S w e e t s A n d T h e C i t y

MISTER DONUT

2009-03-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

What is it about Mister Donut. It's just so damn good. My mom and I are smitten by the rings of sugar-coated bliss. It's a shame they're slowly but surely losing market share in Japan. Where did all the stores go? I now have to travel all the way to Asakusa to secure my angel cream donut. The logo reads "From Boston ..", which I assumed was only for show. One of those "we are from America! we are cool!" marketing schemes used in Japan. So I did some reasearch and omg! "Mister Donut was founded in 1956 and had locations across most of North America. Once an American icon, the franchise now operates mainly in Japan, Philippines and other Asian markets and El Salvador." ..El Salvador?
I've long advocated its superiority over Dunkin' Donuts, Krisy Kreme, Doughnut Plant, or Tim Hortons. But the common American/Canadian response is, "Mr. who?". Or blog entries such as this --> Mister Donut vs Krispy Kreme This Food For Thought guy is clearly not thinking, and clearly not Japanese. He should in fact be deported from Japan.

My favorites: Angel Cream, Bitter Chocolate, and French Cruler.
The new chocolate line!

Japan
Philippines

Korea

China

Taiwan

SARABETH'S BAKERY

2008-08-21T18:53:00.001-07:00

This entry is a tribute to my friend N, who speaks as passionately about pastry as I do (if not more), and swears by Sarabeth preserves. "Their Peach & Apricot is the best on Earth!" She's in Tokyo now. I wonder if they carry it at the Dean & Deluca stoes there. Sarabeth has built a mini-empire here in NY with locations throughout the city, including my neighborhood Upper West Side eatery which I have yet to go to. This time, I visited the Sarabeth Bakery in Chelsea Market. There is a counter with morning pastries, a little café area, and a big glassed-in kitchen where you can watch the piping hot pastries come out of the oven. I can't say which of the preserves is my favorite because I haven't had too many, but I'd love to try the Blood Orange Marmalade. It's a special edition only available during harvest season of California Blood Oranges. The Morning Crunch Granola looked delicious. Here is the menu at the bakery.

Reviews: yelp! ♡ Menu Pages ♡ Citysearch

Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave (@ 15th St), New York, NY 10011

Phone: (212) 989-2424 / website / other locations

LA VIE DOUCE

2008-08-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

The best madeleine and financier I've had in Tokyo are at La Vie Douce and La Farine. Both their madeleines have that very cute round belly and sweet scent of butter. The financiers are chewy with the deep aroma of beurre noisette. The day I went, the store was packed with men because it was White Day, celebrated in Japan as a counter to Velentine's Day where men shower women with sweets. The petit gateaux here also receive rave reviews, but I go for the tea cakes.

Pâtissier: Shin Horie

Reviews: CakePia ♡ askU.com ♡ livedoor gourmet

23-14 Aijucho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0005

Phone: (03) 5368-1160 / online shop / book (I own it, great book)

ELENI'S

2008-08-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Supersupersuper cute. Eleni's is located in Chelsea Market. You feel all dreamy when you walk into this store. I went on a weekday, and afterschool-kids were picking out cookies with their moms. This girl looked ecstatic, running around with a gigantic Dora cookie in hand. (Yeah, easy on the sugar.) I was told "no photos" so only snapped a few, but check out these decorative cookies. My favorite are the butterflies and animal faces. And their cupcakes! The baby ones are adorable. I was discouraged by the line of children and never made it back to taste one. Usually, when cookies are so delicious to the eyes, I become skeptical of taste. Hopefully they're as good as they look. I'll be back to try soon.

Reviews: yelp! ♡ The Nibble ♡ Citysearch

75 Ninth Avenue (In the Chelsea Market), New York, NY 10011
Phone: (888)435-5647 / website

JACQUES TORRES CHOCOLATE

2008-08-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

Mr. Chocolate! NY's Willy Wonka! I feel like a kid in a candy store when I'm in his stores. (Wait.. it is a candy store.) This is the Upper West Side location. I visited the Dumbo location years ago, one blistery morning for some hot chocolate. While sipping on the cup full of intense, rich, velvety bliss, I watched the chocolatiers work their magic. The kitchen is glassed so customers can witness the creation of the addictive goodness. It was a pleasant morning to say the least.
The UWS location is smaller and more intimate, with a café space in the corner. I went during Passover, so kosher items lined the shelves too.
Actually, I attended a demo by Jacques Torres last week. He was covering balloons with chocolate, popping them and making chocolate centerpieces. The most fascinating part was that he kept his whites clean throughout the process. With all that chocolate play, not a speck of brown on him. And he is so humorous and down-to-Earth.
My Chef worked with him in her Le Cirque days. She tells us all sorts of crazy "Jacques stories".

Reviews: yelp! ♡ chow

285 Amsterdam (between 73/74th St), New York, NY 10023

Phone: (212) 414-2462 / website

JIYUGAOKA ROLL-YA

2008-08-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

This is another one of Hironobu Tsujiguchi's shops. When he was 18, he dreamt of selling fresh roll cakes on a truck. His passion came to fruition in the form of this less-than 1,000SF store in Jiyugaoka. Roll cakes are big in Japan. They are usually rolled génoise filled with crème chantille or ganache. Flavor variations are endless. Not every store has a security guard like this one, with a line of people wrapped around the block on any given weekday. But aren't his creations adorable? I tried the maccha roll; green tea sponge + green tea ganache. And also the kokuto- roll; génoise made from rice flour and crème chantille flavored with black sugar from Kyoto. Both were moist, light, and delicious.

Review: Tabelog ♡ livedoor gourmet ♡ takakodeli

1-23-2 Jiyu-gaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-0035

Phone: (03) 3725-3055 / website

ADIRONDACK CREAMERY

2008-08-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

R and I discovered the best store-bought ice cream we've had in our lives. Actually, a tie with Ronnybrook. About a year ago when their labels were still hand-written, we'd only seen it at West Side Market. Now, all these stores carry it. Our favorite flavors are Vanilla and Chocolate Chocolate Chip. (Yes, that's chocolate twice.) I personally love the Coffee Beans too; it's super intense with crushed coffee beans folded in. You'll see how different the vanilla is compared with Ciao Bella, which I also like. Ciao Bella vanilla has more vanilla bean speckles, but also has that corn-syrupy aftertaste. I still eat it, because I will forgo the aftertaste for the visual enjoyment of the vanilla beans. Adirondack vanilla uses hormone-free milk, and it tastes of pure cream from local family farms. The chocolate is dark and silky; more cocoa-powder than sweetened chocolate. Their Kulfi flavor is "not really kulfi" according to my Indian father, but still good. Whiteface mint chip is balanced and refreshing.
It's not cheap at $5.99 a pint, but worth every bite.
Definitely read the proprietor, Paul Nasrani's story here.

Reviews: Cravings ♡ New York Magazine ♡ Article on Paul

Phone: (917) 287-1006 / website

PATISSERIE MONT SAINT CLAIRE

2008-08-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

This pâtisserie is quite famous in Tokyo. The owner-chef, Hironobu Tsujiguchi, is quite the celebrity chef in Japan. He won the individual competition of coupe du monde de la pâtisserie in 1997, and opened this flagship pâtisserie in Jiyugaoka a year later. He seems to love media attention. He has his own line of copper pots, whisks, silpats, and even launched his own magazine, H Style. (Check out the store website. He willl greet you with his signature gold hair.)
First of all, I love the interior and layout of the store. Very clean, bright, and cozy.

Selections of pastry include petit-gâteaux, viennoiserie, confiture, and chocolat. I tried several of each. Overall, I'm unsure if this place lives up to its name. Not a big fan of mont-blancs in general, but I tried it to see what all the hype was about. The maron cream sat heavy in my stomach for hours, making me nautious. C'est La Vie, however, was delicious. This was his winning gâteaux for the coupe du monde. I know this from reading his not-so-well-written autobiography. I try to research as much as I can before trying someone's creation. It gives depth to the experience.

Reviews: Sweets Gallery ♡ Livedoor Gourmet ♡ Chocolate Zoom
eGullet Discussion of French Pastry Shops in Japan

2-22-4, Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 3718-5200 / pâtisserie website / chef's website
Holiday: First Wed of Month

BUTTERCUP BAKE SHOP

2008-08-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Buttercup banana pudding with Nilla wafers! My friends and I make sure this big tub of pudding is present at every birthday celebration. As mentioned before, I am not fond of cupcakes. But I like their meringue cream. My favorites: banana pudding, devil dog cupcake. Next to try: carrot cake, red velvet cake.

Reviews: Citysearch ♡ Yelp! ♡ Menu Pages

141 West 72nd Street (Between Amsterdam and Columbus)
New York, NY 10023
Phone: (212) 787-3800 / website / cookbook

MADELEINE

2008-08-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this patisserie while on a walk with R. At the sight of colorful macarons from the corner of my eyes, I pulled R into the store mid-sentence. It's a small, quaint shop with a dine-in section in the back. Macarons were crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, just the way I like it. The madelaine were speckeld with orange zetst, and were a bit on the dry side.

Reviews: eGullet ♡ NYT Dining Section

128 West 23rd StreetNew York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 243-2757

LEVAIN BAKERY

2008-07-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

These cookies are so chewy. SO chewy and heavenly and gigantic. Be sure to bring a major sweet-tooth. It's guaranteed to satisfy any PMS cravings. I ordered the Chocolate Chip Walnut, but preferred M's Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip.

Reviews: The Nibble ♡ Yelp! ♡ Trip Advisor

167 West 74th Street (@ Columbus Ave), New York, NY 10023

Phone: (212) 874-6080 / website / newsletter

Open Daily, Hamptons Location open seasonally

Founders: Connie McDonald and Pamela Weekes

GROM

2008-07-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

GROM! I love it. M loves it. We all love it. It's our neighborhood gem. Monika had the espresso flavor. Damn! It's fine stuff. I had pistachio. Mmm! Creamy and intensely pistachio. M also gave me a big-ass container of pistachio x strawberry for my birthday. Let's just say I didn't want to share with R.

Reviews: Serious Eats ♡ Gothamist ♡ Eater

Updown: 2165 Broadway (b/w 76th & 77th St) New York, NY 10024
Downtown: 233 Bleecker St (@ Carmine St) New York, NY 10014
Phone: (212) 206-1738 / Phone: (212) 362-1837 / website
Open Daily
Owners: Guido Martinetti and Federico Grom

TREATS TRUCK

2008-07-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

One fine Saturday morning, I jumped out of the cab as I saw the Treats Truck parked in my neighborhood. R was scared. There were a few people lined up for the goodies. Maya, the owner, is part Japanese. I read she was an aspiring actress, but this business kicked off so now she does this full-time. She's smiley and friendly, and I loved the peanut butter sandwich.

Reviews: Yelp! ♡ Serious Eats ♡ TimeOut NY

Location: On the move. Check website.

Phone: (212) 691-5226 / website

BOUCHON BAKERY

2008-07-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

I love their croissants I love their croissants I love their croissants. Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery makes darn good croissants and pastry. Give me the Sunday Times, a cup of foamy cappucino, and the Bouchon croissant, and I'm a happy girl. The macarons are also one of the best I've had in the City. If it was a bit smalled it'd be perfect.

Reviews: Citysearch ♡ New York Magazine ♡ Yelp!

10 Columbus Circle, Third Floor New York, NY 10019

Phone: (212) 823-9366 / Website

MACARON

2008-07-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

You'd never expect to find a little Paris in the Garment District. Great expressos, daily special sandwiches, viennoiserie, not to mention the macarons; crunchy exterior leading into a heavenly moist burst of flavor. Flavors change daily. My favorites thus far: Vanilla, Lychee Rose.

Reviews: Yelp ♡ Chowhound ♡ The Wandering Eater ♡ Midtown Lunch

161 W 36th Street New York, NY 10018 (b/w 7th Ave & Broadway)
Phone: (646) 573-5048

HUNGARIAN PASTRY SHOP

2008-07-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love this place. It's dark, cozy, quiet on weekdays, and free coffee refills! R and I go here at least once every weekend to read for a few hours. I love the apple strudel, cherry strudel, and chocolate mousse. Didn't like the cheesecake. I wouldn't die for the Croissants, as some reviews suggest.

Reviews: Yelp! ♡ New York Magazine ♡ Citysearch

1030 Amsterdam Avenue (b/w W.110th and 111th St)
New York, NY 10025

Phone: (212) 866-4230 / website

Open Daily

MAGNOLIA BAKERY: UPTOWN

2008-07-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Confession: I'm not a big fan of cupcakes. I've always gone to Magnolia for their Banana Pudding, which is insanely good and somehow tastes "Japanese". This past weekend, though, I discovered their Red Velvet cupcake with meringue frosting. I loved the meringue frosting.

Reviews: Becks & Posh ♡ Citysearch ♡ Yelp!

200 Columbus Avenue (@ 69th Street), New York, NY 10023
Phone: (212) 724-8101
401 Bleecker Street (@ W 11th Street), New York, NY 10014
Phone: (212) 462-2572 / website

WHOLE FOODS BAKERY

2008-07-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Whole Foods-brand sweets can be pretty tasty. I've attended their bouche de noel-making demo. Apparently Christmas is one of their busiest times of the year, cranking out thousands and thousands of bouche de noels. I also attended their gluten-free dessert class. I guess you can count on Whole Foods to have gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan-friendly pastry.

Reviews: Dessert Buzz

10 Columbus Circle New York, NY 10019
Phone: (212) 823-9600 / website
Open Daily

BEARD PAPA

2008-07-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Cream puffs! Choux a le creme! I love them! Berard Papa is a franchise in Japan, and now there are numerous locations in the U.S., including Hawaii. (A lot in Hawaii and on the West Coast.) Their vanilla custard, peppered with vanilla bean speckles, is truly addicting. Chocolate and green tea flavored custard are also available.
The fondant is alright. As is in Tokyo, they now carry a crunchy cookie-crust choux. Sort of like the extra-cripsy at KFC. I prefer the original.

Reviews: Citysearch ♡ Menu Pages ♡ Virtual Tourist ♡ mmm-yoso!

2167 Broadway New York, NY 10024

Phone: (212) 799-3770 / website

LA FARINE

2008-06-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

A cute little pâtisserie on Platinum Street in Shirogane. Chef is young, passionate, and trained at Pâtisserie Jacques in Alsace. My favorites: choux a la creme, fraise, fig, amandine, financier, and madeleine. Pâtissier: Hirokazu Nagai

Reviews: Deli Cake ♡ Tabelog

4-9-21 Shirogane-dai Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0071

Phone: (03) 5475-1920 / website
Holiday: Mon

GINZA WAKO

2008-06-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

Reviews: GuruNavi

4-5-11 Ginza Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Phone: (03) 5250 - 3100 / website

AU BON VIEUX TEMPS

2008-06-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore this place. It's my favorite patisserie thus far in Tokyo. Classic French pastry done right! I mean, who am I to say, but this is where I experienced the best Conversation ever. The ambiance is calming, cozy, and dark. I love anything dark. They have a great selection of entremets, petit gâteaux, glacée, chocolat, confiture, and sweet and savory viennoiserie.
I bought a few of each, then my dad and I sat down at the salon de thé in the corner for some late morning pastry and café au lait. My dad had the roquefort brioche. Man, was it delicious! And I was quite the happy girl with my Conversation. The staff is also very attentive with professional attire. It's located in Oyama-dai, a bit our of the way, but I'll make it a point to visit more often.
Pâtissier: Katsuhiko Kawata : menu : cookbook --> I own it, it's great.

Reviews: CakePia ♡ tabelog ♡ livedoor gourmet ♡ cake 100

2-1-14 Todoroki, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

Phone: (03) 3703-8428 / website

Holidays: Wed

HIDEMI SUGINO

2008-06-01T17:21:00.000-07:00

Patissier: Hidemi Sugino

3-6-17 Kyobashi Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Phone: (03) 3538-6780

Holidays: Mon

KUGELHOPF~ AUSTRIAL BOWL CAKE

2007-01-02T16:06:00.000-08:00

For 1 Kugenhopf

The Sponge
150g all-purpose flour
30g yeast
150 mL warm milk

The Dough
140g butter
140g powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 tBsp vanilla sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
250g bread flour
pinch of nutmeg
50g warm milk
150g raisins, plumped in water and drained
15-20 whole blanched almonds

powdered sugar, for finishing

Kugelhopf mold

For The Sponge
1. Prepare sponge with all-purpose flour, yeast, and the 150mL of milk. Set aside and allow the sponge to double.

For The Dough
1. Cream together the butter, powdered sugar, salt, lemon zest, and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, and allow each to fully incorporate before adding the next.
3. Add the sponge to the creamed butter mixture.
4. Add the bread flour, nutmeg, and 50g of milk to the mixture.
5. Mix/knead to develop gluten, scraping the sides of the bowl often.
6. Add raisisns (or dried cherries) and mix just to combine.
7. First proof: Place in oiled bowl, cover, and proof 30-40mins or until doubled in size.
8. Prepare the mold: Butter the kugelhopf mold and place almonds in the bottom.
9. Turn dough when proofed, and place in prepared mold.
10. Final proof and allow the dough to ferment in the mold. The dough should rise to 1/2 inch below the top edge of the mold.
11. Egg wash. (1 egg + 1 egg yolk + pinch of salt)
12. Bake the kugenhopf at 350F (176C) for 35-40 minutes, or until dark brown.
13. Unmold immediately after baking onto a cooling rack to prevent it from becoming soggy.

For The Finish
Lightly dust with powdered sugar.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

2007-01-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

For 12 Muffins

Dry Ingredients
264 g all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Liquid Ingredients
1 egg
150g granulated sugar
60g melted butter
290g sour cream
200g blueberries

1. Sift dry ingredients.
2. Combine #1 in a large bowl and mix together well.
3. Combine in a separate bowl mixing with each addition the egg, sugar, melted butter, and sour cream.
4. Add the fruit to the dry mixture, and then add the liquid mixture (#3) and quickly combine with as few strokes as possible.
5. Scoop into prepared muffin tins.
6. Bake at 350F (176C0 for 20-25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes.