{ Nicolas }

2013, Mar 29

I’m not really into parfaits but I had the most beautiful and delicious Sakura parfait (9ooyen) from this cafe in Sangenjaya. Apparently it’s a seasonal dish which changes every month so you may not be able to try this exact one, but they are famous for their impeccable parfaits. The one I had was more Japanese style and it wasn’t too sweet but still sweet enough with a great texture. It was full of surprises from beginning to the end and I loved every bite of it.

This cafe opens at 2pm which is a little weird and they only have one menu item for lunch, the pasta lunch for 1200yen which includes a bite size dessert and coffee or tea. The pasta was also delicious so it seems the chef has been trained well. On the negative side, one of the waitress had a bit of a strange attitude which made the service feel below the typical Japanese standard level. Also, it’s a small cafe located in a regular residential building, so they won’t allow customers to wait for an opening if the restaurant is full. Despite the obscure location, it seems to be quite popular since we saw many customers turned away who were even willing to wait. Thankfully we arrived a little before they opened so we were seated with no issues. With that in mind, I recommend coming early or making a reservation if you want to dine here.

Address // 4-28-10, Taishido, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6804-0425
Website // http://www.nicolasnicolas.com

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{ ECHIRE }

2013, Mar 21

Have you heard of this artisan French butter called ECHIRE?

Known as one of the best butters in France, it is served in the finest dining establishments. ECHIRE has a store in Marunouchi (near Tokyo Station) where you can buy their famous butter, croissants, madelines, financiers, ice cream and more. As soon as you walk in the door to the store, you immediately smell the rich scent of butter. You can’t help but want to try everything but as you might expect it’s a bit pricey. Both the madeline’s and financier’s cost 315yen/each. Apparently people stand in line to buy the croissants here and they sell out by the morning time.

This store is located at the ‘Marunouchi Brick Building’, a beautiful European-inspired brick building that is just oh so lovely. It’s a great place to come hang out with your friends and loved ones on a sunny day.

Address // 2-6-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6269-9840
Website // http://www.kataoka.com/echire-maisondubeurre.html

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{ Zenkashoin — 然花抄院 }

2013, Mar 2

The above photo source for the sweets: www.zen-kashoin.com

A traditional Japanese sweets shop & tea house from Kyoto, Zenkashoin is located on the 5th floor of Shibuya Hikarie. Since Hikarie is still very much a new mall/building, the stores and shops are pretty crowded but my friend and I got lucky enough to get a seat here for tea time. We ordered the 1150yen tea set that comes with a drink of your choice (coffee, tea, green tea, matcha, etc) and a choice of dessert. The dessert is a small delicate size and it wasn’t too sweet. We liked the matcha castella icecream sandwich more than the matcha circular castella.

If you sit by the window, you will have a nice overview of Shibuya and the rest of the cafe still has a nice zen-like ambiance. They also sell their ceramic plates, tea sets, and more so you could take a look if you’re interested.

Address // 5F, 2-21-1, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6434-1517
Website // http://zen-kashoin.com/store/hikarie/

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{ Mister Donut – Pon De Ring }

2013, Feb 26

“Mister Donut” is THE donut chain of Japan and I’m sure many of you have seen it or tried it. I was never a huge fan until my discovery of “Pon de ring”. This donut that has this amazing “mochi mochi” texture, a totally unique donut experience that you won’t find anywhere else.

I’m writing about Mister Donut because it’s a Japanese staple and I’ve been on a “pon de ring” craze lately… It has a unique shape and it comes in many flavors but I always go back to the regular glazed one. It’s 126yen but they were having a donut sale for 100yen when I visited(!) so I ended up going three days in a row. sigh*

As numbered above,
01. Pon de Lion Donut, a 10 year pon de ring anniversary special edition – 189yen
02. Pon de ring Nama, a 10 year anniversary special – 136yen
03. Pon de ring – the regular glazed – 126yen
04. Pon de chocolat – 126yen

They have many more pon de ring flavors and they currently have some cherry blossom specials as well. Give it a try if you’re near a Mister Donut :)

Website // http://www.misterdonut.jp/

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{ Patisserie Paris S’eveille }

2013, Feb 12

Valentines Day is coming up and in Japan it’s hard to miss it since all the shops are filled with all kinds of chocolate-related gift boxes. In case you’re not familiar with Japanese Vday, it’s a big day for the ladies to gather up their courage and give some chocolate to that special someone. There’s “Honmei chocolate” – for their true love and also “Giri choco” – obligatory chocolate for co-workers and friends. It can also be a nerve-wracking day for men to see how many chocolates they get on vday, but it’s always interesting to see how many Honmei chocolates you get VS Giri Chocos. How can you tell the difference? They say if it’s homemade or an expensive chocolate gift, it could be Honmei ;)

Anyhow, in honor of Vday today’s post is a sweet one. Pastry Chef Yoshiaki Kaneko, the owner of Patisserie Paris S’eveille, has trained in Paris for a few years at prestigious places such as ‘Ladurée’, ‘Alain Ducasse’, ‘Arnaud Larher’, and ‘Le Daniel’. He opened his own store in Jiyugaoka in 2003 and it’s a very popular patisserie which is always crowded with couples and ladies of all ages. I’ve previously purchased some pastries from here but never had the opportunity to dine-in and try their beautiful cakes so I was excited. I wanted to try everything, but ended up ordering the ‘Gâteau Basque’ and the ‘Isabella’ after going back and forth between many options. The Isabella was executed to perfection but I wasn’t a huge fan of this walnut-based cake even though I usually love walnuts. On the other hand, the gâteau basque was delicious and we liked that both of the desserts we had were not too sweet. It seems that they are famous for their chocolate cakes so I plan to try that next time.

Address // 2-14-5, Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5731-3230
Website // n/a

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Tag Archives: dessert

{ Nicolas }

{ ECHIRE }

{ Zenkashoin — 然花抄院 }

{ Mister Donut – Pon De Ring }

{ Patisserie Paris S’eveille }

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