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| - Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Cleanliness: 3.5/5
Price: 4/5
I was strolling through Downtown Toronto during the last week of August when I realized Uncle Tetsu's Matcha cafe had opened up not too long ago. My hubby and I had heard about their very popular cheesecake cafe, but every time I had time to visit, the line was too long for my schedule. Luckily, on a late Saturday afternoon, I was able to squeeze in some time to visit their Matcha cafe (their cheesecake cafe line up was still far too long!).
The first thing I did when I got to their cafe was line up. I wasn't sure of what I wanted to order, but I made sure I lined up before I had a chance to make up my mind. The line up was relatively shorter (it seemed like) when I got there, but it quickly got longer with no sign of stopping.
Their menu was on the side of their main door which made it easier to choose while waiting. I didn't know they also had madeleines as I had only heard about their matcha cheesecake and green tea soft serve. I was tempted to try them (those buy x get y free things always get me!) but I decided to save my calories for dinner and resisted.
One of their workers were working so diligently making the next batter of cheesecakes and madeleines. As their cafe had a wide open window, it was very easy to see inside and most people who were lined up were also looking at how these matcha goodies were made. I felt a little bad for the worker though - it didn't seem like there was any AC inside.
We learned later that we didn't need to wait in line for just green tea soft serve. What seemed like the owner regularly checked the long line up outside to see if any of the customers were only wishing to purchase matcha soft serve. As the soft serve was able to be served immediately (no need to wait for the cheesecakes to bake!) you don't need to wait in line - just go up to the counter and ask for the soft serve.
A guy in front of me wanted to purchase the madeleines with red bean in them, only to find that they were already sold out of them! Or at least, they weren't available when he ordered as they weren't ready yet. I'm not sure which is the right reason...but he sure seemed disappointed. The plain madeleines were much more abundant (as you can see in the picture) in stock. If you want to try the ones with red bean though, I suggest you visit the cafe as quick as they open before they sell out!
My husband didn't have very high expectations for the soft serve. "How good can it be?" he asked, and after one bite, his question was answered "as good as it can get". It truly was a very flavourful and delicious matcha soft serve. The dessert was very light in texture (compared to other soft serves) but very full of flavour which we both much loved. The green tea flavour was sweet and bitter at the same time and it was very addicting. If I lived in Toronto, I probably would've come here for this very matcha soft serve on a regular basis. It is a definite recommend and overall much preferred over the popular cheesecake.
As for the cheesecake, my hubby and I were quite lucky because a big batch of the matcha cheesecakes had just come out of the oven just before we ordered one. We were able to grab one without any more wait! I haven't had that much luck in a long time. Since we had plans for the rest of the night, we only got to try the cheesecake later on when we got home. Our verdict about the cheesecake is this: It is worth trying if you love cheesecake, but it's not worth waiting in line for if you like your cheesecake dense.
Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake is very peculiar; it is definitely not the type of cheesecake most Westerners are used to. It is not dense nor big in size...definitely not your "New York Cheesecake" style. I had tried a version of the Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake back in Korea years ago in a local department store, and this tasted exactly like what I had back then, except it had green tea flavours in it. The cheesecake is very fluffy in texture - in between a mousse and cake - and the cheese flavour isn't overly strong as you would expect with the North American version. Many Asian cultures aren't used to eating a lot of cheese in their diet, let alone dessert, so this light and fluffy cheesecake may suit those that don't prefer the strong cheese tastes. I think many people may like the matcha green tea cheesecake more than the original (since you can't really get green tea cheesecake in many places), and I recommend you to try the green tea version first if you're unsure of how you are going to like the original. Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake is definitely not bad, or not worth waiting for, as many have said, but just purely different. I hope the green tea flavour may be a good transition for you to try this Japanese style of cheesecake!
Me? I'd definitely repurchase it, be it the original or the matcha; I just don't want to wait in line forever. I will be back when the popularity dies down though!
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