trying cova's cup mont blanc and signature mango dome tart,
i was longing to be refreshed by the summer mango,
and also,
i remembered that cova loved to use pistachio to mix with chestnut,
dunno why.
tea buffet this time was same,
chestnut and pistachio,
and mango infused in cakes.1. chestnut cake
whole piece chestnut was just as sweet like candy,
i like its hardness,
fulfilling and satisfying.
cream was surprising not cream,
but i couldn't describe the difference,
just not simple cream.
pistachio was not working like that in cup mont blanc,
because they were too fine crushed this time.
sponge was good and moist enough,
mashed chestnut was a bit to sweet to eat separately,
but just right to eat in a layer in cake,
cream was right in amount and sweetness.2. raspberry and strawberry
only stupid melon in fruit salad,
so i stole berries from cream and jelly pot,
by the way no one eat them,
why making so a large pot?
berries are much larger than those i tasted in kowloon tong cova.3. mango cheese cake
wow, wow, wow.
this was my favourite cake in cova now.
so surprising,as i was just not a big fans of mango but berries,
blueberry cheese cake here was not as good as this in my eyes,
jelly then juicy mango then american hard cheese then mango sponge then again my beloved bake type cheese cake and finally fresh mango again and wet moist soaked mango sponge,much better than signature blueberry cheese cake,
also removed butter graham base made me glad.
definitely a revisit soon.

Cova in Pacific Place has always been one of my faves, but today I came to the TST branch to grab lunch with a friend who works in TST.

How can the same Cova but different branches be so utterly different? First, we had reservations, but the waiter brought me to a table that was an inch away from the utensils cabinet, while there were a bunch of other better tables.

Then came the menu, and it was all set lunch's. Since i thought i'd eat less by avoiding that all you can eat salad bar, I asked the waitress if there was an a- la - carte menu. For some odd reasons, the waitress (who by the way, has red and frizzed cheap hair) points out that if i do order a la carte, it would be a lot cheaper. Then she pointed out all the cheapest things on the menu and told me their prices. Earth to waitress, firstly, people that eat at Cova can care less about a fifty dollar price difference, second, a la carte is always more expensive then set deals, alright.

Then came the food, the tomato soup was alright, nothing special. Then came my tuna steak, which was way over cooked, tough and chewy. The tangy sauce and side salad made up for the poorly cooked tuna.

It seems that there are tons of bad reviews on this Cova branch already, perhaps the management should really take in the criticism and improve on it.

It was just a re-celebration of our Valentine'day cos we had been busy on that day.
We chose this place cos of my gal friend like eating cakes much. So why not going COVA for cakes..as it had been so famous for it.
It had been a nice and relax Saturday afternoon tea at TST Cova. The decoration and atmosphere was quite elegant and grand filled with nice staff as well. Services was splendid and really polite. During the buffet time period, it was really free and relax , filled with peaceful. Notwithstanding, there are some background music as well. Felt like being in of the coffee shops at England.
The tea cakes are all ok with quite a number of choices but not limited to chocolates, chestnuts and well-known cheese cakes and mini- sandwidches as well. Still had the salmon sandwidches taste in my mind too. Love it!
Finally, we had kind of traditional lemon / mint hot tea and chit chats, sitting and resting.
Overall, the place was excellent and relaxed atmosphere. It is a good place for gathering with good friends or relatives for talk specially after shopping.

we used to only go to cova for high tea, until one time we ate a risotto for afternoon tea, and fell in love with it. so far they made the best risotto in hk, following the traditional way.

we were lucky that they were doing the boston lobster special meal, so we ordered one risotto and one pasta as main, and lobster bisque to start with. later we had tiramisu for dessert. all is presented nicely and they are delicious =)

I prefer fishes cooked in Western style than in Chinese style. Cova's grilled sea bass is on the top 5 positive of my favor fish dish in HK.

Although it costs over HK$200 lunch, it's absolutely worth because

(1) high quality french bread loaf, always crispy and warm;
(2) stable quality appetizer bar which sautee mushroom is a must;
(3) lovely grilled sea bass, and
(4) signature dessert.

The only thing I don't feel comfortable is the relatively crowd dinning room. Still acceptable.

When being asked where to go for a nice and relax Sunday afternoon tea in the TST area, the two places that come to my mind immediately are Cova or Niji. Cova was our choice because it was the first shop we passed by. The decor and atmosphere was of the usual simple elegance but during weekends afternoon tea session, the place seemed more causal and lively due to the larger than usual crowds that come here for its afternoon tea buffet. During the non-buffet time period, the place was rather peaceful and somewhat exclusive. I personally prefer the non-buffet session for its atmosphere.

When we arrived, the tea buffet session was over. We were fine with that because we did not intend to have that anyhow, we just wanted to find a place to sit and relax over a cup of coffee and a cake maybe. To our surprise, on a Sunday, no cake set was available, we have to order drinks and cakes separately! Interesting indeed. Instead of ordering cakes, we order other items to share.

(1) Banana Milk shake
The flavor was rich but the shake was not thick and creamy enough. An extra minute of blending would be nice because there remained traces of ice in the drink. Suddenly want milk shake from Triple-O!

(2) Finger Sandwich
The presentation was rather carefree in my opinion. It came with smoked salmon, celery, avocado, cucumbers and prawns. However, by the way it was cut, it was hard to share because each "finger" contained a separate set of ingredients. The smoked salmon section of the sandwich was good but the prawn + cucumber one seemed a be plain in taste because no dressing or sauce was used. I think I should have ordered a cake instead for my little tea break.

Likes:

* Milk shake - Rich in banana flavor
* Environment - simple elegance (a bit overcrowded nowadays)

Dislikes:

* Milk Shake - not creamy and thick enough
* no dressing or sauce for the prawn section of the finger sandwich

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Original Blog: http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/09/cova-caffe.html

During my trip in HK, I had three afternoon tea here with three different group of friends. The location is excellent and the dinning room is also well-decorated. It's good for me and my wife because she can do the shopping while I meet my friends and relative in Cova.

The afternoon tea buffet includes a fresh juice, all-you-can-eat desserts and pastries. Most of them are italian. It can include a coffee or tea. You can order a specialty coffee, such as latte, cappacinno or expresso, without additional charges. Their tea is loose leafs instead of tea bag in a pot. I picked the mint tea but too dilute - not my cup of "tea" (ha ha ha).

Since I had three times of such tea buffet in a week, now I know their oatmeal cake and chocolate cake are the signature items. Choices are not many but all are good.

I will recommend to my friends but not 3 times a week. (I think I will get the cake set next time instead)

So happy that can go to Cova to celebrate my BD! It's one of our to-do-list.

We ordered set dinner. Can choose between soup or buffet starters. We chose the latter one of course.

The buffet includes pama ham, melon, octopus, smoked salmon, salad, cold-cut ham, mussle, olives, gnocchi...Yummy!

Our main courses are tenderloin and shrimp linguine. The sauce for the linguine is tasty.

Last but not least is the desert! We can choose from chocolate ice-cream with chocolate mousse, tiramisu and mango cake. We chose the first and last one. I saw that most of the tables ordered ice-cream. I bet it'll be good.

As it was my BD, they offered each of us a glass of champagne.

Thank you so much!!! It was such a memorable night! I enjoyed every moment so much~

I have been hearing how good the food is at Cova. But today, when I went again, I was reconfirmed that this is an overpriced restaurant.

service was not up to standard (according to the price of the food). That means, if I pay for over $150 per main dish, I could get better service at some other places.

1) The attitude of the waitors/waitresses gave me a lower class feeling. My friend and I were standing at the door right in front of the reception who was talking on his cell phone. A waitor inside the restaurant saw us then brought us to the table.

2) the restaurant just had 2 other tables of guests when we arrived at 6:30pm. The waitor was smart and brought us to the table that was close to the glass doors making the impression of a "full house". But mind you, those tables near the glass doors were cozy (i.e. too packed).

3) when we ordered our dishes, the waitresses simply didn't get it! We needed to open the menu and pointed to each of the dishes that we wanted to order.

I had seafood squid ink spagetti while my friend has a risotto & soup of the day. The sauce of my spagetti sucks (well... in fact I didn't taste the flavor of the source b/c it was simply too little). I was still full from my tea, so that was the only thing that I ordered (which i was glad b/c food quality wasn't that good to my standard).

Went to have tea buffet with mum and gf at this restaurant. The things are quite nicely made and there are lots of cakes to choose from, but i think hot things is not enough verities to choose from, they should make some sandwiches and other things ma. The cakes are veyr nice here, i like the cheese cake the most, the cheese taste is very strong and its very filling.