Tag: sadaharu aoki

Sadaharu Aoki

Add:  35 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris*
Tel: +33 1 45 44 48 90
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 11am~7pm [Sun] 10am~6pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.sadaharuaoki.com
Price: €5~6/patisserie
Tasted on: Dec 2014

Sadaharu Aoki, famed for combining Japanese ingredients in French pastries, now has three shops in Paris – the newest one being in the recently renovated Lafayette Gourmet. It was a year and a half ago when I last had an Aoki pastry (see here and here), and I haven’t gone back in so long because I wasn’t too convinced by what I tasted last time. This Saturday morning, however, I was in a green tea state of mind, and decided to pay the shop a visit. Get ready for lots of green.

*Additional locations available, check website for detail.

Tarte Caramel Matcha (€5.30), a recently launched variation on Aoki’s Tarte Caramel Salé, is an eye-catcher and no less intense in taste. The perfectly piped green spiral of matcha mousse has a strong taste (in comparison to the more subtle flavors in Aoki’s other matcha pastries), and underneath it is a salted caramel that’s both very sweet and salty. I quite liked it, but only in small doses – 1/4 of the tart at a time is perfect.

Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!

Sadaharu Aoki

Add:  35 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris*
Tel: +33 1 45 44 48 90
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 11am~7pm [Sun] 10am~6pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.sadaharuaoki.com
Price: €5~6/patisserie
Tasted on: Apr 2013

I knew about Sadaharu Aoki even before I discovered Pierre Hermé. The Japanese pastry chef is famed for infusing French pastries with Japanese ingredients and sensibilities, and has made a big name for himself in France, Japan, and beyond. I first tried his creations 2 years ago at his then recently-opened outpost in Taipei, and was disappointed by what I tasted. Thinking that perhaps it was just a consistency issue with the Taipei branch, I decided to give his Paris boutique a try.

*Additional locations available, check website for detail.

While Aoki is most famed for his Japanese-inspired pastries (think matcha, yuzu, azuki beans), what I eagerly wanted to taste was the tarte caramel salé (€5), which has been recommended to me by friends and professionals alike. And indeed it’s delicious. A spiral of creamy milk chocolate mousse, a buttery crispy tart shell, and – cut the tart open and out oozes – an intensely aromatic salted caramel. So intense that I had to save half of it for the second day. Stricly for caramel lovers.