I Tried The Famous Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese Cheesecake

First of all, I have to admit I have never heard of Uncle Tetsu before. I found out about them through my well-informed foodie friend who got so excited when it was officially announced that Uncle Tetsu was opening its first ever store in New Zealand. According to her, Uncle Tetsu is a popular store in Fukuoka, Japan famous for selling Japanese cheesecakes that she described as, “fluffy as hell.” When she told me she was going to venture to the store to buy herself a cheesecake, I wanted to tag along out of curiosity.

We decided to go after work on a Friday night. At the time, Uncle Tetsu had been open for about two weeks. My friend warned me that she knew someone who bought a cheesecake during the store’s opening week and queued up for about TWO hours. While the long wait time might have deterred others from going to the store, I grew more curious and intrigued to find out what all the fuss was about. I guess we can blame FOMO for this.

I chose not to Google anything beforehand about said cheesecake because I wanted to start with a blank slate. If I was going to line up for about two hours for a cheesecake, you bet I was going to make an adventure out of the evening and fully immerse myself in the experience.

We arrived at the store at 7:15pm and as expected, there was a queue. Thankfully, I was with my friend so I wasn’t concerned about waiting in line. While we waited, I asked her how she discovered Uncle Tetsu. She found out about them a couple of years ago during a trip to Japan. At that point, I assumed she was going to say that the shop was highly recommended by people who have been to Japan before. My assumptions were totally wrong. Simply put, while she leisurely walked around town, she saw the crowds outside the store and immediately started queuing to check it out. That’s it. The line of people grabbed her attention. Her thoughts after she tried the cheesecake… it was fluffy and cloudy. Apparently, you can eat the whole thing by yourself if you like.

Challenge accepted.

Time flew by pretty quickly actually. We got to the front of the counter at 8:25pm. (I was so relieved we did not end up waiting in line for two hours!) You were only allowed to buy one cheesecake per person so my self-control was very happy about that. Uncle Tetsu also sold madeleines and there was no limit to how many one can buy. I bought one cheesecake and one madeleine. Like I said, my self-control was very happy.

My friend and I sat on one of the benches outside Elliot Stables and immediately ate our madeleines. We stood in line for about an hour and we wanted to congratulate ourselves by eating them fresh out of the oven. My madeleine was divine. It was so good and so light; I could have eaten a dozen of those.

For dinner the following night, I ate the cheesecake for my dessert. YUM. It was very light and fluffy. It was delicious. While I could have eaten the whole cheesecake by myself in one sitting (trust me I could have), I shared it with my family so they could also try it. The words light and fluffy were repeatedly used to describe the cheesecake. They liked it too.

After tasting Uncle Tetsu’s cheesecake, I think it’s worthy of the hype. Would I go back and buy another cheesecake so soon? Probably not. I’m hoping by next month the crowds die down a little so I don’t have to wait in line for too long.

I would totally be on board with a delivery service though.

Photos by Jesicka Goei and Mika Reyes.

Uncle Testu New Zealand
Where
Z004/Z005 Civic Theatre Building, 269-287 Queen Street