Tokyo Sweets Collection 2009

In what could only described as heaven for women obsessed with both high-end desserts and designer duds, the second annual Tokyo Sweets Collection was held on November 8 and 9 at the Tokyo Midtown Complex.

Even with tickets at ¥8,000 a pop, the TSC event -- which seems to serve little purpose other than to organize a huge degustation course of itsy-bitsy cakes from the Rembrandts of the pastry world -- packed in a capacity crowd 1,200 people. Fifteen top patissiers each created a dessert inspired by one of three Tokyo brands -- Double Standard Clothing, furfur and Dress Camp -- and decorated an outfit to match.

This generally meant pasting oversized macaroons on felt bows or making a "wedding cake" hat. One Dress Camp look, however, saw an ingenious use of hardened gelatin to create a sash of colored butterflies on a sexy velvet number.

The spotlight was on the rock-star chefs and their edible creations. After sampling, we gave a thumbs up to Toshihiko Yoroizuka’s beurre chocolat mousse and Seiji Yamamoto’s "yame" (八女) green tea matcha tiramisu. Special mention went to Hironobu Tsujiguchi, who made a molecular dining-esque creation of caprice fromage cheesecake with berry sauce that diners sucked out of a tube.

Make an effort to go to next year's Tokyo Sweets Collection to indulge in the array of sweets. Just plan a slow week to deal with the sugar hangover.