I believe most people are quite familiar with Quil Fait Bon, a fruit tart specialty shop from Shizuoka that skyrocketed to fame in Tokyo and all over Japan years ago. Honestly, I am not too sure how it became possibly the most successful fruit tart shop in Japan, given that fruit tarts can't taste too bad if fresh fruits are used.
While the regular tarts featuring mixed berries or mangoes can be unexciting and expensive, the seasonal menu is perhaps what keeps customers coming back for more. The Matcha Tiramisu tart, for example, is available during spring. No fruits, but very robust matcha powder and well-simmered sweet black beans. The only flaw was gritty and dry green tea crust.
しぼり豆 丹波黒大寿とシナモンクリームのタルト
However, the rest of the tarts during the Kyoto Week truly uncover the potential of familiar Kyoto produce such as black beans and miso. What shines in this Shibori mame and cinnamon tart is the pairing of sweet-salty flavours between the thin brown layer of mitarashi sauce and luscious cinnamon cream on top. It also contains a custard base embedded with Tanba black beans. The totality of the piece was a beautifully rendered classic.
The Matcha Soymilk Tart was a pure sensational delight. Despite the presence of wavy matcha whipped cream on top, my focus landed only on the matcha bavaroise at the base. Despite being made with soymilk, the flavours of green tea was highly pronounced and texture was spot-on. Bite after bite, this tart seemed to mature like any vintage old wine-the taste got better.
But I felt slightly dismayed with the Miso Caramel Tart (540 yen) as the potency of the Saikyo white miso that was blended with the caramel nuts were not fully developed. The miso taste was also withheld in the baked cheese layer made with Le Gall cream cheese, though the baked cheese was executed well and not overwhelmingly dense. I thought the white miso should be the main cast of this tart as it comes from prestigious Kyoto miso brand, Honda, whose miso has been stamped with the imperial warrant since 1830.
As a tart specialist, the tart shell must be promising, and indeed the crust of the tart shells here are not the typical subtly sweet pate sucre but flaky, rustic shortcrust pastry. You can tell they are pretty proud of their tart shells because they are made with Le Gall butter (showcased in the glass display). However, as fruits are expensive in Japan, the price of the fruit tarts can range from 540 yen to 1100 yen PER slice (especially if it's strawberries / honeydews).
That said, there is no reason not to splurge on one piece or two premium ones if you feel like it.
Can't bear to throw this cake box away!
Quil Fait Bon キルフェボンMain Shop: Chuo-ku Ginza 2-5-4, Tokyo 104-0061
Various outlets in Aoyama, Tokyo Skytree, Daikanyama, Yokohama, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, etc.
http://www.quil-fait-bon.com/