616978 Sun May 03 17:32:37 -0700 2009 17 45 Japan 0 4651060 There's a topic about Henri Charpentier shops, but I thought it would be helpful to have just one topic on French pastry shops, whether they be in Tokyo or elsewhere in Japan. I'm currently in Tokyo, and have been making the rounds. I'm trying not to eat too much (I'm only here for a few days, after all), but when your eyes are bigger than your stomach, it's hard not to buy too much! First stop was A Tes Souhaits. It's a bit out of the way, but since I was sort of in the neighbourhood, I stopped by. They have a few tables, but it's primarily a take-out place. I got some kind of caramel cake. The bottom layer was praline, I think, and then there were alternating layers of cake and buttercream. I like this cake a lot. It's not too sweet, and the praline layer adds a nice bit of texture contrast. The caramel flavour is pronounced, but not overwhelming, so it's a nice cake if you like caramel. I also got some vanilla caramels (not yet tried), a couple of florentines (not yet tried), and a very good kouign aman. Later that evening I had dinner at L'Atelier Robuchon, so I shopped at the bakery first. Here I picked up a couple of savoury breads (one with olives, the other with sun-dried tomatoes), three macarons (caramel, citron, and praline), and a salted caramel tart. The caramel tart wasn't quite what I expected. It was good, and not too sweet, but I would have preferred a thinner crust. There was also a thin layer of chocolate between the crust and the caramel, and I would have preferred that chocolate not to be there. It interfered with the enjoyment of the caramel, I thought. Yesterday my only cake stop was Hidemi Sugino. I arrived bright an early at 9:20, knowing the line-ups would be long by the time the shop opened at 10. I was the fifth person in line. Score! But imagine my surprise when passing by the shop, I noticed a sign in the window stating the shop would not be opening until 11. . . With nothing else to do until 1, I stayed in line for 1 hour and 40 minutes until they opened. They've got some very strict rules about shopping there. About 15 minutes before they opened, a staff member came out to explain about shopping there. You have to line up a certain way, and then you're only allowed 2 cakes to eat in, and 6 cakes to take out. Some cakes can't be taken away, but must only be eaten in the cafe area. I got a bunch of little things (madeleines and the like), and then got one cake to eat in, and two cakes to go. My eat-in cake was Arabique, I think. It was coffee-flavoured, and coult only be eaten in the shop. The first bit was powerful. If you like coffee, this would be a good cake for you. After a few bites, however, I could no longer taste the coffee flavour, or any other flavour for that matter. I could only "taste" the richness of the cake. This was a mousse cake with layers of coffee jelly and another kind of mousse inside (a lighter, creamier, more pudding-like mousse than the rest of the mousse of the cake). It was very very soft. So soft that whenever I took a bite, it reminded me of how when you have a cold and you try to breath in through your nose, the mucous sometimes slides down the back of your throat. Not that I've ever had that happen to me, but if I did, that's what the texture of this cake reminded me of. I took out the Bresilienne (sp?) which was coffee and caramel, and his version of black forest, called something like charme (with an accent aigu on the e). I don't particularly care for either of them. The black forest is just sweet to me, and the Bresilienne was more coffee than caramel. And it, too, was very much like a soft mucousy mousse. I know Hidemi Sugino is famous in the world of pastry, and his cakes are very good, but I don't think I'll be standing in line for 1 hour and 40 minutes ever again for them. Or even 40 minutes. Tons of macarons have been purchased, as well. To follow-up on my caramel macaron taste test last spring, I've tasted last year's winner with some other untried ones. The contenders are Chez Cima (last year's winner), Henri Charpentier (my go-to caramel macaron), Laduree, Sebatian Bouillet, and Joel Robuchon. None were necessarily bad, but if I had to choose an order of preference, it would be: Henri Charpentier Chez Cima Sebastian Bouillet Robuchon Laduree Henri Charpentier has excellent filling:shell ratio, but it's got a very pronounced caramel flavour, leaning more towards burnt caramel. I like that, but if you don't, you won't like these. The filling is caramel, not buttercream. Chez Cima has a pronounced salt flavour to its salted caramel macaron. If you like chewy caramels, these are a good choice, as the shell is thicker than most. Buttercream filling in these, I think Sebastian Bouillet has a very buttery flavour to it. it's not very chewy at all. It's got a caramel filling. Robuchon has a good salted caramel flavour (buttercream filling). It's a wee bit chewy, and it has a bit of an odd aftertaste. It's not quite an artificial flavour, but I can't pin it down. I liked the saltiness of the filling. Laduree was the least caramelly of the bunch. It's mostly just sweet, and the almond flavour is more pronounced than the caramel flavour. That's why these are in last place. I still have some other Laduree macaron to try (mango, praline, and citron), and a couple of Robuchon left (praline and citron). I might (very big might) stop by Toshi Yoroizuka today, too. But I think I might be all done with pastries for this trip. Sun May 03 17:32:37 -0700 2009 55178 prasantrin 1 4651165 Thanks for the great report! Sun May 03 18:23:28 -0700 2009 4651060 12676 Robb S 2 4651759 You're welcome! I lied about no more pastries. . . I just couldn't help myself! I went to Le Chocolat de H just to look. Really, it's true! But I ended up buying some little things--madeleines, florentines (can you tell I have a thing for madeleines and florentines?), some kind of chocolate covered cake thing that looks like it comes in a lipstick box, some caramels, and another caramel macaron!! The caramel macaron was a bit of a disappointment. I think I should just stop buying macaron from chocolate shops. I have the same complaints about the LCdH one as I did about last year's Jean-Paul Hevin macaron--they taste almost nothing of caramel but almost entirely of chocolate. I tried to go to Toshi Yoroizuka, but the line up was quite long (just for take-out, too!) and after yesterday's long wait at Hidemi Sugino's, I just wasn't up to it. I might try again tomorrow--I've got a long day before the night bus leaves! On my way back to my hotel I stopped by Isetan, my favourite depachika in the world! I stocked up on Henri LeRoux CBS tarts and caramels. I also picked up some omiyage from a place called Yokohama Francais Patisserie. They sell chocolate covered millefeuille-like bars. And I got some leaf pies from Confectionary West for my mother. I think that's all I bought today. Of pastries, that is. . . (National Azabu has a sale on Thai and Filipino mangos, so I couldn't resist! Now to get them back to Kansai without too much bruising. . . ) I forgot--there were a total of three kouign aman--1 each from A Tes Souhaits, Joel Robuchon, and BE-Japon (boulangepicier). A Tes Souhaits was the best, except it was strangely cinnamony. BE-Japon's was very good, too. It had a good amount of caramelised sugar on it so it was almost like eating bread and candy in one! Joel Robuchon's was in last place. I wouldn't buy another one. Mon May 04 02:30:08 -0700 2009 4651165 55178 prasantrin 1 5101907 I was in Nagoya last weekend, and came upon some macarons at the Takashimaya depachika from a place called Cafe Tanaka. OMG they rock. I only got two--fig and caramel. The caramel has knocked Henri Charpentier's out of its number 1 position, and the fig was out of this world. I wish I could go back to get more. I don't think they have stores outside the Nagoya-area. They do mail order through Amazon, but I don't think you can choose your own macaron flavours! Wed Oct 14 06:05:07 -0700 2009 4651060 55178 prasantrin 1 5102216 Hi prasantrin, Great report! :) I don't know how I missed this thread. So of your Top 5 shops for Macarons... Henri Charpentier Chez Cima Sebastian Bouillet Robuchon Laduree (and now Cafe Tanaka also :), Which of these would you say also has excellence in other pastries (like Millefeuille or Eclair or in general)? I may not be able to stop by all of your recommended shops, so I want to at least get 1-3 shops that are generally great. :) Thanks! Wed Oct 14 08:10:07 -0700 2009 4651060 113442 exilekiss 2 5109516 I don't often buy other pastries, but I do have a thing for caramel and matcha eclair, and of those I've tried (not too many), I did like Laduree's matcha eclair. I think (it's been several months since I had it). Sadaharu Aoki's matcha eclair was OK, too. I've not yet found any eclair that has changed the way I think about them (like how my first "fine dining" experience changed the way i thought about service and food). The only other pastry I fell compelled to buy regularly is kouign-aman(n). I think Donq has the best one I've tried, and if not for the cinnamon flavour, a tes souhaites might be tied for number 1. If you're even in the Nagoya area, there's a restaurant/pastry shop called Chez Shibata that might have excellent pastries. I had lunch there, and while the food was OK, the dessert was outstanding and well worth the Y500 surcharge. It was a scoop of excellent caramel ice cream with chestnut cream topped with a crepe and chantilly cream. It was their take on Mont Blanc. I'm not a fan of Mont Blanc in general, but this dessert was really excellent and I thought if they could make me change my mind about Mont Blanc, then they must do a pretty good job with their other cakes and pastries. In their pastry shop, they had only two flavours of eclair--caramel and salted butter caramel. The salted butter caramel had little chunks of French butter on it. I wanted to try it, but I was much too full and still had several hours to go before leaving, so there was no way to keep it in relatively good condition. I would bet either eclair would have been excellent. Pics of my dessert and the eclair are attached. To add to my macaron list--I forgot that I gave JP Hevin caramel macaron another try. I had always suspected the first time I had tried it, they had given me the wrong flavour, so I bought another one. And I was right; they had given me the wrong flavour. Their caramel macaron are really quite nice, though probably not in my top 3. I also picked up a couple of macaron from a place called boul'mich. It's based in Tokyo, but have a little shop at the Kyoto Takashimaya. No caramel, but I tried salt and yuzu (those are two separate flavours). Won't be buying them again. Not bad, but not really good and both had an odd almost chemical flavour to them. Henri Charpentier fig macarons are not as good as Cafe Tanaka. But the Spekulaas are quite nice. They taste like a light gingerbread cookie. I like them. Fri Oct 16 19:09:01 -0700 2009 5102216 55178 prasantrin 3 5114134 Hi prasantrin, Thanks for the detailed reply. :) You had me at Salted Butter Caramel with chunks of French Butter. :) Is this the Chez Shibata you're talking about? It looks *incredible* :) - http://www.chez-shibata.com/news/open.html Mon Oct 19 08:22:07 -0700 2009 5109516 113442 exilekiss 4 5116461 That's the guy, but I discovered I went to his new bistro L'assiette de Shibata, not the main restaurant/cafe Chez Shibata. I'm fairly certain the desserts and other sweets are made at a common location, though (except for plated desserts like the Mont Blanc crepe I had). L'Assiette didn't have chocolates, and it's also possible their selection of take-out desserts was smaller. L'Assiette is much more conveniently located, though, so if you happen to be in Nagoya, you'll probably be closer to L'Assiette than the main store. But don't bother with the food, just go for dessert! Oh, I rechecked my notes, and I didn't like the eclair at Sadaharu Aoki that much. I do remember having a very good eclair somewhere, I just wish I could remember where. Maybe it was Laduree? Tue Oct 20 02:13:48 -0700 2009 5114134 55178 prasantrin 5 5128945 Prasantrin, I love your reports. If only my partner (and my waist) would let me devour such decadents... I have been having a love affair with Pierre Herme macarons for a while. When I was in Japan last year, I asked the hotel concierge to buy me some rose ones. They were good, but I felt that the ones in Paris tasted better. How would you rank Pierre Herme to Charpentier or Chez Cima? Sun Oct 25 03:42:13 -0700 2009 5116461 108016 theskyflyer 6 5130421 Thanks! Fortunately, I'm willing to sacrifice my waistline for higher pursuits. Assuming I ever had a waistline to begin with. . . :-) Pierre Herme is not in my top 3. I've not been to Paris, so I can only speak of the Japanese ones, but I find PH macarons to be too sweet, and they have too much filling. To me, the shell should be the star, and the filling the supporting actor, but in PH macarons, it's the opposite. There's so much filling, it's easy for the shell to get lost. Generally, I think the area where PH macarons excel is flavour. He has a lot of innovative flavour combinations, and in general, his flavours are usually quite strong. By that I mean, for example, his coffee macarons really taste like coffee, not just a hint of coffee. I like that. If his macarons were less sweet, and had less filling, I'd probably rank them higher. But overall, they're not in my top 3. Sun Oct 25 18:31:55 -0700 2009 5128945 55178 prasantrin 7 5131827 I have not had a macaron in Japan as I'm carbed out on noodles, rice, mochi, and other wagashi while in Japan but macarons are part of my daily diet in Paris and I completely agree with your assessment of PH's macarons. As I've been writing on France board, for me, macarons are all about texture and PH's macarons do not have the texture I'm looking for. If my companion ever makes it to Japan, I'll have him try some of your top picks. Mon Oct 26 10:21:36 -0700 2009 5130421 226923 kikisakura 8 5133723 Yes ! The rich research on the all sweet. To pick the macarons ones... Macarons one by one of Pierre Herme a pronounced taste and is for that reason that I appreciate them. My preference goes for the caramel ones with a bit burnt accent. On the other hand, the shield bottom will soften on the fingers. The texture macaron shield of the macaron, the closest is at Laduree. The fruit flavour ''framboise'' is famous but is really sugar. The macaron ''reglisse'' taste nothing like it. Macarons Henri Charpentier are less sugar like and aere worth it for the ''framboise'' ''citron''. The sweet road is quite wide. In description, my choices go for chocolates or bar of black chocolate (Sao Tome) at JP Hevin (200yens furthermore only than carte noire), the chocolat sorbet at Henri Le Roux, the madeleines at Henri Charpentier, the verine at Les Trois Gros, cakes at the Epicurien (even a macaron tea cake), the Chez Matsuo (matcha-mame), the KK Vincent (chocolat fondant like)... the Sadahara Aoki (not the ones choices as best). The cakes are really a fantasy, all their colors, their little size luxury. At the end of a meal, it will complete definitively all the flavors and the different mix taste of a dinner. All sweet Tokyo. Agree on that. Tue Oct 27 00:28:06 -0700 2009 5131827 1082452 Ninisix 9 5133816 Have you tried Henri Charpentier's caramel macarons? You might like them since they tend to have a darker (i.e. burnt) caramel flavour. Tue Oct 27 04:18:20 -0700 2009 5133723 55178 prasantrin 10 5133864 You're right. I did like it, they do have a dark caramel flavour and are lighter one's. The Pierre Herme caramel macarons ganache have a very profound flavour caramel salt butter. Didn't find any good pistaccio macaron.... or any good pistaccio cakes. Tue Oct 27 05:11:14 -0700 2009 5133816 1082452 Ninisix 1 5162139 If you happen to be in Kobe. . . In the Okamoto area of Kobe, there's a little French pastry shop that specializes in macarons. It's recently new, but Glamourdise http://glamourdise.jp/ has also opened at the Umeda Hankyu depachika. I bought six macarons (yuzu, cashew, caramel chocolate, praline, and one more I can't remember). So far I've tried the yuzu and the one I can't remember (some kind of chocolate flavour, but not just chocolate. I'd never have bought a plain chocolate macaron.). The flavours are very strong, but it a good way. The shell is fine (not too dry), but I do find the filling to be a bit overwhelming (there's a high filling to shell ratio). I like them more than Pierre Herme macarons so far. They had some interesting flavours like tofu that I didn't try, but I might one day. Like next week when I have to go back to the dentist. Fri Nov 06 15:16:52 -0800 2009 4651060 55178 prasantrin 2 5174887 Prasantin, nice dig out. The macarons look original, even I don`t have a predilection for macarons, I am curious and just command a box of 6. WE desk snack. Thu Nov 12 00:43:52 -0800 2009 5162139 1082452 Ninisix 3 5174910 Are you saying you tried the Glamourdise macarons? If you did, what did you think of them? I really liked the matcha one--it had a nice slightly bitter matcha flavour, rather than just being sweet and barely tasting of matcha as many matcha macarons are. I didn't care for the cashew one too much. I still have praline and caramel chocolate left. I wish they'd do a straight caramel one. Maybe I'll find one there when I return tomorrow! Thu Nov 12 01:58:42 -0800 2009 5174887 55178 prasantrin 4 5184203 The web site looked fantastic, also the pistaccio flakes on the pistaccio macaron, and I told myself to command and I taste them this week-end. But, but, but, I have to say there are like an heavy cake macaron. Not as expected. Sun Nov 15 18:04:19 -0800 2009 5174910 1082452 Ninisix