4D Hong Kong Foodie Trip: I Cremeria, Causeway bay
It seems that the land of Hong Kong has been invaded by the wonderful invader, Japanese desserts. I have read somewhere online about Via Tokyo (which I have included in the itinerary for the last day) but upon one of our random explorations in Hong Kong, we stumbled upon I Cremeria, another ice cream parlour which seems to originate from Japan. Since Hong Kong's weather is so hot on summer days and we got pretty tired from exploring the shopping scene of Causeway Bay area, we decided to stop by and check out I Cremeria.
I Cremeria specialises itself in soft cream parfait (i.e. smooth texture milky ice cream). Its menu is divided into a few section from Frutta Crema (the pairing of soft cream parfait with premium Japanese fruit in season, did I see melon?), Giapoponese Crema (the pairing of Japanese Cha-Ya sweets with Kyoto's Uji Matcha and Kochi's Sawatari tea Daifuku), Classico Crema (premium soft cream blended with Japanese Hokkaido fresh milk and cream), Cremadoro (soft cream covered with 99% finest edible gold leaf), and Affogato (pairing of hot coffee or chocolate with soft cream). The menu is rather extensive and that's why YY and R5 spent a few minutes in silence to study the menu while I'm keeping our table safe.
After their careful deliberation (which seems to take forever to be honest with you), both ladies come back with two kind of parfaits in their hands. R5 came back with the green parfait on the left, the Exclusive Sawatari Tea Daifuku Parfait from Kochi (HKD 56). The parfait basically combines green tea soft cream with toppings such as red beans and tea mochi. I love Japanese green tea so green tea soft cream is definitely on my favourite food list. The taste of green tea soft cream from I Cremeria is not bitter and yet not so sweet either, it's just nice. Meanwhile, YY brought back Affogato of Monbana Hot Chocolate (HKD 53). I thought affogato always refer to caffeinated drink like coffee but I Cremeria offers a combination of hot chocolate with soft cream instead so that people like YY and I, who have weak tolerance for caffeine, can enjoy affogato without having to suffer insomnia at night. Soft cream and hot chocolate pairing is one of the pairing in the world which cannot go wrong but since it's chocolate, it can be rather sweet.
After finishing our desserts, it's just right for us to continue our exploration of Causeway Bay. The area is actually one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong besides Mongkok and Tsim Sha Tsui. There are so many shopping malls which are located within close distance from one to another like Times Square, Hysan Place and Fashion Walk (where I Cremeria is located). I wonder if watches are so popular here in Hong Kong because I keep seeing watches store from the normal brand to the high class one. YY entered one of the high class branded watches store to check out a watch for her beloved husband but apparently the kind of watch that her husband wants is not yet available at that store. She breathed a sigh of relief since that means more money for her to spend for herself. Tsk tsk tsk.
If you want to visit the largest Apple store in Hong Kong, you should make your way to Hysan Place at Causeway Bay. I personally like the shopping mall because it has many overseas brands which are catered more for younger people and even, Eslite bookstore from Taiwan, has set up its stores here. There is one waffle/ pancake restaurant at one of the higher level at Hysan Place which is perpetually full house during our visit to Hong Kong. Is the country currently suffering from waffle/ pancake craze? I suppose we can only find out how good the restaurant is when we make another trip to Hong Kong since it's way impossible for us to pick a ticket at 10.30 AM to dine at night at Hysan Place. Hmm, okay it's technically possible but we were too lazy to do it. Hahaha.
Oh right, if you love LINE Friends, there is one LINE Friends store in Hysan Place. The fun thing about visiting LINE Friends store is that there will a lot of photo prop that you can take picture with just like this cool friend of mine, Choco, who looks so edgy with her yellow scooter.
I just love looking at cute stuff and LINE Friends store basically is full of cute range of items from stationeries, clothes, bags, gadgets, phone casing, and even kitchen utensils. But I just damaged my wallet back in Seoul when I visited another LINE Friends store there so I managed to control myself this time by not buying any. Until next time, my cute little Brown, Cony and Sally.
I Cremeria is located at:
Shop F-9, 1/F
11- 19 Great George Street
Fashion Walk, Causeway Bay
Opening hours:
Daily 12PM - 11PM
Line Friends store is located at:
2/F, 500 Hennessy Road
Hysan Place, Causeway Bay
Opening hours:
Daily 10AM - 10PM