Long queues and a two-hour wait for Hokkaido's Bake Cheese Tarts

A staff preparing the tarts at the opening of Bake Cheese Tarts at Ion Orchard on April 29, 2016. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Staff packing tarts for customers at the opening of Bake Cheese Tarts at Ion Orchard on April 29, 2016. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
People queuing to buy cheese tarts on the opening day of Bake Cheese Tarts at Ion Orchard on Friday (April 29) morning. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

SINGAPORE - The queue for Bake Cheese Tarts at its first shop in Singapore started at 8.15am on April 29, almost two hours before the shop at B4 of Ion Orchard opened.

By the time it did, there were at least 30 in the queue. Although staff told customers the wait would be more than two hours, many stayed on.

Bake Cheese Tart is from Hokkaido, Japan, and is famous for its mousse-like cream cheese filling and crisp pastry.

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The tarts went into the oven an hour before the store opened, to ensure that they would be at their freshest. They need to cool for 30 minutes before being sold, to ensure that the tarts have enough time to firm up.

Finance analyst Sherman Wong, 30, was one of the first in the queue, arriving at 8.30am.

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"My wife's colleague tried it in Japan. He's not the kind to eat a lot of nice things at one shot, but he ate six of the cheese tarts at one go, so the expectation is high. Now that it has come to Singapore, hopefully the quality is good."

Immediately after buying the tarts, he ate one.

"It's soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, and it's not very sweet. Most importantly, you can taste the cheese inside, which is the key point of the tart," he said

Others who had tried the tarts elsewhere raved about them too.

"I normally don't eat sweets, but the tarts are rich, yet not cloying, so I find myself having a few even though I don't really eat desserts," said Ms Sandra Chia, 27, who owns a party supplies business.

The shop had prepared 4,000 tarts for its opening, and expects a second delivery later in the day. Customers are limited to 12 tarts each. They cost $3.50 each or $19.50 for a box of six.

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