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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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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Andaz Tokyo Pastry Boutique : Shincha Bitter Sweets

 
May marks the season of Shincha (first tea harvest) and Andaz Hotel has launched a series of Shincha sweets featuring teas from Shizuoka Prefecture. Just when you expect everything to be green, the cakes are mostly decked in white. But all the cakes we've tasted would have passed with flying colors if there was a cake examination.

The textures were brilliant and the structure of the cakes were coherent. Take for example the Shincha Opera (650 yen), probably the best opera I've ever had. The green tea ganache was smooth yet potent, contrasted by the nutty chocolate feuilletine in the center. The Vert (650 yen) was a showcase of exemplary chocolate mousse; not porous but silky tight like wearing a comfortable pair of leggings. Again, there's a variation of textures here which took to our fancy.

The Shincha roll cake (600 yen) tasted normal but the fluffy texture could easily threaten the position of Es Koyama's roll in my ranking chart. I was intrigued by The Barley Tea (麦茶) Chocolate (550 yen) as very few chefs would play with this underrated tea. Clearly, mugicha was an excellent partner with chocolate just like Hojicha. The eclairs (small 200 yen / large 490 yen) were decent but I would recommend getting the regular sized ones for a deeper satisfaction. 

Good to know: With 20 dine-in seats, this pastry shop offers a truly relaxed space for enjoyingquality cakes without having to queue or pay for any compulsory beverage. Pastry chef Tanaka Reito has vast experience in French pastries and has been working with Grand Hyatt Tokyo for more than 15 years before being appointed as the chef for Andaz Tokyo

Period: now till June 16 2017
Details: https://www.andaztokyo.jp/restaurants/jp/pastry-shop/

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