MEET YOUR NEW OBSESSION

That crunchy shortcrust base, that sweet and savoury symphony ... and did we mention the cheese filling?

THE Gold Coast has hooked Queensland’s first Hokkaido store, offering cheese tarts after our own hearts.

The Hokkaido Baked Tart brand, inspired by a traditional recipe from Japan’s dairy heartland, was introduced to Australia in December and will soon expand to 12 stores across five Australian states.

“The concept of the baked cheese tart originated in Japan, but this brand – although it uses the word Hokkaido – is not a Japanese brand,” business development manager Jason Leong says.

“It’s founded in Malaysia originally and then they brought it over to Australia.”

Pacific Fair’s Hokkaido is the first of its kind to open in Queensland, with Jason and his team enticed by the revamped shopping centre, as well as our thinly veiled cheese lust.

“Like the rest of Australia, Gold Coasters love cheese and the location made sense,” he laughs. “When I saw Pacific Fair I thought it was such a nice location. It’s a good-looking shopping centre, so we decided to tap into that market.

“We did a bit of market research but after looking around there’s no other stores that offer anything like this.”

Shoppers can currently scoff the petite treats filled with a silky blend of either cheese or chocolate. Once the dust settles at the new store, Jason says they may introduce additional flavours to the line-up (Malaysia Hokkaido also has a durian baked tart).

“The two original flavours – the cheese and chocolate – will always remain as our signature products,” Jason says.

“Moving forward we’ll release new varieties when the time is right. But I should mention, we are launching soft serve today in three stores – Victoria, Sydney and Adelaide – to complement the tarts and hopefully soon on the Gold Coast. There will be a cream cheese flavour and a strawberry cheese flavour.”

For a franchise to succeed selling only two products, it must be good, but not even Jason can explain why Hokkaido’s tarts are so addictive.

“Having worked in this field for quite a while now I still get cravings for cheese tarts, even though I’ve had my fair share,” he says.

“I don’t know the secret recipe, the product is just bloody good.”

Hokkaido Baked Tarts, Shop K1017 ground floor Pacific Fair, Broadbeach