[Product Review] Cheese Garden

Company: Cheese Garden
Product Type: Japanese cheesecakes, drinks and desserts
Address: 5291 Yonge St. (North York); Unit G120, 3250 Midland Ave. (Midland); B58-4300 Steeles Ave. E (Pacific Mall)
Operating Hours: Mon- Sun 11 AM - 10 PM (North York); Mon-Sun 12-10 PM (Midland); Mon-Sun 12-8 PM (Pacific Mall)
Website: www.cheesegarden.ca

Interior

North York location

Menu

Yuzu Pistachio Double Fromage Cheesecake, $22.95

Double Fromage Cheesecake, $18.95

Uji Matcha Tiramisu, $11.95

Baked Cheese Tart, $8.85

Review

Cheese Garden is a Japanese cheesecake shop that offers a variety of desserts with currently three locations in Toronto. I had the pleasure of getting a sneak peek of their new and limited edition Yuzu Pistachio Double Fromage Cheesecake ($22.95) in celebration of their second anniversary. This cheesecake is only available from October 13th through November 4th, with only 50 available at each store and one per customer! If you visit any of the Toronto stores on October 13th or 14th, you can get 50% off one pastry item (excluding the Yuzu Pistachio Double Fromage Cheesecake).

What is yuzu, you may ask? With a quick Google search, yuzu is a citrus fruit that looks like a wrinkled lemon. It's quite sour and tart so yuzu is normally used for flavouring. The Yuzu Pistachio Double Fromage Cheesecake consists of three layers: the frozen yuzu mascarpone cheesecake at the top, with the baked pistachio cheesecake encrusted with sugar roasted pistachios in the middle, that all lastly sits on top of the pistachio sponge cake. The cake is covered with pistachio sponge cake crumbs and is decorated with gold flakes and a yuzu-shaped chocolate. The crumbs are incredibly fluffy (which reminds me a bit of fake snowflakes).

The flavour of the Yuzu Pistachio Double Fromage Cheesecake is quite unique. I enjoyed it more the second time around when my taste buds got used to it. It would definitely appeal to people who like flavours like matcha or hojicha. I think the presentation of the cake in the wooden box is absolutely adorable and is perfect for a birthday or small party.

If you feel that the yuzu pistachio flavour may be out of your comfort zone, try their classic Double Fromage Cheesecake ($18.95) instead! This is perfect for people who like original flavoured products that are kept simple without all the fuss, but is still delicious.

I also got to try the Uji Matcha Tiramisu ($11.95) and Baked Cheese Tart ($8.85). The Uji Matcha Tiramisu is a very light and easy dessert to eat. The Baked Cheese Tart is similar to an egg tart but is a lot sweeter and spongier.

Check out Cheese Garden for their second anniversary to try any one of their pastries for 50% off on October 13th and 14th and can get your hands on the limited edition Yuzu Pistachio Double Fromage Cheesecake (which runs until November 4th).