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2011-07-27
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after agnes b, LGB, zoe, la maison du chocolat, jean-paul hevin, and a beefing-up starbucks pastry section, IFC mall received a new addition to its pastry parade last week: petite amanda, owned by a hong kong fashion model called amanda strang. the shop is currently still in soft-opening stage as the formal launch is slated for august 4. it is located next to starbucks on 2/f IFC mall in front of the elevators; the place does not have much foot traffic at the moment but should ramp up after the
first on the shop decor. i like the minimalist approach with white walls and color stripes, but the bright yellow light from elevators does not go well with the store color and makes the whole area overexposed – i even had to shield light with my hands in order to read the cakes’ descriptions. the shop is located in an open space, so inherently it lacks the cozy, intimate environment that most standalone pastry shops enjoy, but fortunately the bread baskets at the back help to neutralize the ambience (though i would definitely suggest more bread baskets!) the pyramidal container box is inspired by la patisserie des reves in paris and the glassware is also made by the same supplier.
on the food - i tried pain au chocolat, bresilienne, plaisir sucre, and charlotte aux poires. the pain au chocolat was a disappointment (since it's my favorite pain) because it lacks the airy, flakiness of puff pastry. then again, it's hard to make good puff pastry in hong kong due to the humidity - the only place that does it right is joel robuchon, and it has premium sourcing for flour and dry butter. bresilienne is bavarois au caramel and cafe mousse with joconde wrapped around; it was a bit heavy for me and i could only finish half of the cake (a criminal act), and both flavors (coffee and caramel) were on the light side which made them nearly indistinguishable, but the two matched very well and the ultra-thin layer of joconde was perfectly made. plaisir sucre is a classic pierre herme dessert that i make quite often, composed of hazelnut dacquoise, praline croustillant, ganache and chantilly. it's hard to make but once you get it right, taste is out of this world. my favorite at petite amanda is charlotte aux poires - the pear mousse is mixed with pulverized pear flesh so it carries a sandy texture that makes an interesting contrast to the biscuit.
overall i find food quality decent with room for improvement in flavor matching – i understand the chef likes to use light, refreshing flavors for the summer, but when everything is pale you cannot really distinguish one from another. i also find a little too much gelatin in the mousse that affects the taste. i appreciate the fine details that might be overlooked by most other people, such as the joconde in the bresilienne and an improved proportion of ganache and chantilly in the plaisir. the chef’s sincerity and dedication really show in her works!
i don’t think she mentioned it very often but amanda did graduate from le cordon bleu superieure in 3rd place. i’ve also heard from other chefs in hong kong that amanda worked very hard during her internship at caprice (there is no secret in this industry!), which is something worth-respecting when many other celebrities treat cooking school as a pastime rather than a real education.
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