The other famous Pablo is in town
The highly anticipated Japanese baked cheese tart shop has opened in 1 Utama but fans are in for a surprise.
AT 10am, 1 Utama was only just beginning to stir. Shutters were being rolled up, sales people were readying themselves for the day ahead and a few early shoppers were taking slow strolls through the still-quiet mall.
But outside the Pablo outlet on the second floor of the Old Wing last Tuesday, things were different.
It was opening day for the famed Japanese cheese tart chain. In anticipation of the traffic surge, barriers were set up to control the expected crowd.
At 10am, a considerable queue had formed. By 12pm, rows and rows of people were standing patiently in line for the 2pm opening, waiting to get their hands on Pablo’s delicious cheese tarts.
I couldn’t help wondering whether it was the promise of free tarts being given out to the first 100 in the queue that drew such crowds? I mean, it can’t be that important to be the first to taste these tarts, no matter how good they are – unless you are a food journo like me?
Standing proudly in front of the store was the dapper, handsome Masamitsu Sakimoto, the founder of Pablo, who flew in especially for the store launch.
Sakimoto is used to queues snaking outside his stores and says he has a worldwide goal: “I want to make everybody fall in love with Pablo!”
In this sense, his job is a pretty easy one. Pablo (the name is derived from the artist Pablo Picasso) first opened in Osaka, Japan in 2011 and became an instant hit, with rabid fans queueing for as long as it took to get their hands on the brand’s signature creamy, gooey cheese tarts.
Since its inception, the brand has sold six million of its classic cheese tarts!
Sakimoto came up with the idea for Pablo’s cheese tarts after having a Eureka! moment and conjuring up the idea of cheese tarts with different textures, similar to the doneness levels of steaks.
He experimented for six months and finally came up with Pablo’s now legendary, freshly baked cheese tarts. The cheese tarts are made using cream cheese sourced from Australia while the dough is an in-house Pablo recipe.
Pablo now has 30 stores in Japan and has spread its wings to the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, and now Malaysia.
According to Sakimoto, next year, the brand will launch stores in Australia and Canada and there are even plans to head to the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
In Malaysia, the 1 Utama outlet is the first of a planned 15 outlets, slated to open in the next three years. “I wanted to open a Pablo outlet in Malaysia, because I think the country has so much potential,” says Sakimoto.
The 1 Utama store hosts a cornucopia of Pablo’s famed delights, from its classic freshly baked cheese tarts to chocolate, green tea, and premium cheese tarts, cheese tart crunchies, soft serve cheese ice cream, and a whole host of cheesy concoctions.
Mini tarts go for RM8.90 while larger, freshly baked cheese tarts (the size of a small cake) are priced at RM45.90. There are also premium items on the menu like the Golden Brulee Cheese Pudding, which goes for RM72.90.
According to Sakimoto, the flavour and texture of Pablo cheese tarts in Malaysia are identical to the Japanese versions, with one exception: in Japan, customers are able to order their cheese tarts according to two degrees of doneness – rare and medium rare – while in Malaysia, only the medium rare option is available.
What, no ooey gooey melt-evenbefore-you-put-it-in-your-mouth cheese tarts? My heart melted away a little.
The rare cheese tart is gooey, soft and creamy, while the medium rare has a soft, slightly firm texture balance. The medium rare cheese tart variants are what Pablo offers in all its overseas outlets as it can stay at room temperature for a longer period.
So just what do these cheese tarts taste like? Are the long queues justified?
Well, pretty darn good actually! The freshly baked medium rare cheese tart is a soft, velvety smooth beauty so tender, cheesy and melty in the mouth (especially when freshly made) that you’ll be groaning with pleasure with each mouthful.
And just when you think things can’t get any better, Sakimoto says he is working on a cheese tart and smoothie with a distinctive Malaysian flavour.
But no prizes for guessing which fruit flavour he has in mind.