Sugared & Spiced

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Hof

Address: 30 Sinan Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu / 思南路30号, 近淮海中路
Tel: 6093 2058 / 6093 2052
Hours: [Tue-Thu] 11:00am – midnight, [Fri]-[Sun] 11:00am-1:00am
Price: [Cakes] 30~42 RMB, [Truffles] 10-13 RMB, [Wine] 38-55 RMB/glass

Hof is old news, but its selection of chocolate desserts never fails to draw a steady crowd.
Why? Scroll down to find out.

Hof

Here’s Hof on a Sunday afternoon, packed as always.

Busy busy busy

Dessert showcase

I arrived at 2:00pm sharp to claim my reservation, and was luckily given the innermost sofa seats. Thank you lord.

My favorite seats

The two of us went a little crazy and ordered 4 cakes and 3 chocolate truffles…but you can’t blame us, everything looked too alluring. And yes, we finished ‘em all. Mmhmm.

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Micasa Dolci 蜜膳屋

Address: 1/F #462, Section 4, Ren-Ai Road, Taipei / 台北市信義區仁愛路4段462號1樓
Tel: (02) 2345-7669
Hours: 10:00am~8:00pm, closed on Monday
Website: www.micasadolci.com.tw
Price: 300~400 NTD/plated dessert

Note: Please note that this is an arranged tasting.

Taipei is in no shortage of patisseries, but Micasa Dolci is undoubtedly in a class of its own. At this dessert cafe, each gorgeous sweet plate is an elaborately orchestrated ensemble of alluring colors, fancy garnishes, and extraordinary flavors – and everything is conjured up à la minute. A must visit for those who are willing to splurge a little for some sweet indulgence.

Micasa Dolci

The interior is cheery and sparkling, perfect for a girly afternoon tea date.

Interior

Here’s Katena Keichi, the pastry chef in the kitchen. Trained in Italy/France then followed by a few years at Tokyo’s Canoviano and Nobu restaurants, Keichi’s desserts are European-style with Asian elements – my favorite combination.

Katena Keichi

I first tried the caramel gelato with with banana, praline amande, garnished with savory sabayon sauce (350 NTD). Crunchy almond praline is layered with slices of banana, a scoop of bittersweet caramel gelato, then topped with savory sabayon (a light, aerated custard) that has been torched to create a burnt, melting surface. Beautiful, rich, decadent. I recommend sharing this between two people as it really is quite a formidable scoop of gelato.

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Toshi Yoroizuka

Address: 東京都港区赤坂9-7-2 東京ミッドタウン・イースト1ＦＢ－0104
.                Tokyo Midtown East 1F B-0104. 9-7-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03-5413－3650
Hours: [shop] 11:00-21:00, [salon] 11:00-22:00
Price: ¥1,200~1,300 ($15)
Website: http://grand-patissier.info/ToshiYoroizuka/

I’m love the idea of sitting at a bar facing an open kitchen, where pastry chefs conjure up beautiful desserts from scratch, right in front of my eyes. Naturally, Toshi Yoroizuka was on my must-visit list for Tokyo. The pastry chef has spent several years in Europe training in Germany, France and Belgium before returning to Japan, where his two boutique cafes now have pastry chefs assembling seasonal desserts to order. To avoid the wait, I skipped lunch and headed to Toshi Yoroizuka at noon. I was ready to be blown away.

Toshi Yoroizuka in Tokyo Midtown

There was no line during lunch time – I guess not many people eat desserts for an actual meal like I do - but it was a full house when I passed by again later in the afternoon. We were seated immediately and handed the menu, which only consisted of 8 items to choose from. If you obviously don’t speak Japanese, the waiter will bring you an English menu with detailed construction drawings of each dessert.

Detailed diagrams

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