Passion Tree, Chatswood

I've heard a lot of hype around Passion Tree - their cakes here (and at the similarly named Passiontree Velvet in Macquarie Centre - are they under the same company since they also sell the exact same cakes and macarons?) give Zumbo desserts a run for their money (literally, since they're in the same price range) but more importantly, they're famous for their Bing Soo desserts involving a hollowed out fruit - like watermelon, rock melon, or pineapple - topped with shaved ice, fruit balls, and ice cream/block. Since this place was personally recommended by a friend, I decided to take the plunge and actually visit the cafe. I have previously walked by several times before but decided against jumping straight to dessert in lieu of eating a proper dinner.

The inside of the cafe is decorated with white decor (think white tables, chairs and wall cladding) but this highlighted the bright, colourful desserts on display:

Outside of Cafe

Front Counter

Desserts For Sale

Since it's a little too cold to try their Bing Soo desserts (and the fact that I'd need to arm myself with several friends to finish one off), I decided to try their Matcha Mochi Pancake Stack ($14.50), which was another dessert of theirs that keeps popping up on Instagram. Interestingly, after placing the order, I was handed a small buzzer that rings when the order is ready - realistically, I didn't think it was even necessary, given that there were few customers inside the cafe and staff were just standing around behind the counter chatting.

Chair Art Above Entrance

Shelves

Whilst waiting for the buzzer to go off, I sat at a table near the front counter so I wouldn't have to walk too far to retrieve the pancakes. Maybe I was slightly overdressed for the night, but the table was directly under a spotlight and it got really warm so I had to change to another table with less intense lighting. I also got to take some sneaky glances at the neighbouring table that tried some of the cakes and some seriously large hot chocs (left half-finished).

After a 15min wait, the buzzer finally went off and I got to inspect the Matcha Mochi Pancake Stack first-hand:

Top Left: Top View

Bottom Left: Close-up

Above: Side View

To be honest, the waffle cone was great for visuals but impractical to eat with since the ice cream was already on the pancake stack so I just ended up smashing it to smithereens and ate the pieces with the pancakes. Scattered across the top and around the pancakes were some soft mochi and crisp balls, which gave the dessert an additional crunchy texture. The pancakes reminded me of the soft, thick Japanese hotcakes filled with red bean you can find at Asian grocery stores. For some reason, there was only red bean between the bottom and middle pancake (skimping on red bean?) but I would have liked to see some additional red beans between the top and middle layers as well. The matcha flavour in the waffle cone, ice cream, and sauce were prominent but surprisingly, I didn't find the dessert as a whole overly sweet, which usually happens when cafes attempt to counterbalance the bitterness of matcha.

Overall, the food was enjoyable (although rather average) and I would want to visit again to try out their other desserts. Just maybe not their hot chocolates, which looked a little extreme...