Saturday, September 18, 2010

New England Dessert Showcase

ボストンは今日も良いお天気。今日は、New England Dessert Showcase というイベントに行って来ました。これはニューイングランド地方のケーキやデザートのお店(多分ほとんどがボストンからだと思いますが)の展示会のようなもので、サンプルを味見したり、気に入ったものがあれば購入したりできます。

It was nice weather in Boston.  Today, we attended the event called "New England Dessert Showcase" where chefs, bakeries, restaurants, etc, in the New England region exhibited their  desert products and the public could enjoy sampling and purchasing them.
会場の入り口にあったチョコレート。ボストンには日本のようなおいしいデザートのお店はほとんどないので、ここで新しいお店を発見できるかも、と期待が膨らみます。

These were the chocolates at the entrance.  I don't know any good dessert shops in Boston like we can find in other countries, so I had a high expectation to discover nice new shops.
会場に入ってすぐ目に飛び込んできたのはこのボストンクリームパイ(作ってる途中)。なんでも世界最大なのだとか。日本でもよく世界最長の巻き寿司とか作ってギネスブックに登録してるから、それと同じようなものなのでしょうか?でもあんまりおいしそうには見えない...。

First thing we saw after entering the room was this "world's largest" Boston Cream Pie.  I guess they will apply for Guinness World Records??  But it did not look very tasty...
秋らしい色合いのケーキ。

The color combination of this cake is very fall-like.
タキシードを着た苺。かわいい。

Strawberries on tuxedos.  Cute!
シュークリーム(?)のケーキ。このシュークリームはかなり甘い!

A cake made of cream puffs.  This cream puff was so sweet...
これは Top of the Hub というボストンにあるレストランのデザート。チョコレート、生姜とマンゴーのムース。生姜の味が利いていておいしい。

This was the dessert served at the Boston restaurant, "Top of the Hub".  Chocolate, ginger and mango mousse.  Good ginger flavor.
これは飴のように見えますが、Whirl-Ease-Tea というもの。これをお湯に溶かすだけで、ちょっと甘いお茶の出来上がり。お茶の葉っぱや砂糖を入れなくても、これ1本でお茶が飲めるという優れもの。特許もとってあるそうです。味見させてもらいましたが、確かにちょっと薄いお茶って感じの味でした。誰がこんなの考えつくんだろう。よっぽどめんどくさがりな人の発明なんじゃないかなあ。

These look like lollipops, but are called "Whirl-Ease-Tea".  Just dip Whirl-Ease-Tea spoon into hot water, stir to desired taste and voila!  You can enjoy a perfect cup of tea!  This is patented!  We tried it and it actually tasted like (diluted) tea!  I wonder who invented it.  It must be a very lazy person!
“ドーナツの種”。ただのシリアルじゃないのかなあ?サンプルがなかったから味見できなかったけど。

"Donut Seeds".  It looked like cereals although I did not taste it.
ウェディングケーキ。見た目はエレガントできれいだけど、こんな色のケーキはちょっと食べる気しないかも。

Wedding cake.  It looked elegant.
チョコレート。まあ、Jaques Genin のチョコレートと比べるのはかわいそうかな。

Chocolates. I guess I shouldn't compare these with Jaques Genin's...
Finale という、ボストンでは有名なデザートのお店(私の好みではありませんが)。夫はブルーベリーのチーズケーキ(写真の上の方にある、紫色のもの)はまあまあおいしいと言ってました。

Cakes from "Finale", a famous dessert restaurant in Boston (although I am not a big fan).  My husband said their blueberry cheese cake was good.
ミニジョッキに入った、ビール(Shipyard というビールらしい)とかぼちゃのアイスクリーム。確かにビールの味がする!

Beer-flavored pumpkin ice cream in tiny beer mugs.   The beer was from Shipyard Brewery.  It really tasted beer.
フランス人形のケーキ。きれい。

Beautifully prepared doll-shaped cake.
これもウェディングケーキ(ちょっと傾いてるけど)。ウェディングケーキはやっぱり白が良いですね。

This is also a wedding cake.  I prefer white color for a wedding cake...
どぎつい色のカップケーキ。着色料使いすぎだよ。

Cupcakes.  So red...  I prefer natural colors.
これもカップケーキ。カップケーキのお店は4~5件あったと思います。人気なのかなあ?カップケーキって家で作る(=簡単に作れる)ものってイメージがあるので買ってまでは食べようとは思わないんだけど。

Cupcakes again.  There were at least 4 or 5 cupcake shops.  I didn't know cupcakes were so popular.  To me, cupcakes are something you make at home (= easy to make), so I don't feel like buying them.
モルテンチョコレートケーキ、アイスクリーム添え。ケーキは電子レンジで温めてくれます。夫はおいしいといってましたが、私はチョコレートはあんまり好きではないのでパス。

Molten chocolate cake with ice cream.  The cake was warmed up in a microwave before served.  My husband said it was good, but I don't like chocolate much, so I passed it.
コーヒーケーキ。

Coffee flavored cakes.
これはブラウニーかな?食べてないのでわかりません。

I guess this was brownie, but am not sure since I did not eat it.
苺とカスタードのパイ。夫のお気に入り。

Strawberry and custard pie.  My husband liked it.
苺のショートケーキ。色々なお店をチェックしてみましたが、正直がっかりしました。ボストンのデザートを日本やフランスのレベルと比べると、野球のリトルリーグとメジャーリーグ位の違いがあります。これなら私もお店開けるんじゃないかな~、なんて思ってしまいます。

Strawberry short cakes.  We checked various shops, but to be honest, I was disappointed.  I wish Boston's dessert scene would be much improved... 

5 comments:

  1. I think those red cupcakes are "red velvet" cupcakes. Tney are quite popular now days even here in Hawaii. It looked like they have a lot of desserts in Boston, but in Japan the desserts are so good, it must be hard to compare.

    My wife is from Tokyo and she loves all kinds of desserts and cakes, but she mostly likes the Japanese (French) style type of desserts and pastries because they are light and not so sweet.

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  2. Saboru-Kun san,
    Yes, you are correct; those are red velvet cupcales, although I didn't know until you mentioned. I just don't think desserts in Boston (or in US general) are very appealing to most of Japanese people as they are too sweet and heavy and/or colors are bright red, blue, green, orange or whatever, obviously by using food coloring. I wonder not many dessert chefs in US don't go abroad to study?

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  3. I think it is just the difference in cultural tastes. When I visited the mainland (continental U.S.) I noticed that they give a "lot" of food on the plates which is economical and good if you are really hungry, but not always the most appetizing presentation.

    Even something as common as Chinese food that is prepared here in Hawaii tastes very different from Chinese food that is served in Chinese restaurants in Japan. The flavor seems to be a lot lighter and not as greasy in Japan as it is here, but I'm used to the "greasier" style so can eat both. :D

    If you prefer reading in Japanese, you can also visit my wife's blog about our dog Penny as it is in Japanese while my blog is in English.

    http://penpen0516.blog6.fc2.com/

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  4. It is very true that it is because of different cultures. Every culture incorporates foreign cultures, modifies/arranges them and creates a new culture. Japanese Ramen is a good example - originally from China, but it became a completely different thing from the original...

    Nowadays, after living in US for > 10 years, I sometimes miss "greasy" food when I go back to Japan. I guess I am becoming an American.

    I visited your wife's blog. OMG, Penny is unbelievably cute!!! She is so white and looks like a stuffed animal (especially after grooming)!

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  5. Yes Penny is our little baby. We're lucky because she's usually very well behaved and has a very mellow personality so she gets along with almost every person and dog that she meets.

    My wife has a lot of cute pictures of Penny on her blog site and she also is better at putting up new posts more often than I do.

    I was surprised at the very big following that dogs (and Bichon's in particular) have in Japan and the vast number of people that blog about them. It's fun to visit other people's sites and see how cute their dogs are. :D

    ReplyDelete