Pierre Hermé (中環)

Pierre Herme was always on the top of my must-go-to list whenever I was in London, so I was very excited when I heard that they'll open a store at IFC. I missed their unique flavours, especially white truffle! Hopefully that'll come to HK in the winter. 

I got hold of a box of macarons on their opening day. Their staff informed me that the macarons were sold with gift boxes. A box of 7 macarons cost HKD 210, and a box of 12 costs HKD 330.I was slightly disappointed because the macarons were abit soft and easy to crumble. This was probably due to the humidity, and it was pretty humid for the first few days of its opening. (I made another visit a week later and this problem was gone.) 

The fillings for the macaron were perfection. I especially love the Rose and Creme Brulee ones. The creme brulee seemed abit sweeter than the ones I used to have, however it was still a lot better than its competitors. The Inifiniment Chocolate Perou macaron will definitely be popular amongst dark chocolate fans. One of the best chocolate macarons I've tasted (the other would be Jean Paul's dark chocolate macaron). 

The Celeste macaron was another favourite. It's very fruity, with strong flavours of passion fruit and strawberry. I had this olive oil and vanilla macaron during my second visit. The filling was generous and the taste of olive oil was unique. I like how this is a twist of the usual vanilla macaron. It did get a bit oily after I left the macaron out for a while. A flavour which was limited to Asian countries is Imagine - a green tea and sesame macaron. One side of the biscuit was green tea, whereas the other side was topped with sesame. The filling was a mixture of both, so there was one thin layer of green tea and another of black sesame. This was one of the flavours which weren't very sweet, so you could easily devour a few and still have space for more. 

Overall, I can't be happier that Pierre Herme has finally opened a shop in HK. I will definitely go back for more. Hopefully they could sell them by piece, so that I could get one or two whenever I pass by. 

baby Mon cher (銅鑼灣)

As roll cakes become more and more popular, I couldn't help noticing a relatively new shop selling Dojima Roll and their crossover with Sanrio, resulting in a Hello Kitty cake!My friend and I decided to get both so we could try each of them out.I chose the Milk Hello Kitty, which consisted of a roll cake base with a milk mousse on top. There's strawberry jam inside the mousse. The mousse was really smooth and had a strong milky taste. The eyes, nose and flower are made from chocolate. The roll was more cream than cake, the cream was smooth but the cake was a bit dense. I enjoyed this although it was a bit sweet near the end. My friend had the chocolate Hello Kitty, which was a roll cake with chocolate mousse and orange jam inside. The chocolate mousse balanced well with the cream of the roll cake. Overall it wasn't as sweet as the milk one, so this would be better for those who don't prefer eating desserts which are too sweet.

九龍香格里拉大酒店大堂酒廊 (尖沙咀)

Went to have high tea with my friends one afternoon. We've had our eyes set on the tea set at Kowloon Shangri-la for some time... one of the main reasons being the huge tea stand! The stand was set on the ground next to our table. We shared the set for 2 amongst the three of us. Theres quite a lot in the set, so we were all full by the end. There's 4 'layers': scones, savoury, sweet and petit fours. The set also includes 2 drinks, either coffee or something from their selection of teas. The scones were pretty good, although my heart belongs to the ones at clipper lounge (with their delicious rose jam) and intercontinental (earl grey jam!). I enjoyed the cakes, especially the chocolate one in the middle. The carrot cake was soft and the cream cheese was smooth. Service is impeccable, the waitress serving us was polite and very attentive.
A great afternoon

Azure Restaurant Slash Bar (中環)

My friend and I decided to try the semi-buffet lunch at Azure after seeing their Earth Day promotion. Their lunch starts at 12pm and lasts until 2:30pm. The appetisers and desserts were set out on a table - buffet style, and each person could order a choice of fresh / cooked seafood, a main and coffee or tea.

There was a selection of salads and cold cuts, including smoked salmon and salami. There was a soup and bread as well. I thought the appetisers were pretty good, especially the smoked salmon. For the seafood we ordered the seafood composition and the platter so we could try both. It was ok, not really special.

For the main I ordered the steak. I kind of regret ordering the steak... The slice itself was pretty thin, which means it could be easily overcooked. It was rough and I gave up on finishing it in the end. My friend ordered the roast chicken. It was better than the steak, but still it lacked taste.

The desserts were better. There was a variety of different mini cakes, mousse cups, and a selection of fruit. I've read comments saying that the cheesecake is good, and I agree, although it would have been better if it was kept cold. The mango mousse was delicious (especially the second one I had when they refilled the selection so it was cold!) It contained 'popping candy', which seems to be very popular nowadays. The Earth tiramisu for Earth Day was really good. It was made up of green tea mousse, red bean, espresso sponge and chocolate 'soil'. Even the pot is edible! It's not as filling as the traditional tiramisu, but even so we were really full by the end of the meal.

I quite enjoyed the meal overall, the idea of semi-buffet lunch is great and the price is reasonable. I would visit again, however I really need to choose my main course wisely.

Patisserie Tony Wong (九龍城)

I saw this 'cake' a while ago but never got the chance to try it because I rarely go to kowloon city or wanchai. So when I passed by, I couldn't help but go in and get one The Ruby Diamond looks amazing and very realistic, definitely popular amongst girls. The outer layer of the diamond is chocolate covered with a thin layer of sparkle. The sparkle comes off easily, making the cake very delicate. Inside the diamond is a mix of hazelnut cream and chocolate cake in layers. The hazelnut cream is a bit too sweet, but when eaten together with the almond sugar crust bottom, it evens out the sweetness. I must mention the small caramelised hazelnut on the side. I didn't expect much but it was crunchy and very tasty. As there was only one, that probably made it that little bit more special. I thought it was an innovative item on their menu and was worth trying.