Genki Living (California - Rowland Heights)

     This is another back post from California - post 2 of 6!  I'm sad to report that as of the past February, Arcade Infinity has closed.  Arcade Infinity had a ton of fun import games such as Technika, Pop n' music, Para Para, Type for the dead, Beatmani, Guitar Freaks, etc.  Basically it was a gamer's paradise and it will be sorely missed.  =( 

     So Arcade Infinity brought us to this fun plaza where Genki Living is located.  We were looking for something to nibble on late at night after some gaming.  There was still quite a crowd bustling about, so we decided to stop by. 

     The decor gave the place a kind of funky/hip vibe to it, randomly colored furniture and equally random accessories strewn about.  I want to say it's not really my scene.  In typical Japanese fashion they had plasticized versions of their crepes on display, so you would have an idea of what you were buying.

     There was a pretty extensive menu posted over the cash register which included crepes, taiyaki, takoyaki, okonomiyako, etc.  We decided on just getting two taiyakis, my boyfriend got one with ham and cheese and I wanted to try out the mochi and taro taiyaki.  The kitchen area was open so you could watch them make your food, which I thought was a nice touch.

     So the taiyaki wasn't bad, it wasn't mind blowing either.  I want to say for my mochi + taro taiyaki, the mochi didn't really add much.  That's not really surprising though, mochi is mostly just a fun texture contrast. 

     Though the taiyaki was only so-so in terms of taste, I was pretty psyched to be eating a real taiyaki.  I think it has to do with all the Azumanga Daoih I watched during college.  If you watch around the 2:00 minute mark, my boyfriend and I basically re-enacted that scene.

     So if you're looking for a quick snack for a decent price late at night, I don't think Genki Living would be such a bad choice.  I'd definitely have to try more of their items to make a fair assessment of the rest of the menu.  =)   

     ...And if you're wondering, I eat my taiyaki head first!

Genki Living

Rowland Heights

1380 Fullerton Road

(626) 581-1395

California: Patisserie Chantilly (Lomita)

Our second day of free time in California, we spent our time in and about Lomita. There were several stops on our list that day: Patisserie Chantilly, Ichimiann Bamboo Garden, Gaja Moc, Mitsuwa Marketplace, and Shin-sen-gumi. I’m only going to post about one eatery at a time though. =)

Our first stop was Gaja Moc, since it was right next to Patisserie Chantilly. I thought we could get okomomiyaki for lunch and then have some dessert right next door. Sadly Gaja Moc wasn’t open when we arrived, so we went straight to dessert (next time I’m noting hours/days of operation).

Patisserie Chantilly, just like Jin Patisserie, is touted as a fusion of Japanese and French desserts. True, it seems like an odd combination, but the outcome is truly oishii! We were greeted as we walked in the front door by this sight:

I was truly awestruck by the beautiful presentation of each and every dessert in the display case. If I had my druthers, I would have bought one of each dessert; however we had a pretty full eating schedule ahead of us (we had more places we wanted to eat, than actual meals per day) so we only indulged in two pieces each.

Wilson chose to order a Mont Blanc. It had swirls of chestnut paste which gently wrapped their signature Chantilly cream with chestnuts imported from Japan inside.

I’m a sucker for strawberries, so I ordered a Mont Fraise. It’s a strawberry mousse on a crispy tart with milk jelly, strawberries and cream. We also picked up a mini cheese bar, which is basically a piece of creamy cheesecake in bite sized stick form (it’s next to my Mont Fraise). ^_^

Patisserie Chantilly’s cream puffs are delicious! The cream is light and delicate and since they are filled to order, the pate a chou stays light and flaky. We passed on purchasing a chocolate cream puff, but we bought one black sesame cream puff and one filled with their Chantilly crème, which is more of a vanilla crème.

I especially loved the black sesame cream puff as the black sesame added a delicate nutty flavor to the cream! Now if only I can figure out a way to have them ship the cream puffs to Florida… *schemes*

Patisserie Chantilly
2383 Lomita Blvd.
Lomita, CA
(310) 257-9454

Cote France (Boca Raton)

Sometimes a girl just needs her sweets. Ever since my trip to California's Patisserie Chantilly and Jin Patisserie last year, I have been searching for their equivalents in South Florida.


On the suggestion of one of my good friends, I drove over to Cote France Bakery right off of Federal Highway in Boca Raton. It is a small establishment within a strip mall off of Mizner with a nondescript signs that simple states "Bakery."

The shop was quite quaint and the display case held about 10 different desserts they had prepared for the day. They are presented quite simply in a bakery case, but their presentation is just out of this world (they all look so beautiful). I didn't take a picture of the display case sadly. I was feeling a bit sheepish, so I grabbed a snapshot from outside. If you look closely you can see me in the reflection!

On this day I played it safe and ordered a few dessert staples: a napoleon and some éclairs. Three different offerings of éclairs stood before me: mocha, vanilla, and chocolate. Since I'm not a chocolate fan (yes, I realize I'm in the minority), I ordered two vanilla and one mocha éclair along with my napoleon. Each dessert cost me $4.

After paying, I was off to visit my boyfriend at his work. Being foodies, we love to share these experiences with each other. It was a few hours before he got off of work, but right afterwards we broke out the desserts.


My boyfriend doesn't touch caffeine of any kind, so I had the mocha éclair all to myself! From the first bite, I knew that I had found a real jewel in this bakery. The pate a choux (the pastry dough) was light and flaky. The custard within wasn't overtly sweet, a malady which many desserts suffer from, and had a pleasantly silky texture. The mocha icing/glaze on top of the éclair was what actually accented the éclair with just the right amount of sweetness. The mocha taste in the custard wasn't prevalent upon the first taste, but rather was more so a vanilla flavor with a rush of mocha aftertaste that lingered behind. The vanilla éclair was much the same, with the exception of having a chocolate icing and purely vanilla custard.


Next came the napoleon, which is a staple in most bakeries. Their napoleon is made quite well, the layers are once again light and flaky, not hard to bite through (which is a problem I've had with other napoleons, which tend to place thick layers with the texture of a cracker). The custard is the same vanilla custard from the éclair, but that doesn't make it any less yummy. =) For me I was most impressed by the white and dark chocolate glaze on the top. At some bakeries the top glaze is just too thick and therefore cracks when you try to eat it or comes out in one huge piece. Perhaps what is even worse is when the chocolate is just too rich and overpowers the entire desserts! However, the thin layer of glaze (not too thin, but just right) gave way once you took a bite and acted as a sweet punctuation to the dessert.


I also bought two macaroons, strawberry and coffee. Sadly...I lost them in transit and did not have a chance to try them. However I did snap a quick picture of them when I first got into the car. They looked soooo cute, I can't believe I lost them. *sigh* Maybe next time I'll keep better track of them. XD

Overall, my experience at Cote France was a pleasant one. The desserts were extremely well made and most importantly didn't suffer from an overdose of sugar. I'm definitely going to need to head back to try their other desserts and perhaps try out their soup + sandwich lunch combination.

Edit: I went back the next day to buy a box of sweets for my father to try out. Look how pretty the tart is!

Cote France
110 NE 2nd St
Boca Raton, FL 33432
(561) 392-2907