[Shanghai] Uncle Tetsu’s

Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake | Dianping
Address: 南京西路1618号久光百货B1楼(近静安寺) – B1/Jiu Guang Mall, 161 Nanjing West Rd near Metro Line 2 Jing’an Temple Stop (静安区 Jing’an District) (other locations available)
Date visited: 2013.04
Total bill: RMB¥39 per cake
Verdict: It’s alright. Not worth the wait.
Will return: Maybe

Short version: overrated, have to wait in line, ¥39 per cake, one cake per customer.

Long version:
18 cakes are sold every 15 minutes. There are three ovens that each hold six cakes and takes 15 minutes to bake. I waited an hour in line for these.

There is a lot of hype around Uncle Tetsu’s because its cakes are baked fresh (literally in front of your eyes as you are waiting in line) and uses cheese, cream, and fresh milk from Australia. At RMB¥39 per cake, it is also a bargain when shops in Shanghai generally sell their cakes at well over RMB¥100. To be honest, none of this really matters to me in the grand scheme of things. Ain’t nobody airlifting cows from Australia to China to make these cakes. But it is genius marketing as far as the general population is concerned.

Sigh reads: Uncle Tetsu’s has been in Japan and Taiwan for over 20 years and is made from fresh from cheese, cream, and milk from Australia.

There is always a line from open to close. The guy in front of me already bought one and got back in line for another because each customer can only purchase one cake. My mom was with me so we decided to snag two to make it worth our while.

The cakes are wrapped in paper and baked in round cake pans. The cake pans are then put in a larger pan that contains water, which keeps the oven and cakes moist. After the cakes finish baking, they are stamped with Uncle Tetsu’s logo, packaged, and handed to you immediately.

The end product was a very light and airy sponge cake with a hint of cheese. Even compared to other Japanese style cheesecakes I have tasted (which is very different from the dense cheesecakes in the states), this didn’t have as much of the cheese flavor as I would have expected.

It was still warm when I got home and tasted undercooked and very eggy. I feel like they should have baked it for five more minutes. I ate another piece the next day after it had been refrigerated and it didn’t taste as eggy anymore. It definitely tasted much better after it had time to settle and harden slightly. This cake can last two days in the fridge before the outside starts to get crusty. I am glad I got to try it but it was very average. There are things worth waiting in line for but this is not one of them.

Comments

comments