How did I become a foodie? I think it has a lot to do with my eldest gourmet sister. She has always had, well, superior taste buds than others. I remember baking cakes with her when I was little, and it was delicious! Anything she whipped out in the kitchen came out awesome. And let me tell you, she started taking photos of food at restaurants before anyone else was doing it! So, such gourmet sister of course has gourmet friends. And who knows, one of them just might be a fabulous pâtissier at a fancy French restaurant, La Junesse in Tokyo. My awesome sister took us there to taste some of her friend’s creations while we were in Japan. Yes!

 

It is located on the second floor of La Fuente Daikanyama Annex. With that, they have a small but nice outdoor seating. Since it is not facing a street, but more of a courtyard, it is nice and quiet. However, it was a hot Summer day, so we had no intention of sitting outside, no matter how nice or peaceful it might be. 

 

So, we went inside to a nice air-conditioned indoor space. One of the staff came out immediately before we got to the door, and he waited for us while holding the door open. Nothing but the first class service here. The host/hostess section right off the main entrance was very elegant and modern, sharp and classy.

We were swiftly taken into the inside, and there was a quiet, dimmed hallway to the left of the host/hostess station. On the right is their bathroom, down the hall is their restaurant, and the bar & cafe to the left. The bar area is where people can come and have afternoon tea or other light fare and desserts. This space is a bit more casual than their super fancy restaurant.

Since we were there for the desserts, this is where our reservation was kept. It was cozy and clean, I liked the contrast between the white walls and dark brown furniture including the bar. The ceiling also had the same dark brown color, creating relaxing atmosphere. There are few seating near the entrance to the bar, then to the side, and then more tables at the back of the bar.

Even though they didn’t have much decoration with loud colors, they had very cool decorations. I liked the bottles beautifully displayed at the end of the wall. They also had some interesting bottles on the bar, reminding me of a Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

So, we were there to taste their “Adult” kakigori, created by pâtissier, Yoko Kato. She has such innovative and creative mind when it comes to going to the next level with desserts, it is incredible. I have been waiting to try them for months, and now the time is finally here!

But before we go into the special kakigori, let’s talk about another dish. Since my brother-in-law already had the kakigori before, he went with their Chocolate Set (1,200 yen). It comes with six kinds of house-made Petit Chocolat and a choice of Coffee, Red Tea, Herb Tea, or Flavored Tea. He went with the coffee.

House-made Petit Chocolat includes praline chocolate, épicé chocolat, and brownie, and came on a cute little two-tiered stand. They were all very well constructed, decadent, rich, creamy with high quality both in ingredients and flavor.

Now, let’s talk about the Adult Kakigori! Pâtissier Kato created three kinds of kakigori. She layers fruits and ice beautifully in each glass. With interesting and innovative use of herbs and spices, it is truly one of a kind. With its beauty, texture, flavor and scent, you get to enjoy it with all your senses.

The first one is a Mix Berry Kakigori (1,200 yen). It is created with Orange and Cinnamon Sorbet, with Berries such as Raspberry, Blackberry, and American Cherry. It was so pretty, loved the deep and bright red against bright white ice. It was a party in a glass!

The accompanying fruits syrup is made with Star Anise and Lemon. You pour as much or as little as you want, based on liking. I loved how the thick sauce seeped into the fluffy ice. After that, I was ready to dig in! This one was quite sour and strong in that way. I was expecting it to be sweet, so it was a quite the surprise. It certainly woke me up! It was a good, refreshing dessert on a hot day.

It also came with Lychee Meringue wafers. It was sweet and melted in my mouth. A nice little contrast against the sour dish. underneath the top layers of berries and ice, they had more berries underneath it. At this point, there was an option to add champagne for 800 yen, which you could pour to the reminder of the ice. But, we decided not to add champagne, as we didn’t want to dilute the flavor of the kakigori, since they were all so delicious and precious!

The second up is Citrus Basil Kakigori (1,200 yen). This one is created with Basil Pineapple Sorbet, Mango, and Kiwi, and other Citrus fruits. It also comes with Pineapple Chip and Coconut Dacquoise Sticks. This one was very festive looking.

The accompanying fruit syrup is made with coriander seeds, ginger, and other Asian spices, creating complicated yet refreshing flavors of Asia. This one was amazingly delicious! I was unsure about the pairing of basil and citrus, but my goodness they were a perfect match! I tell you, Pâtissier Kato knows exactly what she is doing! I thought this one would be sour with citrus fruits, but it was rather sweet since it was all ripened to perfection, and the flavor of basil was wonderful. Even though the syrup contained spices that has strong flavor or kicks, it didn’t fight against the dish. It was rather mild, much softer flavor than I expected. The pineapple chip was fun to eat too.

The last but not least, White Peach Kakigori (1,200 yen). This one is created with White Wine, Elderflower, and Red Peach Sorbet, with White and Red Peaches, and it was topped with Cassis Meringue. This one was the cutest one of all.

The accompanying fruits syrup is made with Earl Grey, Cardamom, and of course, Peach. The syrup was the thickest on this one, almost like a peach puree with wonderful infused flavor of earl grey and a hint of cadamom. The syrup alone could steal the show. The peaches were great, meaty, sweet and perfectly ripe. White wine and Elderflower controlled its sweetness, enhancing the refreshing side of the dessert. This was pretty darn amazing too!

After we enjoyed the fancy Adult Kakigori, we got Earl Grey Tea (400 yen) and Iced Coffee (400 yen). Even these simple drink orders were fancy, and yes, high quality.

At this point, delightful surprise arrived at our table. Extra little desserts created by Pâtissier Kato for us! Come on! I thought we were in dessert heaven already, but this put the whole experience to the next level… And, The executive chef at La Jeunesse, Chef Ogue came out to greet us at our table, even though we were not dining in their main restaurant! We felt so special…

Back to the cute little surprises. Few of them looked a bit like the Kakigori desserts, but these ones did not have any shaved ice in it. The first one was made with Star Anise, Lemon Jelly, American Cherry and Mixed Berries. It was again sour like the Mix Berry Kakigori, but additions of, or rather, replacement of Lemon Jelly instead of shaved ice was interesting. It was very, super refreshing, with good kick from the sour flavor, enhanced by Star Anise. The berries and cherries are fresh and vibrant, taking away Summer exhaustion from the heat right off your body.

Next up was made with Fig, Berry, Five Spices, Cinnamon, Red Wine, and Cassis Jelly. I love cassis, or black currant… It also had Fromage on the top and the bottom. This one was great too, wonderful use of ripe, sweet figs against berries. The fromage was creamy and melt in your mouth. The spiced added deep, earthy aroma and flavor, that worked perfectly with the rest of the ingredients.

Third one had beautiful Mango Pudding on the bottom, with Kiwi, Lemongrass, and Lime. I am sure I didn’t get all the ingredients in there, but the important part is that it was divine! I love mango to begin with, but the way this was constructed was quite elegant. Lemongrass gave a hint of citrus-y flavor against the sweet mango, enhancing each others flavors to the max.

The last one was most unusual and interesting. It had Estragon (or more knowns as “Terragon”) Sorbet, Tomato Jam Compote, with Mustard Sprout on top. It was like a salad that was turned into a dessert, kind of like how Cinderella was transformed into a beautiful princess by her Fairly Godmother. That would make Pâtissier Kato to be the Fairly Godmother… and it is fitting. With her innovating mind as her magical wand, she transformed a salad into a dessert! And let me tell you, this thing was delicious! Who would’ve thought that a salad ingredients can become such wonderful dessert? First of all, I have never had Estragon Sorbet, as terragon is usually used as a spice. The sorbet was excellent, with the natural flavor of terragon brought out, its sweetness and bitterness, cool and warm flavors. It went great with the tomato jam compote, which was sweet and earthy, not like salad at all. It was refreshing and unique, truly exceptional! I loved it!

La Jeunesse – 11-1 Sarugakucho, Shibuya Tokyo, Japan