217: Tokyo Secret's Hanjyuku Cheese Tart! ~ TenshiChn

Japanese cuisines are slowly flooding into the Malaysia market with the increase awareness of Japan as a hot tourist spot. Previously there was the hype with the freshly baked Japanese Cheesecake, then the Matcha and Hojicha Softserve, the freshly flown cream pastries and now followed by the Hanjyuku Cheese Tart!

As a fan of most things Japanese, I've definitely got to get there and try it out! Personally, I'm not a fan of overloaded cheesy stuff. Never liked those cheese tart found at common bakeries. Yes, too much cheese for me, it's like teasing me to throw up. I like really delicious egg tarts and Portuguese tarts though! Let's see if I'll like these Hanjyuku Cheese Tarts too!

Hanjyuku Cheese Tart - RM 7.9

So I got off work on a Thursday evening and head to Ikano to check it out! It was around 6 to 7 ish and surprisingly, there wasn't a queue! Still, there was this really inviting aroma once I enter. An appetizer aroma which tickles your nose, inviting you to take a bite off their tarts! I bought two of the last three and when I was paying for my purchase, a fresh tray was served out! *jaw drops*

Anyway, one was for take away and one was to be indulged there. The seating was very limited as it was actually a very small place located in another shop itself. There's only three tables size of those placed in tea gardens. The one at the center has the best lighting while the other two was shadowed.

For take away of small quantity, the tarts are placed in this noticeable yellow paper bag which I really love the colours and design. For take away quantity of six, they have this yellow box to keep the tarts. As for dine in, they just provide you a napkin with the tart.

So let's eat! いただきます！

It was not warm anymore when I took a bite and sure enough, no oozing flowy cheese fillings but it was still soft and as you can see from my ~~gross~~ picture, it does still flow down due to gravity. Somehow the filling reminds me of the once famous 'durian pancake'. I like it that it wasn't overly cheesy like those cheese tarts in common bakeries. It was more like semi-thick milky dairy cheese creamy fillings! I love the dairy creamy texture which is not too thick till it causes bloating.

Perhaps will check out the one right out of oven next time!

I like the crust taste wise as it was not overly dense nor dry. I don't really know how to describe but it was crusty and like freshly baked soft cookies in terms of the density. What I didn't like was it being a little too fragile to hold on to. Barely half way through my tart, the shell broke from my grasp and fell on my bag =.= It made a small mess with the shattered shell and cheesy cream. Was it just me or did anyone experience the tart shell being a little too brittle too?

My tummy was pretty much occupied after one tart but I wanted to try out the Fusion Affogato so I went for the Kyoto Mocha!

Kyoto Mocha - RM9

Am not sure why they say affogato means indulge as it actually means 'drowned' in Italian but let's get back to their affogato. They serve two types; the one above is Kyoto Mocha which I had with purple sweet potato add-on. The first add-on is free but if you were to add-on more choices, it is an additional RM2 per add-on I assume. Choices of add-ons are; Shiratama Dango / Mango Jam / Honey Rose Latte / Tokachi Red Beans / Chesnut.

I did not expect it to be syrup but thought it would be chunks of sweet potato. It came with syrup, tiny bit chunks of purple sweet potato and some flaky stuff which I presume are cereal flakes.

It personally taste like melting greentea pudding texture to me. It is definitely not sweet. So for those looking for sweet soft serve, this might not satisfy you. However, I guess it would be good for those cutting down on sugar.

The other choice for Fusion Affogato which I did not try was Hokaido Mountain made from selected Japan Hokaido Furano Milk, also at RM9. Not sure if the texture is also pudding like but I am curious to try how it taste like!

They also have this Special Themes combo with a carefully studied ingredients which I have no room for anymore. Choices are the Maple Volcano RM19, Fujiyama Winter RM16 and Uji Forest RM17. Do gather a partner or two to try them all!

Many might think that Tokyo Secret came from Japan but it actually sprouted from the outlet in Hong Kong which actually just sells soft serve desserts without the Hanjyuku Cheese Tart! I'm guessing the Hanjyuku Cheese Tart is not from a 'Tokyo Secret' in Japan but they are really using a Hanjyuku Cheese Tart recipe from Japan! Correct me if I am wrong. At the same time, there's Hanjuku kobo in Hong Kong which is well known for their cheese tart too.

Don't think it matters much as long as it's a really delicious Hanjyuku Cheese Tart, aight?

I actually could not find the store the first time around until I went back to the same spot and realise that it was within another store which was the Mac City store. So for those heading over, do take note of it's location!