Sculptural Japanese Parfaits Are Stacking Dessert Menus Across NYC

Pastry chef Norie Uematsu knew from the start that she wanted to incorporate a parfait on the menu at the new Soho location of sushi restaurant Momoya. The dessert has long been a part of her life: She and her friends built their own chocolate parfaits at childhood birthday parties, and she has fond memories of serving parfaits while working at Japanese “family restaurants,” perhaps best described as Japan’s interpretation of a New Jersey diner.

Since Momoya Soho opened three months ago, Uematsu has always included a seasonal parfait with various Japanese elements on her dessert roster. She says that as much as she loves chocolate, her parfaits have so far been based on fruit to act as a palate cleanser after a round of omakase. Momoya’s summer parfait ($18) is a canvas of blues and greens: It includes blueberry sorbet, an ice cream made with subtle sake kasu (a non-alcoholic by-product of sake production), yuzu sencha jelly, matcha shiratama, cheesecake spuma, vanilla crumble, and as a final crown, an edible hydrangea made with shiroan (white bean paste) that sits on top of a butter cookie. Uematsu pairs her parfaits with a small pitcher of sauce — the current flavor is apricot-lime — so that customers can “ajihen,” or change the taste of the parfait, halfway through the dessert.

While customers first turned to more familiar desserts at Momoya like the caramelized banana mille-feuille, they are increasingly ordering Uematsu’s edible works of art. “Parfaits are a dream dessert,” she says.