Friday, March 27, 2009

Parfait Club Sixth Meeting

[Photo coming soon]
Location: Anonymous cafe near Makino station
Members present: Kelly O., Owen, Kelly R., Kristin
Parfaits tried:
1 Banana Royal ¥530
1 Chocolate Parfait ¥530
2 Fruit Parfait ¥530

Ingredients:
Banana Royal--1 banana, 1 slice kiwi, 1 slice pear, 1 fig. Vanilla ice cream scoop. All topped with whipped cream.
Chocolate Parfait--Cherry, banana, pear, apple, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce on top. Vanilla ice cream more whipped cream in the middle. More pear, mandarin oranges, and something that may have been melon syrup at the bottom.
Fruit Parfait--Cherry, banana, bear, apple, whipped cream on top. Vanilla ice cream scoop with fruit sauce and pear in the middle. Mandarin oranges on bottom.

Reviews:
Kelly O.--Chocolate parfait: I liked that there3 were a lot of different kinds of fruit, and the melon syrup was interesting, but it definitely needed some crunch. Also, it wasn't very chocolatey--the only real differece between this and thr fruit parfait was a tiny amount of chocolate sauce. Still, iw was a quaint littls place, close to home, very cozy. I would like to go back and thry their other tasties. <3

Owen--Fruit Parfait: This was by far the best usage of fruit in a parfait I have come across.

Kelly R.--Banana was yummy. Pear was more yummy. Kiwi was most yummy. Ice cream pretty good too. Not quite worth the price.

Kristin--The pear was new and tasty, but it did not taste fresh--it was sugary from canned syrup, which tastes too candy-like for me. It was a good price, however, so I would get it again. I just wish it had some crunch.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Unofficial Meeting 2



Location: Bom Dia, Hiroshima station, Hiroshima
Members present: Kristin, Kelly R.
Parfaits tried:
1 Chocolate Brownie Parfait ¥530
1 Fruits Yogurt Parfait ¥530

Ingredients:
Chocolate Brownie--On the top layer was both chocolate and vanilla ice cream, a small amount of whipped cream and chocolate syrup, and also several slives of brownie. A chunk of pineapple adorns the top with a mnt leaf. Below this layer is a chocolate cereal and then more ic cream. On the bottom is a layer of coffee and jelly cubes.
Fruits Yogurt--Mango, banana, kiwi, and orange slices surrounding vanilla softserve with strawberry syrup on top. Second layer was corn flakes, and yogurt and strawberry jam at the bottom.

Reviews:
Kristin--Chocolate brownie. I found the contrast in the parfait to be amazing. Finally something with crunch, cream, and something special--the jelly cubes were fantastic! I also thought the coffee taste at the bottom was unique and fit well. It was a good size for a good price. The brownies were also very good--not too crispy, but not soggy, either.

Kelly--I had the fruits yogurt parfait. It was absolutely the best one I've had so far as part of this club. The fruit was all fresh except for the mango, which was frozen. The parfait was presented beautifully and contained a wonderful mix of flavors. Corn flakes in the middle provide a nice change of texture, and the yogurt at the bottom was a wonderful way to end. It had just enough sweetness when eaten together with the strawberry jam, while at the same time not being overly sugary, so it leaves your pallate refreshed and cool.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Independent Parfait 1



Location: Tottori--Cafe in Covered Shopping Arcade
Members present: Kelly O.
Parfaits tried: Mocha Parfait ¥480
Ingredients: Whipped cream with cherry, wafer tube sticks, vanilla ice cream, mocha-flavored jelly cubes, pineapple, banana, kiwi, mandarin orange.

Review:
The parfait itself was only so-so, I thought. The big problem was just with the jelly-cubes, though. There were somewhat icy, and I'm not sure that I was crazy about that particular combination of textures. The fruit, however, was very good--fresh-tasting, not watery, and delicious. The did have a fruits parfait, too, so maybe that would be preferable.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Parfait Club Fifth Meeting



Location: Tea Room, Shinsekai, Osaka
Members present: Kelly O., Kelly R., Kristin
Parfaits tried: 3 Choco-fruits ¥740
Ingredients:
Cherry, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, pineapple, kiwi and banana on top. Whipped cream and chocolate in the middle. Citrus fruit on the bottom.

Reviews:
Kristin--I am normally very fond of a lot of whipped topping, but this one had way too much, especially when it was mixed with the rich, chocolate syrup. I would have preferred more ice cream. The bottom was also very watery due to the fruit, and I missed have anything crunchy or particularly interesting in the middle. I loved the fruit on the top, however, and the pineapple was a particularly flavorful treat. Other than that, nothing special...and the restaurant itself is again both nonsmoking and smoking together.

Kelly O.--I agree with Kristin that the whipped cream was like whoa, but I thought that it at least had a very good flavor--it didn't give me that tongue-coating sensation that some really thick whipped cream does, but it was still very rich. But yes, more ice cream would have been preferable.
The fruit was really amazing--pineapple! Ohmigoodness! ^.^ I really enjoyed that part. And there was a cherry on top! How cute! It was all very visually-appealing. I wasn't crazy about the mandarins-and-juice at the bottom, though. I dunno, the flavors didn't mesh right for me... plus random parfait-water is yucky. >.<
Being asthmatic and full of allergies to boot, I was not crazy about the lack of smoking segregation. However, I very much enjoyed this parfait, and the cute little sandwiches (including one made with fruit!) beg a return visit. Plus, the lady at the register and the waiter both seemed to think we were very funny. ^.^ They were very nice to us. All-in-all, I'd go back... I'd just try for a seat as far away from the smokers as possible.

Kelly R.--The ice cream and fruit topping portions were delish. However, as you may have gathered by past postings, I am not a fan of loads of whipped cream. The entire middle section was just whipped cream and chocolate mixed together. Not very appealing.