All the Desserts from Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, Ranked

Since I actually managed to go to all of the restaurants featured in Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, I figured I’d rank them.  Everybody loves a list, right?

(Well, okay fine, I only had time to go to one of the three mamekan restaurants from the third episode, but technically I tried all the desserts he tried, so close enough.)

I should note that, with the exception of number twelve and maybe eleven, everything was very, very good.  You really can’t go wrong with basically anything from the show.

12) Kajitsuen Libre – chocolate banana parfait
This one barely even counts.  Kantaro’s parfait of choice, peach, is a seasonal item that wasn’t available when I went.  So I got the chocolate banana, which is absolutely nothing like the peach parfait, aside from the fact that they both contain fruit (the parfaits that were closer to what Kantaro ordered were gallingly expensive).  The chocolate banana parfait is basically a very mediocre banana sundae.

11) Coffee Tengoku – pancakes
I mean, they’re standard pancakes.  They’re better than average, but nothing about them blew my mind or made me reconsider what a pancake could be.  They’re also insanely expensive once you factor in the drink requirement.

10) Cafe Recherche – Savarin
If you like boozy desserts, you’ll probably like this a lot more than I did.  It was pretty tasty for what it was, but sadly, it’s not really my jam.

9) Minimal – dark chocolate
The dark chocolate here has an absolutely amazing flavour, but an awful texture.  Considering the insanely high prices, that’s not cool.  Still, the flavour is quite something.

8) Umemura – mamekan
A dessert consisting solely of beans, jelly, and syrup sounds a bit odd, but it totally works.  Still, it’s basically a pared-down version of anmitsu, which appears later on this list.

7) Kooriya Peace – salted caramel kakigori
The thing that really stands out about the kakigori (a shaved ice dessert) at Kooriya Peace is the shaved ice itself — it’s so fluffy and delicate that it completely dissolves the second it hits your mouth.  It’s pretty magical.

6) Rue de Passy – chocolate eclair
The chocolate eclair at Rue de Passy is basically like eating pure chocolate ganache with a little bit of pastry.  It’s pretty great.

5) Takeno To Ohagi – various ohagi
Ohagi is a really unique Japanese dessert that’s kind of like a more rustic version of daifuku mochi.  They sell a variety of flavours at Takeno To Ohagi, and they’re all quite good.

4) Kinozen – matcha Bavarian cream
I enjoyed the hell out of this despite my general distaste for matcha, which tells you how crazy good it is.

3) Esse Due Akasuka – rich caramel pudding (a.k.a. creme caramel)
Though Esse Due Akasuka’s creme caramel features a superfluous crust and is sliced like a pie, it’s otherwise classic creme caramel through and through.  It’s creamy, flavourful, and perfect.  It’s one of the best versions of this dessert I’ve ever had.

2) Kanmidokoro Hatsune – shiratama ogura anmitsu
This is a very classic Japanese dessert, and it’s easy enough to see why.  With its mixture of beans, firm jelly, various fruits, and chewy mochi (not to mention sweet syrup), it’s certainly fairly unique  — I can’t think of a single Western dessert that it even vaguely compares to.  It’s also super delicious.

1) Waguriya – mont blanc
What can I say?  I love chestnut desserts, and the mont blanc at Waguriya has an impressively pure chestnut flavour without much else to get in the way.  It’s a fantastic dessert.