Angelina's Mont-Blanc in Japan: Where to Find It

Salut! It's Yoko, a food blogger who adores Mont-Blanc.

For a Mont-Blanc, I'd even head to Nagano at the crack of dawn.

For anyone about to go try Obusedo's "Suzaku," the new-chestnut sweet on sale until September 15, I put together a guide to wait times, how to combine it with Entotsu's "Mont-Blanc Suzaku," and the numbered ticket rules! If you couldn't get a ticket, I recommend the new-chestnut "kuri-mushi" sold in the shop.https://t.co/Qd0MWhKXyn pic.twitter.com/r1nh1XA9oG

— Yokotan🍖Gourmet Hunter🐿 (@foodie_yoko) October 13, 2018

The other day I went to Gotanda and spotted Angelina, the old Parisian salon de the (tea room) famous for its Mont-Blanc,
a place that Coco Chanel herself reportedly visited all the time.

I remembered I'd wanted to stop in when I studied in France, so I bought a Mont-Blanc.

Angelina, the Historic Paris Tea Room

http://www.angelina-paris.fr/en/content/17-rivoli

Angelina is a long-established salon de the (tea room) on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris,
founded in 1903 by the Austrian confectioner Rumpelmayer.

The name "Angelina" comes from Rumpelmayer's daughter-in-law.

For nearly a century it has been loved by Parisians like Marcel Proust and Coco Chanel.

Coco Chanel in particular came almost every day and drank her favorite hot chocolate.

On April 1 this year, NHK's Gretel no Kamado also featured Angelina as Coco Chanel's Mont-Blanc.

The flagship is still on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, and customers from all over the world keep the line going every day.
The Louvre is nearby, so it's easy to stop by while sightseeing.

Oh, there's also an Angelina inside the Louvre's Richelieu wing, and it's relatively quiet, a hidden gem.
You can even get a chocolate cake shaped like the Louvre that's only sold there.

Angelina isn't just a sweets shop, by the way. You can have breakfast or dinner there too.

The omelette in particular is about as famous as the Mont-Blanc, so if you get to Paris often, try the other dishes too.

The Angelina Mont-Blanc That Shocked Japan

Until Angelina arrived in Japan in 1984, Mont-Blanc in Japan was mostly yellow, made with Japanese chestnuts.

The marron cream in Angelina's Mont-Blanc uses the chestnuts with their inner skin, so it is light brown.
When Angelina first came to Japan, it must have made quite an impression.

Trying Angelina's Mont-Blanc!

This time I bought Angelina's Mont-Blanc at a shop called Monthly Sweets.

Monthly Sweets is a shop right by the ticket gates at JR Gotanda Station. As the name says, the tenants change every month, and it's a tempting sweets shop.

If I'd been a few days off, I couldn't have bought it. Close call.

According to my research, Angelina seems to have had a stand here every June for at least the past three years.
If you want to buy it at Monthly Sweets in Gotanda, wait until next June, or give up and go to Ginza. lol

These were the Mont-Blancs available at Monthly Sweets that day.

• Mont-Blanc Original
• Mont-Blanc Demi Size
• Salted Butter Caramel Mont-Blanc
• Hojicha Mont-Blanc
• Mont-Blanc au Chocolat Riche

It was my first time, so I thought about getting the Original, the same size as in Paris,

but it was so big that I wasn't sure I could finish it, so I bought the demi size!
Though even the demi size is about the size of a regular Japanese one...

It was a pop-up store, but
the box and bag were proper Angelina, so it works as a gift too.

The inside of the box is designed just for Mont-Blanc, with dividers so it won't tip over.

Yes, it's a good size for Japanese people.

The cream is piped in two layers, lengthwise and crosswise, all the way to the bottom, a luxurious finish.

Inside, there's plenty of whipped cream.

The base is crisp baked meringue.

I scoop up a bite. Itadakimasu...

Wow, delicious!

Over 90% of it is cream, so it's rich!
And it's really quite sweet.

If you're not into sweets, it might be a bit much on its own.

I'd suggest enjoying it with tea.

Angelina Shops in Japan

Angelina came to Japan in 1984.
The first shop was at Printemps Ginza.

In 2017 it moved to Marronnier Gate Ginza and had a salon de the,
but sadly that closed at the end of last year... (Takeout is still available.)

The only one with a salon de the now is "Salon de The Angelina Matsuyama Mitsukoshi."

Personally, I suspect this one might close too (and become retail only),

so if you want to feel like you're at Angelina in Paris, go soon!!

Here is the list of Angelina shops I've been able to confirm so far.

Angelina Cake Shop Marronnier Gate Ginza (ANGELINA CAKE SHOP)

Marronnier Gate Ginza 2, 1F, 3-2-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
03-6228-7118
11:00-19:30 (until 20:30 Tue-Sat)

Angelina Tobu Ikebukuro

Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro, B1F, No. 4, 1-1-25 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
03-5950-5010
10:00-21:00

Angelina Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi

Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, Main Building B1F, 1-4-1 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
03-3241-3311
10:00-20:00

Angelina Sapporo Mitsukoshi

Sapporo Mitsukoshi B2F, Minami 1-jo Nishi 3-chome 8, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
011-271-3311
10:00-19:00

Angelina Niigata Mitsukoshi (ANGELINA)

Niigata Mitsukoshi 1F, 866 Nishibori-dori Gobancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata, Niigata
025-227-1111
10:00-19:00
Closed Tuesdays

Angelina Nagoya Sakae Mitsukoshi (ANGELINA)

Nagoya Sakae Mitsukoshi B1F, 3-5-1 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi
052-252-1111
10:00-19:30
*Opened April 1, 2019

Angelina JR Kyoto Isetan

Karasuma-dori, Higashi-Shiokoji-cho, Shiokoji-sagaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto
075-352-1111
10:00-20:00

Angelina Hankyu Umeda (ANGELINA)

Umeda Hankyu B1F, 8-7 Kakuda-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka
06-6361-1381
*Temporary, until June 18, 2019

Salon de The Angelina Matsuyama Mitsukoshi

Matsuyama Mitsukoshi B1F, 3-1-1 Ichiban-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime
089-931-8230

Angelina Fukuoka Mitsukoshi

Fukuoka Mitsukoshi B2F, 2-1-1 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka
092-724-3111
10:00-20:00

No Angelina Nearby? Check the Pop-Up Event Schedule!

If there's no Angelina close to you...

they also pop up at other department stores from time to time,

so when you're craving Mont-Blanc, check Angelina's event information page.

>>Angelina event information (Marronnier Gate Ginza)

*The official Angelina site in France doesn't seem to be keeping up with updates.

So that was Angelina's Mont-Blanc.

The marron cream is very rich,
so if you like sweets with a strong sweetness, I think you'll love it.

If you haven't tried it yet, give it a go.

See you next time. Au revoir!