2016 Japan - Notable Mentions... (Dessert)

One of the places that I had to go to, no matter what, was Pablo to have their ooey-gooey cheese tarts! My friend, K-chan, kept raving about Pablo to me non-stop so I had to check it out myself to see if it really lives up to the hype.

I took the whole group to the Omotesando location because it was just a short walk away from Meiji Shrine (which we had just finished visiting in the afternoon). I also chose this location because it had a full-service cafe (some other locations of Pablo were take-out only). This cafe had 2 floors. The bottom floor had a take-out counter with a self-serve sitting area while the top floor was a dedicated full-service cafe space.

We went upstairs to the cafe to rest our weary feet and enjoy a late afternoon snack.

Pablo Cheese Tart (Original Flavour) served with apricot honey sauce and vanilla ice cream

We chose 3 different kinds of cheese tarts to share amongst our group. Of course, we had to get the original cheese tart so we could compare it with the other flavours! The filling was lightly sweet, creamy with a soft cheese aroma while the crust was thin and flaky. No wonder they're famous for their cheese tarts!

Camembert & Quattro Fromage Cheese Tart

The second flavour we chose was the Camembert and "four cheese" cheese tart, only available at the Omotesando location. As expected from the name, this tart had a more intense cheese aroma and flavour. This one had more of a sweet and savoury thing going on due to the different cheeses used.

Chestnut Cheese Tart served with chestnut ice cream, walnuts, cashews and chestnut pieces on the side

For our third cheese tart, we went for the limited edition Chestnut flavour. As chestnuts are typically associated with the autumn season, this one was limited for a short period of time at the shop. The cheese tart had a light chestnut flavour while the top and sides were garnished with candied chestnut pieces. This had an earthy and warm feeling to the cheese tart.

Matcha Latte

Since it was a chilly and rainy day, I had the matcha latte to warm up. It was ok...the milky foam was not fine enough for me =P

Here's what the cheese tart looks when cut. Apparently, one can order the "doneness" of the cheese tart! You could either have it soft (so it looks oozy and gooey, and a bit under baked), or you could have it regular (which is the doneness pictured above). Darn it, if I had known earlier, I would have chosen the ooey gooey version!

I think Pablo was one of the best places we have visited on our entire Japan trip. Our entire group agreed that the cafe was comfy, quiet, warm and relaxing, while the cheese tarts were delicious and indulgent! So glad that we came here!!