Yoku Moku ヨックモック Blue Brick Lounge Aoyama Tokyo

I’ve never had the motivation to visit this place until recently when I spotted its seasonal menu that looked potentially good. Matcha fondant is a dessert of the yesteryears but this cigare specialty store still had the guts to serve it. In fact, it had done a brilliant job with the entire concept. Who says plated desserts have to be deconstructed in an avant-Garde style and leave us feeling empty after that? 


モワルーショコラ 抹茶仕立て

Thankfully this was totally not the case. Everything was in the way they should be. You can tell a cake’s a cake and an ice cream is an ice cream. 

The perfectly matcha circles painted in the background were the key that transformed the dish, as if it was done with the masterful strokes of Picasso. The wobbly blobs of matcha bavaroise was barely sweetened but it wasn’t too bitter as well. 

Together with the yuzu sherbet, the matcha bavaroise toned down the sweetness from the matcha fondant cake. The matcha ice cream itself was already good on its own and I wiped it clean first. 

桜のクレームブリュレ Sakura Creme Brulee



However, the Sakura Creme Brûlée Parfait was a sorry situation as the centerpiece was terribly sweet, not salvaged in any case by the meringue sticks. Nonetheless it wasn’t a wasted trip as the matcha dessert saved the day and at least now that I’ve finally know how it feels like to dine at this famous Blue House eh nope, Blue Brick Lounge, that have been widely written and reviewed. 

Yoku Moku Blue House 
Lounge 10am-11pm (Shop till 7pm)
https://www.yokumoku.co.jp/store/tokyo/509/
https://www.facebook.com/yokumoku.co.ltd/
南青山５－３－３ 東京都港区 107-0062
Nearest station: Omotesando 

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Hotel New Otani Tokyo: $15 Super Overhyped and Overpriced Japanese Shortcake

If there’s one place you should avoid for cakes in Tokyo or even the whole of Japan, it is Patisserie Satsuki of the prestigious Hotel New Otani, the same place that houses the first Pierre Herme outlet in Japan. 

It’s famous for its super melon shortcake which is priced at a whopping ¥3500 per piece and limited to only 20 per day.  WOW. To think that something so simple can fetch such a heavenly price. And if it can continue to be around for so many years (more than 10 years), it must be damn good. 

Having found out that the cakes can be booked online for collection (which means no wasted trip  if it is sold out or no wasting time to queue), I eagerly booked 3 items from the edo Sweets series, a collection of matcha based pastries. 

1500 yen (~SGD 18) millefeuille

As I tried to navigate through the rather forlorn hotel (think old Beauty World Shopping Center) with kimono-clad Obaasan sipping afternoon tea on red cushion sofas, trying to reach the god-knows-where patisserie, I felt very awkward and I just wanted to collect and get out of this place asap. But the horror of all horrors came later. The cakes turned out to be the worst decision ever made in my life. 

1250 yen (~SGD 15) per slice 

I won’t describe the details of every single piece because it reminded me of the mental torture to try to consume as much as I can without wasting my money. The sponge (be it in the roll or shortcake) was terribly dry and rough you’ll better standby some water by your side. Meanwhile the matcha cream/ganache was so sweet that the first reaction most will do is to scrape it away. I felt sad for the matcha which have been robbed of their beauty because of the poor control of sugar and chocolate.

Portion for each cake is definitely bigger than average but who will even be keen to finish it when it tasted like this? 

Better save your calories and $$ for something else across the streets.

https://www.newotani.co.jp/tokyo/restaurant/p-satsuki/cake/edo-sweets/

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CHANTEZ Pâtisserie 穿石

终于尝到这里的蛋糕了。水准真的很高、吃得很开心很满意。

我不能一概而论、但是我拜访的三家都令人刮目相看。风格跟日本很像但我觉得台湾的法式蛋糕比日本的口感更轻盈、味道也拿捏得恰到好处、大多不会过分甜腻。

先说这家Chantez好了。台北的蛋糕业还没有日本来得竞争、所以在百货或是车站都没有注意到什么法式蛋糕店（卖什么酥什么餅的就超级多）。Chantez是台北车站唯一一家法式蛋糕店。仅供外带、本店在大安区（下次有时间会去本店因为那里有店内限定商品）。价格不超$180 （大约新币8元）以这种水准来说、非常合理了。

【雪铃】$170 椰子、荔枝、红心芭楽。刚看到时还以为时空交错来到了十二月圣诞节。巧妙的利用台湾水果为主要食材搭配椰子、让人有种新鲜感。

【春光】$180 无花果、绿茶、开心果、柠檬

四个当中最不喜欢这个因为好像有点过度复杂、失去了主题。黏稠的绿茶奶油感觉很突兀、底层的蛋糕也属于厚重扎实的。

【灰阶】$170 栗子、兰姆酒冻、黑醋栗、香草奶酪

这个好吃！颠覆一般法式栗子甜腻的形象。吃不吃什么兰姆酒、但是重点是栗子和香草奶酪的默契十足。黑白灰的造型简单却不失华丽。

$170 葡萄柚、紫蘇、优格、柚子

原来紫蘇不只是寿司才能派上用场、甜点也可以这样玩。中间的紫蘇果冻有种莫名的清香、化解葡萄柚和柚子的苦涩。即使放了一夜塔皮让然保持脆度。赞！

https://www.facebook.com/CHANTEZ31/

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平安京茶事 台電大樓 : 人气抹茶甜点

说到抹茶台湾也不逊给日本。这次做了功课后才发现这里有那么多的抹茶甜点店。第一站来到位于台电大楼捷运站附近的平安京茶事。原以为这里有售卖焙じ茶和抹茶蛋糕卷、不过其实是三种：普通抹茶、三倍抹茶和玄米茶。

反正都来了、就三个都点吧。蛋糕卷本身的质感都很柔软细腻、不过味道主要还是来自中间的cream。普通抹茶卷味道浓郁中带有微甜、

不过三倍抹茶真是名副其实的更上一层楼、抹茶控应该会超喜欢这个、不过不是每个人都能接受这种不甜的甜点。这个三倍抹茶是我在日本和台湾吃过最好吃的抹茶卷。

玄米茶卷败在蛋糕太甜了、但是还好奶油的玄米味够香味十足。

如果是一组大概四人来吃、樱之经典双人套餐（980台币）还挺划算的。因为每个人在这里必须至少消费300台币、而这个就有四杯饮料（两杯冷茶、另外两杯自选）。

不喝甜的人纯抹茶不会出差错可是那杯抹茶latte就绝对淘汰。刚开始舔上面的泡沫还觉得挺浓郁的。但是喝多一口吓死人。太甜了。即使搅拌均匀还是像一杯白巧克力热饮。受不了。

抹茶千层蛋糕比起蛋糕卷来得甜不过还在接受范围。不过奶油很快就融化、要尽快吃。

抹茶卡奴丽外脆内嫩、不会太硬、比日本东京Paul bakery 的 版本还来得好吃多了。

我非常喜欢这家店的抹茶甜点、觉得比一些日本的cafe 还优秀。希望接下来的抹茶店可以继续让人满足

https://www.facebook.com/heiankyo.fans

地址：台北市師大路165號
捷運松山新店線台電大樓站5號出口
MRT Songshan-Xindian line, Taipower Building Station Exit 5
訂位電話：02-23682277
營業時間：12:30-21:30
每月第一個週一店休

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菓子工房&Sweets Cafe KYOTO KEIZO: The Mont Blanc that Lasts Only Ten Minutes

I used to wonder what is the hype with a 10-min Mont Blanc? Why has it been so popular amongst dessert afficionados in Kyoto?


I finally visited the shop and found out the truth. The 10 min Mont Blanc is so named because it is said to have a super short lifespan of 10min from the moment it is created. As such, don’t even think of having it as a take-out. But does it mean that one has to finish it in 10min? I don’t think that is necessary. To be honest, I took my own sweet time and I didn’t notice any apparent change in texture. But I couldn’t help smiling to myself from the start to the end.

The seasonal variation I had, Sakura Mont Blanc, could possibly be the best Mont Blanc I’ve ever had. The cream was utterly soft, with subtle notes of savouriness and gentle scents of Sakura. It had none of those boorish sweetness of typical Mont Blanc, though I can’t guarantee the same for the original Mont Blanc here. Beneath the cream was Mochi and matcha cream on a airy crisp small meringue. Excellent.

With a focus on a la minute desserts, the shop freshly prepared the desserts upon order and customers are invited to the backyard kitchen to view their dessert being made in front of their eyes (or iPhones). Fortunately the desserts here are not just an act of gimmick.
After being full blown away by this Mont Blanc, I decided to check out its latest chocolatory that is just few shops down the same street. Opened only in Feb 2018, it’s a chocolate retail gourmet shop that sells all kind of chocolate bars. I was thrilled to be able to taste test all types of chocolate and finally settled on buying the Sakura and Matcha after much deliberation. If you are keen to learn more about the techniques of chocolate, you may be able to pick up some tips here. In fact, chef Keizo Nishida was making some chocolates at the chocolate kitchen instead of the cafe when I visited.

There’s no queue for chocolatory Keizo but if you want to try the Mont Blanc for yourself, be prepared to arrive early before the shop opens to stand in the queue.

菓子工房&Sweets Cafe KYOTO KEIZO

https://kyoto-keizo.com/

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Mandarin Oriental Tokyo Gourmet Shop : Fly me to Kumo

Most people don’t really bother about the pastries from hotels but I think it would be a pity to overlook those from hotels in Japan. Not every single hotel I mean because some are worse than convenience stores.
So far the most unpalatable ones I had were from Hilton. The pastries from Shangri-la and Mariott group are average.

But those from the Hyatt Group (Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt and Andaz) are excellent. No I’m not paid to write this and neither am I affiliated to any staff who work there.

Mandarin Oriental? I would rank it 2nd, below Hyatt Group and above Shangri-la. This is because this 5-Star hotel does invest efforts to ramp up its pastry boutique. It not only revamped the space but also hire new executive chef stephan to helm the kitchen. The pastries are visually attractive but the flavours were not sharp enough to create a lasting impression. Take for example I thought the Bonsai, one of the botanical inspirations, would revolve around matcha but matcha was only limited to the surface and the entire composition was predominantly vanilla mousse.

I had high expectations for the Kumo, the signature “cloud” cake launched last September and changes flavour every season. It was chestnut last Autumn and Pistachio-Raspberry this spring. The cake was massive, such that it was placed separately in a cake box that could fit a regular 8-in strawberry shortcake. Perhaps it’s a flavour issue as the pistachio-raspberry mousse was quite sweet and tasted just like an average mousse cake. My favourite part was the sturdy chocolate shell.


The Sakura Pannacotta was the tastiest of all with its silky wobbly texture and the presence of sake in the jelly.

Website: 

https://www.mandarinoriental.co.jp/tokyo/nihonbashi/fine-dining/cake-shops/gourmet-shop

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