little trouble, since streets around there tend to split and merge a lot, though the reason for all the cops is all the embassies (also lots of foreigners), particularly families that time of day (around noon). My point is I am somewhat guessing where I mistook my timing due to crossing the wrong way and an intersection and needing to wait for an extra light change. Still, I'm pretty sure I was averaging 11 km/h there (and definitely 10 km/h back). On the way back, a (American) guy who had just said "hey" or something to a family cycling out of a building that Google Maps doesn't identify or give street views for ran after me a bit and asked whether I was exercising and doing delivery at time same time, so I explained that it was my own cake. He said that was "awesome", which was nice and maybe I should have directed him to my blog, but I realized afterward that he could be weird guy just chatting with anyone who came buy, since it wasn't clear whether the family that he had said something to him actually knew him (they and I were both busy). Not that he seemed weird otherwise, maybe just curious about what weird stuff goes on in Japan.


The cake I chose was Iéna (イエナ; 561 yen), which was layered chocolate (-almond?) biscuit with chocolate and plain whipped cream layers as filling and the whole thing covered with a chocolate coating with nuts. The same chocolate whipped cream appears on top, along with some caramelized hazelnuts. It was definitely good, but the whipped cream layers were much thinker than the biscuit layers, which is not my idea of cake (too light). The chocolate coating just gave it more of a snack cake feel, though it probably helped keep it together on the run. Still, good cake that looks nice, just not enough to get me back there soon.

Fiorentina Pastry Boutique: Bianco Monte Japanese

Another shortish run revisiting some place I've been but never blogged. In this case, I went down to Fiorentina Pastry Boutique in the Hyatt in Roppongi Hills, which is about 3.5 km. Partially, I was trying not to go to fast and partially I was just still tired from yesterday, so my speeds were 10 km/h going down and 9 km/h coming back. Same as yesterday, I waited until later to have my cake with tea.

The cake was the Bianco Monte Japanese (626), which is another mont-blanc with domestic chestnuts. The chestnut paste was very smooth and the meringue base was very nutty. The base was coarser and yet airier than Jean-Paul Hévin's, which is my reference. Definitely excellent, so I should visit again soon. Note, that the cake didn't travel perfectly, so it's probably less symmetric than originally.

Pierre Hermé: Plaisir Intense

After working late, I went to Isetan and got the Plaisir Intense (756 yen) from Pierre Hermé. 

Running was 12 km/h laps at Meiji Jingu Gaien. I was worried at the start that I wouldn't be able to make my goal of four (5.3 km), but it worked out. The last lap was a little long (by 100 m) and a little fast (edging into 13 km/h territory) because I ran into a large pack of slightly slower people around where the end marker was (actually, an only slightly slow pair met up with a slower pack and matched them rather than going around, so the whole path was blocked and I had to step into the street to maintain my pace) and I missed it trying to get past them. On the other hand, I was not able to keep up the speed going home, so that 1 km or so was only 11 km/h this time (plus there was 100 m shorter at 10 km/h getting there to begin with). It was another not long run but it was intense enough that I feel sufficiently sore to be satisfied, although it is in the buttocks and hips first, then thighs and not so much calves, which feels weird (and unstable, sitting). 

This time I followed my own advice and just ate my yogurt when I got home and waited until after a bath, dinner, and tea ("La France") was ready to have my cake. I'm not sure why I haven't had this one before, but maybe it is seasonal. If I believe what I read online, which seems accurate, the base is almond cheese biscuit, there is chocolate flaked praliné, chocolate ganache, chocolate chantilly, and some large pieces of chocolate, all dark chocolate. It is definitely intense and definitely excellent, as well as not being overly sweet, although that's natural for dark chocolate.

Anniversary: Short Cake

Nothing exciting to report other than meeting the challenge of running to a place that closes at 19:00, which I'm not likely to get another chance to try soon on a work night. Specifically, I ran down to Anniversary in Minamiaoyama, which is about 3 km away, at 11 km/h going and 10 km/h coming back with cake. I got their (regular) Short Cake (ショートケーキ, 486 yen), which experience with several cakes from there suggests is the best option. Unfortunately, I'm not that into (strawberry) shortcake. I think it requires more calm and less hunger than I usually have when I'm eating cake after running. Perhaps I should try setting it aside, taking my shower, having dinner, and making tea first. I should try that next time I'm in the same situation. Anyway, this was good short cake and nice looking, so I recommend it for anyone who would like this kind of soft cake surrounded in whipped cream and flavored with strawberry.