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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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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Salon De Muge 無碍山房: Dessert in the woods by Michelin 3-Star Kikunoi

 Getting a seat here by reservation was a horrible story.

 I don’t know whether to count that is gaijin sabetsu because they can only take in reservations if you have a Japanese phone number. Even hotel concierges don’t help because they don’t want to be liable to the cancellation cost.

But the popularity of this place amongst the locals isn’t surprising at all. As the first dessert salon opened by Michelin 3-Star Kikunoi, standards and expectations are set in place.

I only had eyes (and stomach space) for one dessert and that’s the matcha Parfait.

My first reaction was “やばい 超濃厚だ” it was very rich but strangely the more I eat the sweeter it became. Here, there’s the order of eating, carefully planned with the position of the spoon. I was told to spoon from the right to the left, which means I will encounter the Yuzu castella first before reaching the ginger castella on the other side. The yuzu castella was too sweet, which probably make things rather “jelat”.  There was nothing much special about the warabi jelly as well but I guess what merits praises is the matcha ice cream that boasted such a charming dark hue which would be perfect if it is less sweet.

I’m glad I didn’t have to queue long for this. My neighboring customers ordered the seasonal Ichigo Parfait which looked no less attractive then the matcha Parfait. Perhaps that could be a better bet.

Website: http://kikunoi.jp/kikunoiweb/Muge/

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Andaz Hotel Pastry Boutique : Sakura Sweets 2018

It’s back to Andaz Hotel Pastry Boutique after nearly a year and that’s all because of the Sakura Sweets Fair which will end on 27 April 2018. 

I’ve had several Sakura sweets this year but those from Andaz stood out even though they are pretty simplistic in design.

Be it the Mont Blanc or the Roll Cake, the overall taste and texture were amazingly light while the flavour of Sakura is kept in check. What surprised me was the Sakura Cheese Tart whose tart filling was so rich and dense-contrary to the usual touch of Japanese pastries. 

However, the most regrettable impetus buy was the Vert which I spotted on the display shelf on my visit. It was a far cry from its predecessor in 2017 as the entire thing suffered a huge damage from the overuse of white chocolate. Super duper sweet. Yikes. 

I returned to my Sakura Sweets right away after taking a bite.

Andaz Hotel Tokyo

東京都港区虎ノ門1-23-4 アンダーズ 東京 1階

Tel: 03 6830 7765

Hours:

Weekdays 8:00～20:00

Weekends/PH 10:00～20:00

Dine-in seats available

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Malebranche Kyoto : Matcha Rediscovered

I've written about Malebranche of Kyoto a few times previously and to date, I still think of it as a befitting representation of modern Kyoto sweets (not Tsujiri). As with the ever-changing sweets market business, Malebranche has renewed its shop at Kyoto Station Porta and Kyoto Tower with new items that are exclusively available only at those two locations. 

Repoened on 20 March 2018, the Kyoto Station Porta outlet has introduced a new matcha roll in two versions, Futomaki ("fat" large sharing size) and Hosomaki ("thin" individual portion) However, both rolls are vastly different in texture and taste composition. I had the Hosomaki (500 yen) which is a palm-sized okoicha sponge enrobed with okoicha sauce and white chocolate cream in the center.

The sponge had an interesting mochi-mochi bite but I found the tea taste to be lacking and overpowered by the sweetness of the white chocolate roll. The Futomaki is probably a safer bet though you need to find someone to share such large roll.

I prefer the Nama-cha Ice Bar (250 Yen) from Kyoto Tower Outlet. You pay from a vending machine, hand the ticket to the staff to exchange for a matcha ice popsicle-like thing dipped in hot (no actually mine was not hot at all) rich matcha sauce. I found the sauce to be redundant as it did nothing to melt the pop and the ice bar itself was very rich and shiok. However, I read that they had a winter edition hot yuzu sauce which I felt should be permanently placed on the menu. 

Tokyo Station Porta Outlet

京都府京都市下京区烏丸通塩小路下ル東塩小路町902番地 京都駅前地下街ポルタ内

10am-9pm

Kyoto Tower Outlet

京都市下京区烏丸通七条下ル東塩小路町721-1

9am-9pm

http://www.malebranche.co.jp/

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Patisserie Asako Iwayanagi : In Love with Parfaits

“I can now die without regrets.”

That’s the conclusion after stepping out of this place, despite saying goodbye to ¥8000 over two visits.
That parfait, or I should say parfaits because the first one I had left such a mind blowing impact on me that I decided to return in less than 5 days. Crazy? Well, there was absolutely no regret.

The parfaits here changes monthly or even less than a month depending on the availability of the fruits and have become the most sought after item of the shop. BUT it doesn’t come cheap—ranging between ¥2500-¥3000. The Sakura-Yomogi Parfait costs ¥2700++ which means a whopping SGD33 before taxes!! And the Parfait Bijou Citrus. But trust me you won’t me thinking about your Yen when you dig in because it is WORTH EVERY SINGLE YEN.


Every flavour and texture of the Parfait is carefully conceived and experimented; just like a venerable master of Go making wise calculated moves in a game of Go. It’s superior in all ways, without any of the mediocre ingredients which some cafe parfaits often resort to fill up space. In the Parfait Sakura, there’s amazake, lemon, Sakura espuma, sake, Yomogi jelly, soba tuile....and for the Parfait Bijou Citrus, who would have expected citrus fruits to pair with milk tea and caramel?

I think the parfaits here are the unshakeable winners in this Parfait-loving country. Of course, it might be still early to conclude as there’s been a few more rising stars in the past one year. But for now, the desserts here have secured a place in my heart. Wait a minute, I think I've already fallen in love with the pastries here since last time.

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