Sunday, April 1, 2012

Best Cake in HK - Tony Wong Patisserie in Wan Chai Hong Kong

Meticulous presentation - also notice the lower amount of glare and condensation on the glass of the display fridge. Wondering if it's the lighting, the glass or the fridge.

Hope the photos do justice to the real thing. They remind us of some of the better cake shops in Japan.

Dad mentioned that Tony Wong Patisserie had some good reviews when its only shop was in Kowloon City, but the area was never high on his culinary list ever since they follow the advice of Chua Lam (蔡瀾) and went to this Thai restaurant located in Kowloon City which was diabolical. It was the era before the advent of GPS phones and you could only find your way by navigating a booklet of maps, known as "A to Z" in the UK and 地圖王 in HK. With absolutely zero sense-of-direction inside a dimly-lit car, you can just about imagine, so we're not gonna bore you with the details. Suffice to say after driving round and round blocks after blocks of nondescript buildings, he finally stopped the car inside a tight semi-lit car multi-level carpark nearby. When the Tom Yum Kung arrived, it was lurk warm and the prawns didn't taste very fresh either. The rest of the meal brought no positive surprises. Two lessons came out from this journey to the dark side:

  • take a handful (not just a pinch) of salt on any culinary advices offered by Chua Lam, 蔡瀾. [Would love to hear anyone's take on this!]
  • don't drive to Kowloon City

So when dad heard that Tony Wong Patisserie (TWP) has opened a branch in Wan Chai, he couldn't wait to go. Finally he and mum went there with Uncle & Auntie S. After having queueing for 1 hour for ramen at Tamashii 魂, (yes again!!), they walked over to TWP. The shop was brightly lit with very clean and simple decor. There were a couple of stools and two cantilever benches either side of the shop,  not a romantic hangout by any stretch of imaginations. The shop's highlight are the rows after rows of mini patisserie, tarts and cakes inside two display-fridges. And rightly so. They picked 4 different ones and shared every single one. Lets just say mum and dad will go back there soon!!

Green Tea Opera - a lot of different flavors in one bite, you can even tell the green tea taste from the chocolate. A bit firm for the chocolate layer but I guess it adds texture to the cake. This looks like the Tanabata special edition cake from Sadaharu Aoki without the sugar Milky Way and the Macaroon featured here in this blog.

Tiramisu - you might say it doesn't look very special, then again you can't taste it. Good balance of amaretto and the juicy spongy cake. There are even crunchy bits in the pot.  Picture just doesn't do justice.

Chocolate Truffle Cake - they occupy the most prominent part of the fridge and rightly so.

Napoleon Cake - it's good but then it wasn't as memorable as the other ones. And there was no good pictures of it before it turned into a mess!!

Chocolate Truffle Cake -  the mini cake offered by La Maison du Chocolat in Hong Kong, which one is better? It's well worth going to both shops and compare yourself.

Address: 399 Lockhart road, Hong Kong
Note: These photos were taken with no special props or lighting and the cakes were all bought of the shelves, ie not hand picked. Really show the care they put into each and every single output. If Chua Lam (蔡瀾) and a bunch of TV crews were making a show, you should expect nothing less. That's why most culinary advices from celebs are inherently pointless.

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