Nagomi Cake House — Attraction in Gardena

It's a place that had a great reputation as a tasty spot, and I used to think of it fondly after trying it and enjoying it. However, I had a really bad experience recently, so I'm leaving a review. It was my friend's birthday, so I placed an order for a cake a few days in advance and arranged a pickup time. Unfortunately, it happened to be a day when the kids didn't have school, so I planned to take them out for a bit to keep them entertained and ended up delaying the pickup time. The freeway we took to get to the pickup spot was unusually congested that day, so we ended up being about 30 minutes late. I assumed it wouldn't be a problem as long as we arrived before closing time.

But then, out of the blue, I received a call from the store, and the person on the other end spoke rudely, complaining about how many times I had changed the pickup time. I apologized and arrived at the store to pay and pick up the cake, but the cashier had a very unpleasant expression and was extremely rude, barely responding to my questions. I usually don't confront people, but I felt like saying something this time. I left feeling like he was blaming me for making them stay late. It was a place I used to like, but I won't be going back. It felt like he was taking out their frustration on me for not being able to...

Having worked in a mom and pop Asian bakery I'm pickier than most for this category. Now that I've been there a few times and tried a variety of things, I am confident in my assessment.

I feel for Asian baked goods they are a little too sweet, so maybe it's tailored toward more American tastes?

The coffee jelly was way too sweet compared to the Nijiya or Famima coffee jelly. The shortcake was on the dry side and really needed all the cream to provide moistness. The roll cake was moist but it was about as good as 99 Ranch roll cake or triangle cake. Passionfruit cheesecake wasn't bad but not passionfruit-y enough. The baked cheesecake was the best thing I tried but it was on the sweet side too.

Staff is polite. Store is cramped, layout with pylons indoors is uninviting. Hours are inconvenient. Yamazaki in DTLA has better pastries and the shop looks prettier, but you have to deal with DTLA traffic,...

In the picture is an 8" strawberry shortcake, 5"chocolate cake, slice of Soft souffle cheese cake, Chestnut Mont Blanc individual cake, and a Trader Joe's Dutch apple pie for size comparison.

I tried multiple cakes from this place and overall, the strawberry shortcake and Soft souffle cheese cake were the best! The cheesecake tasted more like a cheese flavored cake than an actual cheese cake, which I prefer. It's much lighter and fluffier than a normal cheese cake. The strawberry shortcake had whipped cream instead of frosting over it, making it taste much better. The chestnut cake was great too. I wasn't a huge fan of the chocolate cake, it was more like whipped cream with a hint...