My love/hate affair with Sadaharu Aoki’s work continues unabated, this year. And I would have it no other way. I enjoy being appalled by ever other pastry and macaron, then being thrilled by the next. While most other shops tread in some range of quality, Monsieur Aoki is a master of inconsistency. He’s on-par with the ******* corner bakery in the 20th arrondissement, yet has so much work that makes Pierre Hermé’s case come off as amateur hour.

On my initial visit to Aoki’s shop, this time around, I was quick to grab a black sesame éclair (a classic!), but I also spotted a new entrant into la gamme – the Sudachi. I thought perhaps it was just a name applied to the pastry, just as is the case with his Saya (named after his daughter), but it turns out that Sudachi is actually an obscure Japanese citrus fruit. My suspicion was that it must be obscure for a reason – namely that it’s not a particularly pleasant flavor – so I steeled myself for patisserie letdown and took a bite . . .

‘Twas excellent – far from being a letdown. This curious new flavor runs throughout virtually every layer of pastry. It’s a mélange of lemon, mandarin orange and pine, quite acidic and 100% delightful. All the layers of gateau and crème were textbook excellence, as well. But what dazzled me was how the master played with the aforementioned acidity. There’s that bright yellow band in the middle of the pastry that’s beautifully perfumed, quite sweet and with just a touch of tang. Then you taste the white sudachi crème, and it has this highly potent zip that hits your tongue, before making the inside of your cheeks do “that tingly thing”; it literally almost sizzles on your palate. Last but not least are the red currants atop it all – the sharpest bite of bunch, yet well balanced vs. the gateau and sweetness. The whole experience is this wild rise-and-fall through 3 levels of tartness. Fantastic.

I think my next Aoki review is going to have to be one of his disappointments – perhaps his caramel macarons, which traumatized me. But rest assured that a review for his violette macs will be right around the corner, and those little ladies are all but assured a spot on my “Top Macarons” list. Oh, Sadaharu!

So, yes, get yourself a Sudachi. It’s the only pastry I can think of that plays so adeptly with such a simple sensation, as to make it seem truly complex. Plus, you need to experience the flavor of sudachi. Much like the first time I tasted the tonka bean, it’s similar to other flavors you know . . . but yet a wholly unique experience.

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