Parfait Club Tenth Meeting

Location: ポムの樹 (Pomme no Ki)
Members present: Kelly R., Kristin, Kelly O., Owen
Parfaits tried:
Chocola-brownie ¥472
Cheesecake and berry parfait ¥472
BIG Chocolate parfait ¥819
BIG Pudding parfait ¥819

Ingredients:
Shokola(chocolate)-brownie--chocolate syrup, walnit pieces, brownies with walnuts, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, more brownies, fruit salad (cherries, pear, mikan), corn flakes, more chocolate syrup

Cheesecake and berry parfait--blueberries, pears, peaches, whipped cream, cheesecake pieces, strawberry syrup, vanilla ice cream, cornflakes

BIG Chocolate parfait--vanilla softserve, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, wafer cone, filled with ice cream, BIG pineapple slice (plus leaf), cherry, peach slices, cereal, fruit mix at the bottom

BIG Pudding parfait--pudding, vanilla ice cream, pineapple, fruties, whipped cream, cone

Reviews:
Kelly R.--Chocola-brownie. Here's a surprise coming from me: the whipped cream was delicious and there was just enough. The brownies were also excellent. The fruit would have been better if it were fresh rather than from a can. The chocolate syrup at the bottom made the cornflakes too soggy. Overall, the top half was delicious, while the bottom half was disappointing.

Kristin--Cheesecake and berry. A good size and at a great price! The blueberries were great and fruit other than tangerine was a fun change. The cheesecake was Japanese style and spongey. Not to my taste, as I am more attracted to New York Style. However, it was a sweet and filling treat. The restaurant offers a nonsmoking section and has a friendly atmosphere. Sophisticated, but not too stuffy.

Kelly O.--BIG Chocolate Parfait. If I had known it was that big, I probably wouldn't have tried to take it on by myself. Still, I'm kind of glad that I did. ^.^ The fruit was very fresh, and the ice cream was pretty good. I dunno. It was amazing in quantity-over-quality sort of way.

Owen--BIG Pudding Parfait. This parfait was ok and big. If you want more than that, go someplace else.

Parfait Club Eighth Meeting

Location: Hirakatashi Station
Members present: Owen, Kelly O., Kelly R., Kristin
Parfaits tried:
1 Chocolate Pail (split) ¥880
1 Strawberry Pail (split) ¥880

Ingredients:
Chocolate Pail--Chocolate syrup (and lots of it!), vanilla softserve, whipped cream, banana, fruit-salad-type fruits, corn flakes. Topped with an ice cream cone and a cherry. (hoshii)

Strawberry Pail--Strawberry syrup, soft serve, whipped cream, strawberries, corn flakes, melty vanilla ice cream, strawberry juice, and more strawberry pieces on the botton.

Reviews:
Owen--Chocolate Pail: If God was to have a Parfait, this would be it.

Kelly O.--Chocolate Pail: My only regret is that I did not try to take it on by myself. Also, because it's so big, it was very melty but the time we finished. Still, the ingredients were well-balanced and good quality. I'll have to go back for my own.

Kelly R.--Strawberry Pail: Absolutely delicious. Good quality ice cream, good quality fruit, plus a nice contrast of crunch under the first layer, and mixed into the really melty ice cream. It was the perfect size and price to split between two people.

Kristin--Strawberry Pail: I want to go back! Good price for its size, and the size is excitingly enormous (but still small enough to eat on your own). I loved the strawberries. Good parfait to split two ways. It was kind of soggy because it took a while to make, but still delicious.

Parfait Club Third Meeting

Location: Estación Café, Basement Floor 1 at Kyoto Station.
Members present: Kristin, Owen, Kelly O., Kelly R.
Parfaits tried:
2 Chocofudge Sundaes ¥700
1 Berry-Berry Parfait ¥730
1 Matcha (green tea) Parfait ¥770
Ingredients:
Chocofudge--Top layer is chocolate ice cream with fudge sauce and chocolate-chip cookies. Under this is a mixture of banana and marshmallow, followed by waffle and vanilla ice cream. The next later is another scoop of chocolate ice cream and slices of banana. The bottom layer was a large piece of waffle soaked in fudge sauce.
Berry-Berry--The top layer is french vanilla ice cream with strawberry syrup and a sample of raspberry, blueberry and an unidentified small sweet red berry. To the side is an adornment of mint. Beneath this layer is a waffle, and beneath that is plain yogurt. The bottom was a final layer of what may have been yuzu.
Matcha--Green tea ice cream, topped with red bean paste, mochi, sweet potato, vanilla ice cream, waffle, more mochi, and more red bean paste.

Reviews:
Kristin--Regarding the restaurant: The restaurant itself has both smoking and nonsmoking together, and so you may have a problem with allergies. Also, our table rocked back and forth. Otherwise it is clean and seemed friendly. It is very small, so it is bad for large groups. Regarding the parfait: I had the berry parfait, and personally I was a bit disappointed. The ice cream was delicious and rich, but I found that the waffle became soggy, the yogurt was sour in comparison to the sweet fruit topping, ant it lacked a certain crunch. Not enough contrast... but the fruit on top was amazing. I will not be returning here, but I was still glad to eat it.

Kelly R.--I had the chocofudge sundae. The chocolate and vanilla ice cream was absolutely top-notch. The flavors in the rest of the parfait were also good. When I got to the first waffle piece, it was good. By the time I got ot the one at the bottom, it was soggy and less satisfying. The cookies were only so-so. Nothing special--could have been generic out-of-a-bag cookies. Overall, not worth the ¥700. The restaurant had a nice atmosphere except that there is nothing to stop the smoke from the smoking "section" from getting into the non-smoking "section." By the end of the meal, my head was fogged from the smoke. Unpleasant, that.

Owen--I had the grean tea parfait. It had a very Japanese feel to it. The green tea and the red bean parts complement one another very well, both taste and texture. The green tea mochi and rice mochi also added to the distinct Japanese sweets that make up the parfait. However, the vanilla was too sweet, taking away from the Japanese feel.

Kelly O.--Defintely not the best we've encountered thus far. I would have preferred it with more fruit--the bananas, though they go very well with chocolate, don't provide the same satisfying juiciness of berries or somesuch. The waffles were an interesting addition--indeed, I'd love to go back to try the waffles alone--but they didn't work well as a bottom layer. They became soggy and unpleasant. They might have been better on top as a sort of decoration. Overal, it could have use a lot more variety by way of ingredients and flavors. However, it definitely satisfied my chocolate craving--amazing ice cream!

Parfait Club Second Meeting

Location: We couldn't read the kanji. >_>; The restaurant is across the street from the Sun Plaza Hotel in Hirakata-shi. Very Classy.
Members present: Kristin, Owen, Kelly O., Kelly, R.
Parfaits tried:
2 Strawberry Parfaits ¥840 each
2 Chocolate Parfaits ¥840 each
Ingredients:
Strawberry--strawberries, vanilla, chocolate sticks (white and dark chocolate blend), wafers, custard, whipped cream, small piece of chocolate cake, orange slice and strawberry jam at the bottom.
Chocolate--chocolate, bananas, vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, chocolate sticks, custard, flakey pastry of sorts, and an orange at the bottom.
Note--There may also have been a chocolate chip cookie somewhere in there, but only two members noticed it.

Reviews:
Kristin--These parfaits are surprising and enjoyable. Every bite is different. Of course, they are also expensive and can only be afforded on rare occasions. Still, the size and taste is worthy.

Kelly R.--Very delicious. Best enjoyed when eaten slowly so that you notice the differences in every layer of parfait. The setting is classy, with good service. A good place to take a date, or to go when someone else will pay for you! The parfait really was excellent. I did feel a little ill afterwards from the sheer amount of whipped cream.

Owen--This parfait was very, very good. The parfait's layers were each a new and different experience, each with its own flavor. The service is wonderful, and very worth the experience. All and all, these bad boys are to die for!

Kelly O.--A very classy restaurant with very classy parfaits. All of the desserts were edible works-of-art, and the aesthetic value alone was well worth the price. Not to overlook the taste, of course--every bite gave us some different combination of tasted, and each one was amazing. Highly recommended, especially if one wants to feel very high-class for a night. ^.^

A note on the date:
We did this Parfait Quest on a Friday because Kelly R. was going to be out of town that Saturday. However, it still counts as our weekly Quest, and thus it is labelled as a Saturday Parfait.