Tokyo-born patisserie maestro Sadaharu Aoki combines traditional French technical savoir-faire with Japanese ingredients in his four Parisian boutiques for an innovative twist on classic gallic cakes. Perfectly executed eclairs are laced with black sesame or green tea, and eastern flavours such adzuki beans and yuzu feature alongside French staples such as creme patissière and puff pastry in his delicious creations. There is a strong sense of a modern Japanese esthetic, with cakes designed with pared down minimal forms, bold colours and playful decorative touches, all set against the neutral backdrop of a sleek and shiny monochrome boutique. The stores are take-away only, but the rue Vaugirard branch is just a two minute walk away from the Jardin de Luxembourg - a great setting for an impromptu sugar-loaded picnic, weather permitting of course.
Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki, 35 rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris
Open: Tues-Sat, 11am-7pm. Sun, 10am-6pm
For more on extraordinary patisseries in Paris, see The Innovative Patisseries of Paris.
All photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey 2012
I just went there for the first time and tried all of their tea macaroons (and the wasabi flavour too). They were excellent! Wish I had tried the eclairs though...
ReplyDeleteThat's a good excuse to go back and try the eclairs! The duomo (in the first picture) is also outstanding. The macaroons sound delicous - Pierre Hermé did a strawberry and wasabi macaroon one year that was excellent, too. Thanks for posting your comment.
ReplyDelete--Kim x
€4.60 for a Tarte au Citron! It had better be good...
ReplyDeleteHi James, Yes - a fraction more than your local bog standard bakery, but less than a fiver is but a small price to pay for such an exceptional gastronomic experience (although I'd choose one of the more interesting creations over the tarte au citron, personally)! It's cheaper than dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant, at any rate. Go on - push the boat out! --Kim x
ReplyDeleteLove this place - and they are always so nice and helpful every time I've been in. It's got such a clean fresh style - and my fav here are the brightly coloured chocolate sticks (i *think* they call them makeup sticks - because they do look like bright lipsticks and such) & also the various chocolates like the macha and I think they have a green tea one I like. While it's not my personal favorite stop for macarons, I do like getting them here for gifts sometimes because it's just fun, clean, bright packaging and a bit of a detour from the macarons I usually get (i usually get Pierre Herme) They also have a bit of a specialty that at first I thought were macarons or chocolates but they are some kind of chocolate dipped cookie - there is a name for them but I can't remember. And, those make nice hostess gifts and such because they'll last longer than macarons, they're tasty and they are eye-catching with their super intense primary colors. As you can see, I do like stopping in this place! :)
ReplyDeleteI love eclairs and I'm completely enjoying your posting on these unique French pastries. Missing France already.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I'm following, hope you'll follow me too.
-Jenn
Thanks for this post! I had heard about this bakery but never got around to trying it, now I can't wait!
ReplyDeleteForest - I completely agree, not my favourite for macaroons but fab for other gifts (i like the individually wrapped financiers for little presents) and the cakes are to die for!
ReplyDeleteJenn -thanks for the comment! Glad you like the blog and I'll be sure to check your blog out, too!
Chauffeur Paris - yes, you really ought to try it, it's a real experience.
--KLA x