Wandering Fel

Showing posts with label Hong Kong Cafe. Show all posts

It always feels sad when you are on your last day of your travelling. While it may feel good to be back to the familiar setting of daily lifestyle, you have to be ready with the challenges which come with it. Since reality is so hard to live in, I decided to have my favourite food in the world in my last day in Hong Kong, ice cream. Yumz. It is not difficult to find an ice cream shop in Hong Kong because the city embraces dessert cafe culture and every dessert cafe guarantees a long queue in front of its door especially on a weekend. I have heard so many raves on the appearance of many Japanese cafes in Hong Kong but have not had chance until today to try them out. Soe is kindly enough to bring us to a popular Japanese dessert cafe in Hong Kong, Via Tokyo, which happens to be located near to our hotel. Win-win.

4D Hong Kong Foodie Trip: Via Tokyo, Causeway Bay

Since the size of the cafe is not too big, there are not many seating available inside the cafe. This means one thing, you have to queue outside. Via Tokyo is pretty strict about rules. For instance, all the diners must have already reached and there is a minimum order imposed (one item per person).

Restaurant rules at Via Tokyo Causeway Bay Hong Kong

However, since Via Tokyo has an abundant selection of desserts to select from, I don't think the regulation is hard to met. Similar to other Japanese dessert cafe, Via Tokyo puts a lot of pride in its matcha ice cream. A lot of parfaits which involve matcha ice cream are displayed on their menu such as Fruit Matcha Soft Cream Shiratama Anmitsu (HKD 56). If you prefer to just have the ice cream without any other toppings, you may want to go for their ice cream cone (HKD 34 for matcha flavor/ HKD 32 for original cream flavor).

Menu from Via Tokyo at Causeway Bay Hong Kong

If you are not a fan of matcha ice cream, Via Tokyo provides other flavour such Houjicha (HKD 34 for cone/ HKD 36 for cup). Japanese cafe is known for their knack to provide limited edition depending on the season. It's kinda make changing of season pretty much interesting though.

Limited edition summer menu from Via Tokyo Causeway Bay

Since we actually have not really recovered from the lunch + coffee + bubble tea that we consumed earlier, we tried to mix and match our orders so that we would not be overwhelmed by let's say overabundant of cakes or ice creams. I could not really explain well on how good the ice cream is as I am not an expert in the ice cream world. But, the black sesame soft serve (HKD 36) is nicely flavoured, not so sweet plus it's so enjoyable to eat soft serve ice cream because of its softer texture compared to normal ice cream sold in the supermarket.

Black sesame ice cream and green tea roll from Via Tokyo

The Green Tea Cream Roll (HKD 40) from Via Tokyo is so fluffy and it literally sent me to matcha heaven. From each bite of the roll I can feel the lightly sweet sponge and the melt-in-your-mouth green tea cream. I love the fact that Via Tokyo uses Uji Matcha for all their matcha products. After all Kyoto is the best matcha-producing area in Japan.

If you have the time, you should pop up to the next door shop, Mammy Pancake for their HK style egg pancakes (egglettes) and waffles. Mammy Pancake's popularity definitely does not lose to its neighbour, Via Tokyo. Soe and R5 have to queue for a while before they came back with a bag of Chocolate Chip Egg Pancakes (HKD 18) and Peanut Butter Waffles (HKD 16).

Hong Kong pancake from Mammy Pancake Causeway Bay

It is better to consume both food while they are hot but since we were hanging out at Via Tokyo, this is not viable because the waiter at Via Tokyo definitely will not allow us to consume outside food at Via Tokyo. While the egg pancake and the waffle are enjoyable and make a nice tidbit to munch on while checking out the city of Hong Kong, I would not say that they are fantastic. Nice to enjoy ut that's pretty much it.

Peanut butter waffles from Mammy Pancake at Causeway Bay

Via Tokyo is located at:

Shop 1-A/1-B, G/F Leishun Court

106 - 126 Leighton Road,

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Opening hours:

Daily 11AM - 10.30PM

Mammy Pancake is located at:

Shop 17, G/F Leishun Court

1 - 5 Haven Street,

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Opening hours:

Daily 12PM - 8.30PM

If you are looking for the best cafehopping scene in Hong Kong, you should make your way to Old Town Central. The Old Town Central area is outlined by Wyndham Street, Caine Road, Possession Street and Queen's Road Central, with Hollywood Road coursing through the middle. The maze of streets and alleys in Old Town Central hide the city's best heritage, arts and hidden cafe spots. The area seems to be a very popular wedding photoshoot venue as well. We saw that there is a couple who was currently having a photoshoot (albeit the hot weather, ouch!) on a Saturday morning.

4D Hong Kong Foodie Trip: Cafe Deadend, Central

Old Town Central seems to be where a mix or urban settlement and shops residing side by side. I won't be surprised if the rental rate for a room here is skyrocketing despite the small size of the room and the outwardly-run-down appearance of the building. The area is rather quiet on a Saturday morning but you will be surprised when you want to look for seats in any cafe around this area.

YY and R5 could not really function without caffeine intake, so we asked Soe to bring us to nearest coffee place around here. He wanted to introduce us to one of his favourite coffee joints in Hong Kong but in order to reach the cafe, we have to wander around the neighbourhood for a while.

Serene area in Central Hong Kong for cafehopping

And made a turn into a deadend corner because the cafe that he brought us is named Cafe Deadend. What an apt and yet pretty creative name for this little corner cafe. The tables in Cafe Deadend were all occupied when we reached the cafe around 10.30AM. I suppose Cafe Deadend must have been pretty popular with the neighbourhood.

Cafe Deadend has both indoor and outdoor seatings but under the hot weather just like that day, I don't think there are people who wish to opt to sit outside because they would just literally melt away. Another point to note is that you have to do some self-serving if you are sitting outside. So if you want to receive table service, you should go for the indoor seating (if there's capacity).

Cafe Deadend, a quaint cafe in Central Hong Kong

At Cafe Deadend, you will be able to order any coffee brews of all kinds including dirty (a shot of espresso with cold milk) and iced espresso soda. Food wise, Cafe Deadend split their menu between before 12.30PM and after 12.30PM. Cafe Deadend's before 12.30PM menu includes Po's Morning (HKD 65) which consists of bread/pastries with butter/jam, Poached Eggs & Prosciutto or Crab (HKD 85) and all day bagels for HKD 90. Salads such as Kale Salad (HKD 120) and Caprese Salad (HKD 110) are available in their after 12.30PM menu.

The group were still full from the awesome dim sum feast at Dim Sum Square earlier, so we decided to just stick with coffee. YY who is a fan of hot coffee has ordered her usual favourite latte (HKD 45) while R5 sticks to Iced Cappucino (HKD 50). Coffees taste great although I don't think they are different from the coffee which I tried at 18 Grams at Causeway Bay. I do not really possess a discerning tastebud for coffee. Hahaha.

Coffees from Cafe Deadend at Central Hong Kong

We spotted more and more cafes and art boutiques alongside the same street at Old Town Central like Lighthouse, a store specialising in vintage lamps if you like to buy one to place in your room.

And Teakha, one of the popular Western teahouses in Hong Kong. I initially planned to visit Teakha but Soe said Teakha is somewhat similar to TWG in Singapore and both YY and R5 are not really a fan of tea so we just gave it a miss. Maybe next time, Teakha.

Cafe Deadend is located at:

G/F, 72 Po Hing Fong

Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Opening hours:

Tuesday to Sunday 9.30AM - 6PM

Closed on Mondays

After a back to back consumption of instant noodles at two different cha chaan tengs (i.e. Local teahouses), I was thinking that it's time for us to chill down at a cafe since the weather outside is so hot and we probably could chill down somewhere comfortable and air-conditioned. Thankfully, other than the local teahouses, Hong Kong's cafe scene is something that is worth checking out as well. Most of the time we were too focused on trying out local cha chaan tengs, we ended up having no time to try out what the cafes in Hong Kong can offer. Since we were already seeking shelter from the heat at The One in Tsim Sha Tsui area, we decided to hang out at one of the pretty cafes inside the shopping mall, Caffe Habitu.

4D Hong Kong Foodie Trip: Habitu Cafe, Tsim Sha Tsui

Caffe Habitu is actually one of Habitu group of restaurant in Hong Kong. The same owner of Caffe Habitu has opened two other restaurants, Habitu All Day and Habitu Table at other shopping malls in Hong Kong. Caffe Habitu is apparently famous for its in-house blend, Classico no. 3 which consists of 5 different single-origins coffee beans - Huila (Columbia), Cerrado (Brazil), Sidamo (Ethiopia), Mbeya (Tanzania) and Mandheling (Indonesia). In addition to Classico no. 3, Caffe Habitu has 6 signatures latte which consist of Espresso Latte and Wellness Latte.

Menu from Habitu Cafe at Tsim Sha Tsui HK

While Caffe Rosa (HKD 49), Caffe Earl Grey (HKD 49) and Caffe Brulee (HKD 49) may have been a perfect companion for the Crespelle Cake, the selection of Wellness Latte from Caffe Habitu is equally interesting on its own. If you are into food and coffee photography, you may want to go for one of Caffe Habitu's signature latte from the Wellness range.

Cake display at Habitu Cafe Tsim Sha Tsui

Since YY and R5 are in charge of ordering, I was in charge of reserving seats. Caffe Habitu seems to have a very good business because the cafe is pretty much near full house at 3PM on weekdays afternoon. The cafe gives a very nice chill vibe for both leisure and business meetings. I wonder what kind of business that people do when they can meet up for coffee on weekday afternoon. Sales, maybe?

Habitu Cafe at The One Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong

My face literally lit up when YY came back with a slice of Caffe Habitu's trending cake, Crespelle Cake. The flavour for their signature Crespelle Cake changes from time to time depending on the season. Since it was summer, we decided to go for Rosemantic Summer (HKD 44) although turns out the Rose Crespelle Cake is available all season. Crespelle Cake from Caffe Habitu is basically a millefeuille cake which has 20 layers of delight, smooth and soft cream with a mix of crunchy and sweetness at every bite. Mmm. I cannot really appreciate rose flavour for a cake so I personally think other flavour such as chocolate will taste better for a crespelle cake.

Rose mille crepes from Habitu Cafe at Tsim Sha Tsui

Finally R5 came back with the much needed cuppa. If you are wondering what on earth were we drinking at Caffe Habitu, the un-ordinary mustard color and pink latte are actually two of Caffe Habitu's Signature Wellness Latte. YY did not really dare to venture into the Wellness Latte and decided to stick with her Espresso Habiccino (HKD 48), one of Caffe Habitu's ice blended beverages. I have to admire R5 for her guts to try out mustard color latte though. Her order of Turmeric Latte (HKD 48) really incorporates pungent turmeric in the concoction. This is the first time in my life I see a combination of turmeric and latte in a beautiful cup. Taste okay if you don't mind drinking turmeric which supposedly has healing benefit, I suppose. Meanwhile, my pink latte is actually Beetroot Latte (HKD 48) but it is mixed with a lot of milk foam and hence, the taste of beetroot is not as strong as the pungent turmeric. Fancy drinks which we don't mind to have once in a while. After all, not everyday you can see yellow and pink latte.

Coffee and cake from Habitu Cafe at Tsim Sha Tsui

Caffe Habitu is located at:

The ONE

Shop L608, 100 Nathan Road

Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Opening hours:

Monday to Thursday 11AM - 9.30PM

Friday 11AM - 11PM

Saturday 10.30AM - 11PM

Sunday 10.30AM - 10PM

My visit to Hong Kong is usually filled with visitation to local teahouses which are also known as cha chaan teng. While local milk tea and coffee in Hong Kong taste pretty good, I am curious at how the Western coffee houses fare in Hong Kong. A lot of online reviews rave on the local cafehopping scene and since there is one quite well-known cafe called 18 Grams Specialty Coffee ("18 Grams") near our hotel, we decided to pop by on Saturday morning. The cafe was full house when we reached around 9.30ish in the morning and hence, we went for a quick breakfast at the opposite Tsui Wah to wait for the morning crowd to dissipate. We only managed to get seats around 10AM.

4D Hong Kong Foodie Trip: 18 Grams Specialty Coffee, Causeway Bay

The reason of why the cafe is so easily full house is because the cafe is quite small, like at-the-corner kind of cafe. I actually kinda like this kind of cozy small cafe and we don't have such cafes in Singapore. I don't know why but it kinda gives you a comfortable chillax feeling in the neighborhood. But I don't really chill at cafe by myself in Singapore despite I'm being unemployed at the moment. Ah it's probably because paying for coffee at the price of at least SGD 5 is kinda too much for someone who does not earn any income at the moment. Oops why did I ramble on my current life situation? Sorry. Hehe.

18 Grams Specialty Coffee at Causeway Bay

There are only three staffs behind the counter but I guess that's pretty much enough manpower because after all, 18 Grams specialises in coffee although they do have some breakfast items like toast and muffins. The non-caffeinated drinks are also available at 18 Grams if you can't take caffeine. The price for the coffee ranges from HKD 30 to HKD 50 while the price for other selection like chocolate and tea ranges from HKD 45 to HKD 55.

Coffee menu from 18 Grams Specialty Coffee at Causeway Bay

It seems to be such a waste not to try out their coffee especially after a lot of media such as OpenRice and Oriental Daily gave 18 Grams positive feedback on their coffees. I was quite curious on shakerato and it is apparently a drink prepared using espresso and ice cubes. An iced espresso I suppose?

Notice board at 18 Grams Specialty Coffee Causeway Bay

Despite the fancy name, I don't think my noob stomach and tastebud can take the wonder of shakerato so I stick to my usual drink, hazelnut latte (or mocha, which seems to be on the sweeter side compared to the other type of coffee). My hazelnut drink has the most amazing latte art I've ever seen so far in my coffee drinking history. I wonder if I should take this opportunity of being unemployed to brush my skill in latte art. But then again, taking up new skill needs money and money is really not on my side at this moment. Sigh. #emoagain

Since I am not really a coffee connoisseur, I can't really review how good a cup of coffee is in detail (for example, by examining its acidity, aroma, body, flavor and aftertaste). My noob review on my hazelnut latte will be well, this is a safest (and pretty enjoyable) coffee to drink when you are not really a coffee drinker. It is easier to enjoy hazelnut latte because the hazelnut syrup creates sweet flavour of the otherwise, bitter coffee. And I, for one, can't really enjoy bitter coffee. Why would I pay so much for something taste bitter, really? My life is already bitter enough as it is. Oops, here we go again.

Coffee time at 18 Grams Specialty Coffee Causeway Bay

18 Grams Specialty Coffee is located at:

Unit C, G/F, 15 Cannon St.

Causeway Bay

Opening hours:

Daily 8AM - 8PM

Morning in Hong Kong may not always be filled with sunshine of hope but I am a fan of foggy and gloomy day as long as it does not rain. After all I would not be tanned if I am not exposed to sunshine (but what about vit D? Uhm). So yeah, despite the gloomy outlook of the day from our hotel's window at Butterfly at Morrison, we are looking forward to second day of our foodie adventure in Hong Kong. The best thing about girls' trip is that you tend to chat all the way till you can't hold your eyes open anymore about the past, the present and your expectation that you and your girl friends have in life. While I heard from some people that travelling together may be a make-it-or-break-it event, I hope our friendship lasts till the last day of the trip. Hehe.

4D Hong Kong Foodie Trip: Breakfast at Tsui Wah, Causeway Bay

Saturday morning in Hong Kong is filled with bustling activity as the locals are busy shopping in the wet market. The wet market in Hong Kong is located right under a lot of run-down-buildings which seem to be residence buildings of Hong Kong people. Sometimes these buildings look run-down from outside because after all Hong Kong is one of those countries which is always visited by typhoon every year. I stayed in this kind of building before in Taiwan (another country which is also always visited by typhoon yearly) and despite the outward run-down look, the inside of my studio looks neat and clean. So I suppose these buildings should be more or less in the same situation although there are articles which I read about how small an accommodation in Hong Kong can be.

Roasted meats seem to be a way of living here because there are roasted meat stalls here and there and oh gosh, the smell of the roasted meats is so good.

But since we already had our share of roasted meat from Joy Hing's the night before, we are more interested to start the day by trying out local breakfast scene. I actually included 18 Grams as our breakfast venue and it is located right opposite this Tsui Wah Restaurant. But we ended up having breakfast at Tsui Wah first because 18 Grams was full-house at 9AM+ on Saturday. Since we were pretty much reluctant in drinking coffee while standing up, so we decided to chill and eat breakfast at Tsui Wah first while waiting for the crowd at 18 Grams to disperse.

Tsui Wah Restaurant at Causeway Bay Hong Kong

Tsui Wah has always been my favourite cha chaan teng in Hong Kong and I've at least visited this restaurant at least once everytime I visit this country. The reason of why I like Tsui Wah amongst the other cha chaan teng is because they have so many chains in Hong Kong and most of the chains have a lot of seats so I never need to queue whenever I want to dine in Tsui Wah. In addition, I find that the service staff at Tsui Wah is generally friendlier compared to let's say Lan Fong Yuen or Australia Dairy Company (not sure if I score a winning streat at Tsui Wah for never encountering bad service staff before). Last but not least, the food and drink menu from Tsui Wah is so extensive, you will need more than 5 minutes to decide what to eat and what to drink.

Since we come for breakfast, breakfast set is available and we decided to share 1 breakfast set + 2 additional drinks. We chose a cup of hot Hong Kong milk tea (left cup) and yuan yang (right cup). Hong Kong is famous for its unique taste of milk tea so you should really give it a try when you are in Hong Kong. I like the fact that Tsui Wah let you add your own sugar, if you desire to. My milk tea is nice enough as it is and I did not add anything to it. Meanwhile YY needs her yuan yang fix very bad as she will not be able to function without caffeine in her blood. Yuan yang is another popular beverage in Hong Kong and it is made with a composition of 3 parts coffee and 7 parts HK milk tea. I initially have reservation of how good a mixture of coffee and milk tea can taste but it is actually quite a working combination. YY seems to enjoy her drink pretty much.

Condensed milk tea and yuan yang from Tsui Wah

R5's drink of iced yuan yang came with the rest of the breakfast set, a bowl of macaroni soup, a plate of crispy buns with condensed milk, and a plate of buns and two fried eggs with a fried sausage. Crispy buns with condensed milk is one of the top 10 dishes which are usually ordered by its customers (oh yes, the menu did indicate which dishes are popular with the customers) and I do agree with them as I love the combination of crispiness and sweetness from the buns and the condensed milk.

Breakfast set from Tsui Wah Restaurant at Causeway Bay

I find the macaroni soup somewhat ordinary although it gives you comfort if consumed on a rainy day. The soup is actually made from chicken stock. So it is made by boiling chicken stock in the water and then, add the cooked macaroni and other ingredients such as sliced ham and mushroom. If you'd like to, you can add a bit of milk to the soup to make it richer.

Macaroni from Tsui Wah Restaurant Hong Kong

This kinda looks like a Western breakfast than Hong Kong. Nothing too special about it as everyone should know how fried eggs and fried sausage taste with Anchor butter. Hahaha.