Uncle Tetsu's Matcha Cafe [RIP]

Bakery: Uncle Tetsu's Matcha Cafe 
Address: 598 Bay St., Toronto ON
Website: http://uncletetsu-ca.com/
Style: Japanese 
Price: $$-$$$

In the running for best logo ever ^-^

NOTE: This is not for the cheesecake. Not a frequenter of the area, I'm still waiting for the chance when the line isn't snaking around the corner. :( Look out for it in a future review!

A regular baked good "supplier" for the Cake Tour was in downtown Toronto one hot day a few weeks ago and decided to attempt the famous wait for Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake. Actually, he walked by earlier in the day and heard people commenting that it wasn't so long and... thought he'd come back later. Big mistake. He returned, waited two rounds, and gave up, instead opting for the "Matcha Cafe" directly next door, which at the time only really had fed-up people from the line. That should change now that the Matcha Cafe is supposed to carry green tea (!) cheesecake as well. Expect to wait in both places now; that is, until the novelty will eventually pass.

*melts*

At the time, however, there were no cheesecakes and, besides a small selection of matcha drinks and frozen treats, all the matcha cafe really offered in terms of baked goods were madeleines ($2.22; buy 3 get 1 free) with either plain green tea powder or green tea and red bean filled. I could settle for that. :P I love madeleines and finding fresh-baked ones aren't easy. These ones at Uncle Tetsu's were fantastic, even if they don't conform to the traditional shell shape -- perfect spongy texture, tons of quality matcha (my mom once baked cookies with low-grade matcha and the taste just wasn't the same) with the absolutely necessary rich, buttery taste of a good madeleine. If there's no butter, there's no point eating it. ;)

I love Uncle Tetsu's as a concept; as a logo consultant (no, I'm actually not, but could be), this place gets two thumbs way up. It is so amazing! Not sure if I'd want to stand in line for that long or if it would be worth it in the end (I feel that Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake will be good, simply because it's good, authentic Japanese cheesecake and not necessarily because it's Uncle Tetsu's.), but to pop in for some green tea madeleines... you can always count me in! ^^

Rating: ***1/2