Isetan Shinjuku runs a year-round series called Ma Patisserie, where they collaborate with small dessert shops. A while back I bought a cake there from a place called Chant d’Oiseau and was blown away.

This time there was an event for a shop called Maison Givrée, so I went along.

Shine Muscat panna cotta

The fruit was so fresh that I assumed the fruit was the main event, but the overall balance was so outstanding that it took me by surprise. It is a dessert shop out in the suburbs, yet it has a personality all its own, a world apart from the department store desserts stuck in a rut.

Sun Rose grape tart

The fruit is perfectly fresh, but what really stood out is how well they handle chocolate. A quick search says their ice cream is great too.. what kind of monster is this shop.. I will have to make a trip out there soon.

Tigré

It is a baked good, but..

Cross-section

It was in the style of a chocolate fondue. And it was so good it stunned me. It felt like it had broken through the ceiling of deliciousness, if that makes sense. The dessert that has moved me most in recent memory. Chuo-Rinkan is where you end up if you ride the Hanzomon Line all the way to the last stop. It is about an hour out from central Tokyo, but getting there is not as hard as you would think. There seems to be a famous ramen shop nearby too, so I should do the rounds one day.

Guimauve

This one is from a different shop, Pâtisserie Passion de Rose, but I am not a fan of mint chocolate.. The quality was high, though. Very Isetan, you could say..

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