66 Cheesecake (Xihu Flagship)

Review

The 66 Cheesecake flagship sits right beside the ice shop of the Xihu Sugar Factory. It began with Hokkaido-style cheesecake and later opened counters at Far Eastern Department Store in Taichung and Banqiao, plus a pop-up in Linkou. Many visitors stroll over for dessert after exploring the sugar factory or riding the little sugar-cane train; the factory grounds are free to enter, several free parking lots are nearby, and reports say parking is easy and costs nothing.

Its breakthrough item, the record-shop mille-feuille, is shaped like a vinyl record: house-pressed pastry in crisp, caramelized layers filled with homemade jam, custard and fresh fruit. The 2023 menu had nine flavors, sweet ones such as hazelnut chocolate banana at NT$230, honey Aomori apple at NT$250 and pistachio raspberry at NT$280, and savory potato truffle mushroom and smoked salmon avocado at NT$320 each. Hokkaido caramel pudding puffs, made with Tokachi milk, are NT$180 for a box of ten; tiramisu and Thai milk tea puffs are NT$230 a box and sold only in Xihu, Taichung and Banqiao. There is also rainbow soft-serve and Tokachi milk pudding.

Praise focuses on the crisp pastry, sweetness that does not cloy, fresh fruit and photogenic packaging, and you can watch the pastry being made through a glass window. The downside is price, which reports link to Japanese flour, Hokkaido milk and French AOP butter; the mille-feuille is limited each day and made to order, so expect a 10 to 30 minute wait, and weekends get crowded right around opening.

It is open daily from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm. The mille-feuille is large enough for two to four people; the custard and fruit soften quickly, so eat it on the spot or bring a cooler bag for takeaway. Prices and flavors are as listed on site, and seasonal fruit versions rotate.

It suits anyone on a day trip to the Xihu Sugar Factory. To sit and eat, share one mille-feuille between two (grape is the least sweet); for a gift, pick up a box of caramel pudding puffs, ten pieces that are easy to hand out.