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/
