HONG KONG, Nov 23 — There’s a new food craze in Hong Kong, and it takes the form of a Japanese cheese tart.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, Hong Kongers are queuing for 75 minutes just to get their hands on the Japanese dessert by BAKE.
Apparently, this is substantially less than the original two-hour wait that patrons had to endure when the shop first opened in August in the basement of the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay.
SCMP described the cheese tart as resembling the Hong Kong egg tart, but with a cheese mousse filling — made from two Hokkaido cream cheeses and one French variety — encased in crispy pastry.
A manager at BAKE said a special double-bake method makes the tarts particularly tasty.
Jo Wong was quoted by SCMP as saying, “It is the double-bake method that makes the cheese tart special.
“First the tart is baked, then the cheese is poured into it in Japan. Then, in Hong Kong, it is baked for the second time at 200 degrees.
“If the tart is not baked long enough, it is not crunchy enough; if the cheese is baked too long, the molten filling doesn’t flow.”
The tart was created by Shintaro Naganuma at the Kinotoya Bakery in Hokkaido, Japan.
In 2013, he opened his own line of cake shops called BAKE, and the tart became a hit across Japan.
The Hong Kong outlet is BAKE’s first overseas branch.
According to SCMP, one tart costs HK$20 (RM11) and a box of six is HK$110, with a limit of 12 tarts per day per customer.
Watch the video posted to YouTube by user Mary Hsiao to see what all the fuss is about (and the crazy queue!):
