Yiyan Z

Review of Cafe Japonaise

I have been a fan of this bakery for many many yea...

I have been a fan of this bakery for many many years, it is with sadness that I report a low rating. This bakery has changed a lot over the years. First of all, I find their space to be more and more messy and disorganized over the years. This is quite not Japanese like. I would also like the owner to consider renovating a bit to refresh the look. It has a tired and stale smell which does not help selling yummy goods. Especially since new competitor Tatte is right across the street. This bakery calls itself Japonaise, the name carries weight of the Japanese spirit. It really does not reflect that nowadays other than its pastries...

Second of all with their classic offerings, the Japanese strawberry cake. Over the years, fresh cream recipe has changed or the cream ingredient has changed. It no longer tastes as good. It has also gotten sweeter. The sliced strawberries in between the layers got replaced with the strawberry jam. A true disappointment to be honest. The Azuki cream bun reduced its size by half. Again the cream has lost its previous fresh cream taste. The Japanese chicken sandwich bun was replaced with a bland bread... all these subtle changes, if you don t have the history in mind, if I had not liked this bakery so much in the past and had eaten these for so many times, would not have been noticed... That s why it saddens me.

What I notice is the business spirit behind this shop has changed. I feel the owner does not convey the intent of delivering delightful goods, instead I got the sense they are doing things from a cost saving perspective. Dear owner, I don t mind paying more for a truly divine piece of pastry. You do have a bunch of loyal followers. Some of your goodies are still quite good. Please consider improve on the details. Please clean up and try better. I would like to continue to be a supporter.