A Parfait Beautiful from Every Angle

There is a coffee shop in Kawagoe that I absolutely love. It holds a bewitching charm that makes me want to go through the trouble of taking the highway all the way from Tokyo. It is a cozy little place that feels like an old folk house. Ghibli music box melodies play inside. It is popular and the parking lot is often full, so visiting is a bit of a gamble.

Usually, my eyes are drawn to the cake sets lined up on the front of the menu. But that day, for the first time, I picked up the thick menu. I flipped through the pages. Oh my... there was a parfait! And I could make it a set. I could even get a refill on my coffee. That was the first time I ever ordered a parfait.

A parfait, a parfait...

I don't really like the cornflakes at the very bottom of a parfait. I suspect they are only there to add volume. Even though it is a dream-like treat, and I should have been enjoying plenty of whipped cream and ice cream, I feel like I am suddenly being pulled back to a dry reality.

So, ordering a parfait is also a bit of a gamble. The parfait that was brought to me while I was feeling nervous was truly beautiful.

Wow... it is beautiful. It looks like it is sparkling. Whether viewed from above, from the side, or from any angle, it is perfectly arranged. Inside the glass, beautiful layers were quietly stacked. The red of the strawberries and the soft yellow of the bananas. The white of the ice cream. Everywhere I look, it is truly beautiful.

Even when I stared at it closely, I couldn't find 'that thing.' But I couldn't let my guard down. That enemy is formidable. Then, as I fearfully inserted my spoon, I realized. There were no cornflakes. I will write this again because it is important. There were no cornflakes! At that moment, I had won. I rejoiced in my heart.

Once I took a bite, I couldn't stop grinning. All the way to the bottom of the glass, it was all ice cream. It was dense ice cream that seemed to push back against the spoon. When I placed it on my tongue, it slowly melted with my body heat, and a rich, condensed-milk-like sweetness flowed slowly to the back of my throat. Dig as I might, it was all ice cream. Moreover, it was incredibly rich, and when I scooped it up, it felt cool and heavy.

Along the way, the sweet and sour taste of strawberries appeared. The sharp, vivid acidity of the perfectly ripe strawberries. When that mixed with the milky flavor of the ice cream, an instant, high-quality 'strawberry milk' was created in my mouth. I love strawberry milk, too. ...Ahhh. It is deeply, profoundly delicious.

As I was soaking in the sentiment, soft bananas also appeared. The bananas were mellow and stickily sweet. That sticky texture gently wrapped around my chilled tongue. I washed it down with iced coffee. This coffee, too, was a bit mysterious. Compared to the rich parfait, it was somewhat light. Would it be rude to say it was a bit thin? But it was just right. The clear bitterness gently brushed away the lingering aftertaste of the intense sweetness, resetting my palate. It washed my mouth out, making me want to take the next bite.

And then, immediately, more ice cream.
Still more ice cream.
No matter how deep I dug, it was ice cream.

It was a parfait that was properly beautiful not just where it was visible, but even where it was hidden. It was a parfait that was beautiful from every angle. And, no matter where I ate from, it was truly delicious.

Next time, I want to go for lunch.