Before coming to Japan this time, I went through the whole ranking of dessert shops in Tokyo. There were a few notable changes, and among them Occitanial at Suitengumae Station was the only one with reasonably good access, plus the desserts looked so pretty. Suitengumae probably does not ring a bell, but it is right next to Ningyocho. Ningyocho is next to Nihonbashi, and Nihonbashi is next to Tokyo Station. The Ginza / Tokyo Station / Nihonbashi area is where the best line of dessert cafes in Tokyo is. After doing a lap around that neighbourhood, going on to Suitengumae was not such a long way.

The front entrance

It is right outside the station. Not that far from Ningyocho Station either. Getting here from the city centre is not as hard as I thought. Maybe that is why there were so many people.

A glass of water first

While I was looking around for what to buy, I noticed there were only a few kinds of cake left in the display case. They said new ones would come out in 30 minutes if I waited, so I ordered one of the remaining cakes for now and grabbed a seat in the cafe space. Legend has it that I was the only middle-aged guy in a cafe full of madams and couples.. I sat there waiting for over 30 minutes, but being someone used to that kind of situation, I confidently polished off my dessert and busily took photos.

The melon cake

The melon cake looks like a melon. The pattern on top is made of chocolate, and while the taste is nothing exceptional, it really was pretty. Chocolate work of a pretty high standard. Compared to its looks, the cake itself tasted just decent.

Caramels

The tin was so pretty that I just bought one on a whim, and oh my. I had no idea caramels this delicious existed on this planet. I took one out and savoured it as slowly as I could, and the chew and the melt were both perfect. It was about 400 yen for five, and I liked them so much that I bought another tin on the spot. Thinking back now, I should have bought five more tins, and I still deeply regret not doing so. Looking at the ingredients, there is agar in there too, and they seem to use some special method, so I got curious about how on earth they make them. I will have to come back to this place a few more times just for the caramels alone.

A glass of juice too

Well, since I was taking up a seat, I could not not order a juice

As I sat and waited, a staff member came over carrying the freshly made cakes.

And my pick from these was..

The orange cake.

So pretty!

And inside..

It is chocolate. Well, the taste was not exactly out of this world, but the visuals alone were satisfying enough. I wonder how they ever came up with a cake like this. Next time I am thinking of ordering a plain cake rather than one with a flashy shape. Coming alone and eating two cakes was not exactly easy either.

All kinds of baked goods

The prices were fine and they looked good too, but I did not buy any this time.

They sell macarons too

Macarons of all things break easily and are hard to carry home. Hmm.. such a shame.

There were really all sorts of other desserts too, but with the luggage situation that day I could hardly buy anything.

Cute chocolate

But the chocolate was too cute not to buy. How can they even sell chocolate work like this..

So I bought the sheep

This was the one chocolate I carried back on the plane. It is the Year of the Sheep this year, after all. Not only was the shape pretty, it tasted good too. Not the melt-in-your-mouth kind, but they used decent chocolate.

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