Street Eats: Addictive and Guilt-Heavy Cheesecakes at Holiland

Every spring, there seems to be a Dessert God of sorts raining something delicious onto us and saying "congratulations on surviving another long and depressing winter." If you're already obsessed with the cheesy toasts that we introduced last year, be aware the dangerously good cheesecakes previewed below because you may soon find yourself blossoming in every direction.

Established in 1992, Holiland bakery is not always our first choice for breads or sweet delights. Thankfully they too are unsatisfied with their generally sad products and decided to come out with these baked cheese morsels last winter, which instantly put the bakery back on the dessert map and garnered thousands of good reviews via Dianping and Weibo. So, what's all the fuss about?

Don’t be fooled by the name "Half-Baked Cheese" – each in a box of five cheesecakes (RMB 38) is wrapped individually, and unlike the old-school Chinese traditional sweet snacks which seem to last forever (think Daoxiangcun), these little delicate cakes come with a label imploring you to treat them well – stored in the fridge (0-10 Celcius degree) and eaten as soon as possible (within four days). Furthermore, Holiland claims that each one is sent through “cold chain airlift to maintain the freshest taste.”

In fact, we tried them twice, first buying a box of the original flavored cakes at the shop, and then ordering them again a few days later via Baidu Waimai, thanks to some late evening cravings for sweetness.

The cakes are mostly light yellow with slight browning on top. That upper layer is as airy as a sponge cake, while the lower portion is denser and more intense, full of cheese flavor. The cakes aren't super sweet, which may lead to you finishing the whole lot, too late to realize that there’s no way you are getting closer to your New Year resolution. But that guilt won't keep you from buying another box.

Apart from the original cheesecake flavor, there's also chocolate cheesecakes AKA Chocolate Hanjuku Cheese (RMB 40 for a box of five). Man, if you happen to be a chocolate lover, take heed: your will power will be obliterated by these tasty cakes. They claim to only use milk, egg, cheese, sugar, wheat flour, and Belgian chocolate, in the recipe but god knows what other crack-riddled chocolate additives they've also included in these 36g calorie bombs.

To cater to booming demand, they sell these irresistible desserts at Holiland shops, and also take orders via their own website (and delivered by Shunfeng), JD, Taobao, and Baidu Waimai. Now, for the sake of my waistline, I'm going far, far away so as to avoid ordering another box.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Photos: Holiland, Tracy Wang