Fauchon, the long-established luxury food brand from Paris, is well-known throughout Japan as a purveyor of high quality teas and cakes, but it’s their famous éclairs that are considered the créme de la créme of the sweet world.
To celebrate Éclair Week, Fauchon has opened a pop-up café for a limited time in Shibuya, Tokyo. Pictured are two of the éclairs on offer, one celebrating the deep pink colour that’s come to be associated with the French brand, and one that’s a jaw-dropping edible rendition of a traditional woodblock piece by famous Japanese artist Hokusai.
Called the “Fauchon Éclair Week Café”, the café is open for a limited time only, from September 12 to 18, to mark the annual éclair week event held every September by the company’s main branch in Paris. While they’re releasing a whopping 36 varieties in France, there are five varieties to choose from in Japan.
We opted for the pink “Éclair Framboise Champagne” for 648 yen (US$6.05) and the Japanese-inspired “Éclair Hokusaï” for 540 yen ($5.04). For 1,250 yen ($11.66), they’ll serve you a set with your choice of éclair plus a specially matched tea designed to complement the flavours of your sweet.
The Éclair Hokusaï is simply stunning to look at. As one of Japan’s most famous artworks, from the 36 Views of Mt Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai, the great wave scene is absolutely captivating. It was hard to slice into such a revered artwork, but our temptation to taste the sweet won us over in the end. The custard filling was delicious, with just a hint of saltiness from the butter, and the white chocolate topping was a perfect accompaniment.
The Framboise-Champagne Éclair was equally delicious, with the combination of raspberry and champagne taking us far away to a place where fruit and a glass of bubbly can be enjoyed in the Parisian sun. The glossy pink topping gave it a sweetness that balanced out the tartness of the raspberry filling beautifully.
If you’d like to head down to the café, we recommend you get there early. Although they don’t seem to offer a take-away option, some of the éclairs sell out only an hour after opening. When it comes to artistic sweets, it’s best to be first in line. After all, everybody loves delicious artwork!
【Details】
FAUCHON ECLAIR WEEK CAFE (Eclair Week Fauchon Cafe)
Opening period: September 18, 2014 (Fri) – September 12, 2014 (Thursday)
Time: Monday to Saturday 11: 30 ~ 21: 00
Venue: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Jingumae 5-11-1 CAFE HOME
Contact: 03-3406-0310
Images: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]
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