agnès b. Café LPG  

Tea with a frdOrdered a cake - Danielle and a cup of tea - Marco PoloDanielle was pretty Gd, I like the crispy choco layer. Not heavy compared to cheese cakesU can get refill of hot water for the tea, but u need to go to the counter urself, ok as there's no service chargeQuite crowded, luckily we got a table at the corner

Well, after indulging in some sugar-free, fat-free gelato, I thought I still had the time (and calorie quota!) for some real sugary fix before my next engagement. Starbucks was full and Cova was to classy for the day, so I decided agnes b. LPG would be the reasonable choce at wtc more.

It spells TEA to me when it comes to the F&B branch of the agnes b. brand, just because the chain offers the prestigious Mariage Frères teas, and the French tea house has been commissioned a special mix by the fashion brand.

I spotted a new blend called Esprit de Noel ($38) (French for the title of this review), a time-limited specialty. Surprisingly it was still available although it was already well past Christmas. OK it's better late than never so I decided to give it a try. Then I had to find the perfect companion for my tea, something sweet but not too filling. The counter lady suggested the "napolean" type of pastries ($30@) - there were 3 varieties, namely Marion (caramel), Juliette (strawberry) and Vanille (vanilla), the base was the same for all 3 and the difference was in the flavour of the custard filling. There I was, in a tri-lemma, and finally settled for Vanille after much struggle.

As with other agnes b. cafes all over Hong Kong, the wtc branch was simple and clean, with classic French-inspired flooring and fabric chairs, providing a laid-back ambience as I sipped my Esprit de Noel. According to the in-store product flyer, it was a blend of black tea, orange peel, cinnamon and ginger. There was almond and Bourbon vanilla as well (from the Mariage Frères website). In fact the most prominent flavour was cinnamon, one of my favourite spices, with a slight hint of orange. In retrospect I thought I smelled some vanilla as well as the aroma was very sweet. The fragrance was still strong even on 2nd brew. I nearly wanted to take home the tea bag as a 香囊!

Vanille, however, was below my expectation. The puff pastry went a bit damp from staying in the fridge for too long, and thus lacked the crispiness and flakiness the pastry should have. The vanilla custard was light and smooth too, with just the right touch of vanilla.

The only other disappointment was probably that I didn't have time to shop at agnes b. the fashion shop!

(The "4" for taste is for Esprit de Noel.)

Passed by this restaurant after lunch and at the request of my friend, who hasn't had cakes from Agnes B before, I went in to accompany her and got a choco-cake.

I just had a little bite though as I was far too full from lunch. The chocolate cake was excellently made with layers divided into hazelnut flour, chocolate and with a little bit of wine. My friend complimented the little bit of wine inside the cake and that the crust was very delicious. Not too crunchy. However, we both found it a bit hard to cut through the cake down to the bottom - the crust as it got a bit too hard.

The cake was not cheap, very expensive as well - $30. But since my friend had never tried one before, it was worth the price, I guess. As for myself, I'm not a fan of Agnes B cakes and would not go for them on my own as they're far too expensive. Service is excellent though with a very hospitable "Goodbye and Thank you" when we left the restaurant.

A friend sent me a coupon for buy two get one free from the WTC More branch, so we used it this time for buying some refreshments. This was a very good arrangement. We bought one lemon tartlet, chocolate chestnut cake and blueberry tartlet.

Lemon tartlet: This one was the first one we ate amongst the three cakes. Wow, the lemon cream was very smooth and had lovely scent of lemon, yet the favour of lemon and sweetness was well-balanced. Adding the butter-scent of the pastry, giving it a perfect match. I love this cake very much! One of the best experiences I have ever had with cakes!

Chocolate chestnut cake: This cake was beautifully decorated with a cascade of chocolate coating on surface of the chestnut mousse. The chestnut mousse had rich flavour of chestnut and inside, there was a layer of chocolate cake which matched perfectly with the chocolate sauce outside. The mixture gave a symphony inside my mouth. Besides, its chocolate crunchy base of the cake was very yummy. Really matched with the cake as well!

Blueberry tartlet: When compared to the other two, this one was a bit ordinary. However, still like it as the custard sauce underneath the blueberries was nice and tasty, matched, again, perfectly with the pastry.

This promotion ends 31 July, if not, I would imagine how many cakes would we consume if it extends the promotion.