The Pine Garden (Ang Mo Kio)

($4.10) it's quite sweet tbh but then they got put a lot of coconut flakes ah 🌝. I think got average taste for pandan but then coconut flakes bring a lot of taste.

Is it a little oily and a little sweet? Yes ofc but that's what makes it indulgent. Rly good, and somewhat sinful

The fact that I'm getting a cake again should speak volumes about the deliciousness of this thing

Very soft and very mild, the sweetness is very reduced and it's quite pleasant. Pulut hitam only had a little bit of chew

Overall it's okay

The sponge wasn't good, caramel was strong but apart from the golden rice crispies it's not particularly special

Tbh the pastry is dry. But the Kaya slab is so damn thick, and of vertiable quality so it's really very addictive nonetheless

Worth a try

The Pine Garden is a name that is pretty much tied to the local F&B scene for a while — so much that it can also be said that there is some heritage behind the brand. Having been in existence since the 1980s, The Pine Garden does look like any other neighbourhood bakery at first sight when one passes by their shop space at Ang Mo Kio; that being said, they are one brand that is rather prominent and can be easily found in pop-up booths around the island during various occasions where cakes and confectioneries are to be enjoyed. We have visited The Pine Garden on multiple occasions in the past; whilst they do serve up typical buns and bread that one can find at other neighbourhood bakeries, The Pine Garden’s signature offerings would be their traditional buttercream cakes — these were also the items which we made the trip down to The Pine Garden for the in the past. We hadn’t been making our way down to The Pine Garden for years — they had also attempted to expand their operations during all these while, though it does seem that they have gone back to being low-profile again in recent times. Still, that hasn’t stopped them in creating new flavours of cake and expanding their offerings during these years.

Never really recalled seeing The Pine Garden carrying this item ever, though the last time that we ever paid attention to their line-up of cakes was probably more than a couple of years before the existence of the term “COVID-19” — that being said, there is a post that claimed the Black Sesame Mochi Cheesecake to be a new item when the author had posted about the item in 2021; not an unlikely timeline considering that was also about the time when Mochi-anything was quite the trend. There is no mention on the description card of the item in the display fridge on what exactly are the elements that the Black Sesame Mochi Cheesecake comprises of; that being said, we do note that the Black Sesame Mochi Cheesecake comes with a black sesame-infused cheesecake mousse layer — hence the specks of black on the cheesecake mousse layer, as well as a black sesame-infused graham cracker base; the mochi lines the sides of the cake and is flushed neatly with the cheesecake mousse, while a lone berry comes above the pastry cream that is layered above the cheesecake mousse. The Black Sesame Mochi Cheesecake is intended to be served as a variant of a New York Cheesecake; expect a light, smooth and creamy cheesecake mousse layer that is rich and slightly tangy here — the infusion of the black sesame in the cheesecake mousse wasn’t particularly prominent here however. In fact, it was the graham cracker base that carried a slightly more evident, roasty hint of flavours from the black sesame; the start of the show was the mochi however. While those blocks of mochi looked thick and dense, it was surprisingly light, chewy and stretchy — and utter joy to have on its own especially since it did not stick to the teeth as well. The pastry cream was light and a good touch added to the cake, though wasn’t one that we felt was absolutely needed — pretty much the same with the berry as well. Still, a modern interpretation of a cheesecake that would likely appeal to the purist that crave for a bit of a change from the usual New York Cheesecake, though not wanting something that is too drastically different; worth a try!