Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki Paris 青木定治
Add: B2 Bella Vita, 28 Song Ren Rd., Taipei 台北市信義區松仁路28號B2樓
Tel: (02) 8729 2867
Hours: 11am-10pm
Website: www.sadaharuaoki.com
Price: [cakes] 180~200 NTD [macarons] 80 NTD
Sadaharu Aoki is known for infusing Japanese ingredients and sensibilities into French pastries, inventing creations that are a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds. But as I sat myself down and dug into these alluring cakes and macarons at his new outpost in Taipei, I was disappointed.
But to start, the gorgeous display of macarons had me staring and drooling for quite a while.
I first tried Bamboo – Opéra au Thé Vert 綠竹蛋糕 (190 NTD), Aoki’s green tea rendition of the classic opéra. The biscuit and buttercream are added with matcha powder so that the opéra becomes a stack of alternating green tea cake, chocolate ganache, and matcha buttercream. Very pretty, but the taste was not especially memorable.
I then tried Valencia瓦倫西亞 (200 NTD). The dramatic crown of candied kumquat sealed in a crystalized sugar web is immediately eye-catching. Beneath it is a citrus mousse with orange zest, a layer of chocolate cake, a milk chocolate mousse, a caramel-hazelnut praline, all on top of a crunchy almond crust. It’s a nice contrast of flavors and textures and is really quite beautiful, but still, I was not blown away.
Cassis 黑醋栗蛋糕 (190 NTD). Not much to say about this.
Lastly the macarons (80 NTD each). The two I tried, raspberry and genmaicha, weren’t as good as the ones from Salon de The de Joël Robuchon right upstairs in the same building. The ganache was hard and its texture didn’t quite blend in with the shells, which were rather dry.
Not sure what happened there. Maybe Sadaharu Aoki just isn’t my cup of tea.
Wow that bamboo opera cake looks unbelievable! (Unfortunately, I guess the taste has let you down…)
I’ve actually never tried any of his stuff. What a shame. No idea whether or not he’s actually overrated/over-hyped… Hopefully I will be able to give it a try the next time I visit Tokyo (or Taipei?)!
I’m not sure if the Taipei branch just messed it up?
Since the bamboo is so sought after in both Paris and Tokyo it’s supposedly really good.
Try it next time when you can and let me know how it is!
i was not blown away by the desserts either, but i have to say the colorful chocolates that look like pastels are amazing!
yes the colors at aoki are very attractive. a very photogenic shop!
I tryed the one in Paris and it is nothing to compare with Pierre Herme or Laduree… It is original on paper, but nothing amazing in taste from my point of view… Chocolate are the same…far from Patrick Roger or Marcolini…
I’ve been to Paris a couple of times and I’d have to agree with Brice! While the colours are quite attractive, I much prefer going to Laduree over Sadaharu Aoki.