The Sweet Love Story of Koto City Meets Paris

Published: March 31, 2017

In the midst of a lively shopping street in Kameido, Koto City, stands a lovely little cake shop that would not be amiss against a Parisian background.

 

~Bienvenue à Mon Rêve~

 

 

The first thing everyone inevitably checks when walking into a cake boutique is the glass showcase, and Mon Rêve does not disappoint. Their colourful cakes look delightfully tempting, and their popularity is only too clear from the rapidly-emptying slots.

 

 

“We actually ran out of a few already…” Mrs. Hirasawa, who mans the storefront, tells me apologetically. Considering it’s barely past lunchtime on a weekday, that is impressive (@_@)

 

But with so many delectable cake stores all around Koto City, what makes Mon Rêve special? First, I decided to meet with Mr. Tetsuya Hirasawa, son of the current owner and head pastry chef of Mon Rêve, to hear what he had to say.

 

 

Good timing, it looks like he just finished baking a batch of their popular animal cookies!

 

 

Aww!
Can you spot how some of them have slightly different expressions?

 

“I settled on this path after watching my parents working in the store,” Mr. Hirasawa told me. “I love that it’s a job where you can easily imagine the smile on your customers’ faces, because you know you’re going to make them happy.”

 

With this wonderful outlook, Mr. Hirasawa is hard at work every day, and part of his job includes drawing up ideas for an ever-changing menu that lies at the heart of Mon Rêve’s charm!

 

 

East meets West under the cherry blossom trees

To keep their lineup fresh and interesting, Mon Rêve takes care to make use of what is in season. And in spring, this means cherry blossoms!

 

 

Starting off, we have a generously sliced cherry blossom roll cake, which is a beauty to behold (its partner, the cherry blossom milles-feuilles, was already gone for the day).

 

 

And above that, the delicate cherry blossom macaron. The salt-pickled cherry blossom flower pressed into the meringue perfectly draws out the subtle sweetness of the cherry blossom butter cream used for the filling (I know because I bought one(^^♪).

 

 

The collection also includes cherry blossom bouchées (a fluffy, cream puff-like dessert), cookies and other baked goods. Lovers of Japan’s cherry blossom season should definitely stop by for a peek before they’re gone, since production stops as soon as the cherry blossoms themselves disappear.

 

 

Like being wrapped in a warm embrace

 

Turning around, the baked goods corner is brimming with choices as well.

 

 

Their Shitamachi Dacquoise (a type of French dessert cake made with almond meringue) is wrapped with an obi featuring a hand-drawn illustration of old-town Koto City! The packaging lends a familiar and nostalgic feeling to the elegant sweet, giving it a certain glow.

 

 

Additionally, here we find the Hane-kame Galette (hane-kame is the mythical winged turtle associated with the Kameido area of Koto City)

 

 

And this is unique: ume (plum) flavoured castella cakes, aptly named for the Kameido Ume-yashiki (Plum Manor), a popular tourist destination and beloved establishment!

 

It’s so heartwarming to see how much affection the family has for the town they live in, and how well they’ve managed to match that with their love for Western desserts!

 

 

Yet another brainchild of Mr. Hirasawa is the newest addition to their shelves: black bean madeleine!

 

The “Koto Yume Hanabi (Koto Dream Fireworks)” incorporates an extremely traditional Japanese ingredient—the black bean—and marries it to an equally traditional French dessert—the madeleine. Mr. Hirasawa, constantly on the hunt for new ways to make use of Japanese ingredients in his cakes, experimented diligently during his spare time to find the perfect soul mate for the black bean, and this is the end result!

 

You’ll have to try it to believe it, but spoiler alert: Mr. Hirasawa turned out to be quite an ingenious matchmaker 😉

 

 

Your dream is my dream

The final piece of the puzzle behind Mon Rêve’s popularity lies in their specialty “character” birthday cakes. Just bring in an illustration and for an extra 324yen, trained patissiers will make sure you get the cake of your dreams.

 

 

Here we see Miss Uekusa, a skilled cake illustrator, working her magic. Wielding a chocolate pen much as she might a regular pencil, Miss Uekusa precisely recreates the illustration brought to her by the customer onto a delicate white chocolate plate.

 

 

After the illustration is completed, the colouring process begins. Using an assortment of tinted nappage (apricot glaze), they are able to create any colour, ensuring an accurate reproduction.

 

They’ve received requests that range all over, from characters in TV shows and books, to real life people and group photos!

 

And there you have it. The seasonal, innovative inventory, love for their town and superbly decorated cakes all play a part in making Mon Rêve a treasured shop in this neighbourhood. So next time you’re in the mood to celebrate, why not pop into this sweet boutique and see for yourself why this is truly a shop full of dreams 

 

 

(Don’t forget to order all birthday cakes at least a day in advance so they can write your name on their storefront blackboard—what a charming service!)

 

editor： Xianru Shen （Koto City Office Coordinator for International Relations）