Tucked away on the third floor of IFC Mall, the location poorly demarcated on Google Maps, Pierre…read moreHerme's Hong Kong outpost focuses entirely on the legend's iconic Macarons to the tune of roughly $6USD each and a minimum of four in a small tin. Focused on all the classics plus a few seasonal specials suffice it to say the choice of Pierre Herme versus the competition is like choosing Vacheron Constatin over Rolex in that only the truly discerning will care, even though the difference in quality is evident.

As much as I appreciate the tradition and history that Laduree possesses, Pierre Herme is the best…read morein the world for macarons. Bar none. In general, the macarons here display the right amount of sweetness, so when you're eating them, you won't feel them cloying your mouth. The macaron biscuit is fresh and crispy on the outside, while soft on the inside. I've had stale macarons before when I didn't know better and the offerings at Pierre Herme weren't. The flavors of the macarons set themselves apart from all others. They're quite unique and inventive. The creativity, while adventuresome, isn't going to confuse your taste buds to the point of frustration. I can't tell you my favorite flavor but the friend whom I bought macarons for the last time I visited: her favorite was the signature rose. Service is polite and patient. Yeah, it's weird that you have to buy a minimum of 7, but you'd want to buy more anyway, despite being rather pricey. The only drawback shopping here is that sometimes you have to deal with smug people that take up space at the counter and don't give a crap about anyone else. p.s. - why the heck isn't there a Pierre Herme in the States???

Some things in life you cannot get away with, well some can but I cannot and during the time I was…read morehere I wanted to buy something for my significant other just cause she was not on the trip, and from my friend in Hong Kong... I was brought into this place. There is chocolate.. and then there is La Maison Du Chocolat... you are practically going into the Louis Vutton, Prada, Hermes store of sweets if you decide to enter here, and expect to have money dropped, for some harder than others if you do not have any self control. This store is honestly a boutique for chocolate from La Maison, bringing their finest foot forward with their glass cases displaying sweets like jewellery at Tiffany's. I did not know what I was walking into, and when my friend brought me here, with her expensive taste I knew this was going to be trouble.. just trouble to my wallet, luckily for me I am on vacation and I have no problem getting stuff like this for someone special. You just have to come in here not questioning the prices and you will be fine (you can say that anywhere really, but you pay for what you get!). From the professionally dressed sales-girl, to the lighting bringing out the store this was going to be a different shopping experience. On the side you have displays of their gift boxes, all wrapped and ready to go, then you come to the glass cases showing their decadent selection of single piece chocolates (ganaches and pralines), fruit pastes in multiple flavours, some larger chunks of chocolates that look like brittles, and their signature selection of macarons. For the chocolate lover in you.. this place doesn't just have you covered... it goes above that, just remember: boutique experience. The sales-girl presented some samples for us to try, kind of like luring the bait.. well it worked, and during this time I was able to pick up something that is usual not in stores year round, a box of glazed chestnuts. I am one to spoil as well.. seeing in my opinion that this was not enough I decided to also pick up a box of fruit pastes, and just to finish it off, one more item: their 100% coro noir, practically pure chocolate. Everything was wrapped like I just bought a purse from Louis Vutton, and for good measure I had a macaron just outside of the store, bagged up... then eaten not to long after. Walking out, carrying my purchase... they definitely know how to market themselves to the high end clientele, the bags used were of the same quality as all the high end boutiques, even their catalogue which they included in the bag was of good weight. I will not say how much I spent.. but if you are comparing chocolate to.... some designer item... well let's just leave this as a mysterious amount. If you are looking for something special, something that will 'wow', something not available in most other cities in the world (I am from Vancouver.. and no... we do not have this brand!) and something that hopefully be remembered, come in here and be prepared to spend for some of the finer things in life. Enjoy, and don't blame me if you are broke!

Just came back from Paris and had lamented the fact that I didn't buy more chocolate while I was…read morethere. Quickly realized though that here in Hong Kong there is a heavy Parisian influence. As such there are many of the same favorite treats that I was finding in France here in this giant of an Asian city! La Maison Du Chocolat has multiple Hong Kong locations including here at Pacific Place (a smaller store is located in IFC). Walk downstairs to the store and you'll find an array of chocolate bites (ganaches and pralines) along with a number of truffles. I believe most people are coming here for the bite size morsels that can easily be packaged into gift boxes because, hey, that's what everyone was coming in for. Ask for a sample and they will oblige but virtually any of the ganaches will be a wonderful experience. I bought myself enough truffles to last a lifetime and dark chocolate bars to keep me satisfied for at least half a year. Of course, I spent a year's worth of salary here as well but you should do what makes you happy, right?

Ok I have to admit that I don't know much about birthday cakes and high-end desserts... Every time…read moreI'm responsible for buying the birthday cake for a friend's birthday, I'll start picnicking. **** PANIC MODE **** OH SHOOT I need to buy a cake where can I buy a cake what kind of favorite I should get what price range is acceptable and not too crazily expensive or embarrassingly cheap? OMG OMG OMG Here were the options: 1. 50/50 2. Call a friend 3. Ask the audience Well then I did text a friend. **** PANIC MODE ENDED **** She gave me a name "Paul Lafayet". I don't even know who he is. I searched about it and found a store in IFC. Great, called and made sure they were open and would have ready-to-buy celebration cakes. For a usual store in IFC, opening till 9pm is very promising. I got to there, and it's a rather small shop, sharing with LGB. It's great that they "standard" cakes were not so standard - they were all pretty impressive. I got the Chocolate Charlotte. All cakes have one standard price HKD$320, it's on the high end of cake's price range (I think?!). But I got a free Crème Brûlée from HSBC platinum card, so yeah, I was pretty happy with that. We served the Crème Brûlée first as the birthday cake to the birthday girl, as a prank, and surprised her with the actual Chocolate Charlotte. We all loved it. We have all gone into the situation before where the cake is way too big as an after-dinner dessert, even for sharing. But this cake got a perfect size. Staff was nice enough to notice I was buying a birthday cake and offered to put a small "Birthday Cake" tag on the cake. And the taste. OH. Now I get it. The chocolate favor was so good that it wasn't too sweat, but also not too dark (dark chocolate should never be allowed on a birthday cake, imho). The chocolate base and lady fingers were both very crunchy and made the whole cake a good mix of different texture. Loved it. And I'll now remember the name Paul Lafayet.

Really nice restaurant/bar located on the top of the Upper House hotel in Pacific Place. The hotel…read moreentrance can be difficult to find since it doesn't have clear signage. It's located next to the JW Marriott and across from the mall. Drinks: 4 stars Environment: 5 stars Overall: 4.25 stars I came here for drinks and didn't try any of the food. The view and environment here is top notch and is a great place to go to see the view of the city. Cocktails are pricey but also were good. I also had the chocolate soufflé, which I didn't like that much. Otherwise I probably would have rated five stars.

Top floor and great service…read more I think for the price it's totally worth it. This place is slightly more expensive for breakfast that the JW Marriott (and its in the same building but with a separate entrance) but it's got an amazing view and the food is delicious. The place is super chill, good background music and good vibes from the staff. It also has a chill vibe in the way that it's laid out, there's a feeling of openness. Maybe that feeling has to do with the epic view however. A few seats are in window corners where you get a great panorama view. Other seats are internal but still have a good view from a distance. I would go back, if for no other reason just for the fact that I had something I've never had before anyplace and it was really good. They have an eggs Benedict with short ribs in place of the ham. It's a Hong Kong take on the dish. We also had the pastries and muffins to share for the table. All were amazing.

Tea infused cakes, pastries and more! Would recommend getting their cake or macarons for sure. Some…read morebranches across the city also serve hot food like pastas and other entrees and honestly they're not bad. You can also buy cans of tea leaves and there's a large variety to choose from

We were wandering around the IFC Center when we stumbled upon this unexpected eatery. I've always…read morebeen completely fascinated with Joel Robuchon's various restaurants, since I've read that his food is supposed to be amazing. They're always prohibitively expensive so I had kind of resigned myself to never trying his food. I was impressed, then, that this outlet has a grab-and-go section stocked with pastries and sandwiches. We had just eaten lunch so I decided to go with a pastry. I got a Salted Caramel Tart and it was...just okay. It looks amazing and it's clearly been made with care, and yet in terms of flavor it's just nothing terribly special. The caramel taste is far too subdued to make any real impact, and the whole thing is sweet to the point of distraction. (It really lingered on my palate afterwards, to the point where I had to eat something salty just to get that cloying taste out of my mouth.) I have to assume Robuchon's savory options are much, much better than this.

Wished Joel Robuchon would open up a restaurant in the LA area as we've dined at both of his…read morerestaurants a few times in Vegas. Was wandering around the IFC mall and just so happened to bump into this cafe and take out. Since we just finished lunch upstairs, we decided to purchase a few desserts and head back to our hotel for afternoon tea. Both the blackberry tea cake and the l'opera were tasty and paired perfectly with a cup of tea. The perfect way to end a full day of shopping in HK. Will definitely be back to try some of their sandwiches which definitely looked tasty. Seating allows one to people watch while dining which may not be for everyone. Will have to come back next time to try their lunch sets which look like items from the l'atelier menu.

Baking is science. It requires precise measures of the correct ingredients in order to get the best…read moreresults possible. Just like there are professional shops that are dedicated to selling chemical reagents and lab equipment, there is this shop that sells baking and dessert making ingredients and related cooking utensils; you can tell this shop is a pro by the huge varieties of rolling pin and baking tin and everything in between. I think for every baking lovers have experienced this: having a recipe in mind and wanting to implement it. Oh no, I could get only about half the ingredients from the supermarket closest to my home, what should i do with the remaining half?? Worry not my friend, this is the place you should go to. From the basic flour to the dried fruits and nut you put in the batter I Love Cake has them covered. Not only that, the cooking utensils that you will need for your baking are also provided in abundance; so it is pretty safe to say that one trip to this shop and you can have all you need to make your favorite cakes, cookies, muffins...you name them Other than baking items, you can also find things to make chocolate; whether they are gonna end up on a cookie or be eaten straight. Chocolate buttons are easy to handle and takes shorter time to melt; so if you are interested in making chocolate with your own flavor, you can find plenty of resources here to carry out your own experiments. There's a saying, you need the perfect tools to perfect your crafts; with the shop that provides the perfect tool in hand, baking is made so much easier. Even if you are not interested, I am sure you will be eager to try after visiting this shop~

I was so excited when this store first opened. It looked like it had everything I need to bake a…read morecake.... until I realised that my kitchen didn't have a proper oven.. Nonetheless, I came into this store just to look around to see if there's anything interesting. Indeed it was, it was filled with baking accessories, goods, and basically everything you could imagine to bake a cake. Although I didn't have an oven at home, i still miss baking. So knowing that they host baking classes here, my friends and I signed up. A group of us came, i think it costed us about $300 for a class. We chose the macaron class. I have joined these classes before but found that a majority of the time, all the ingredients would already have been prepared and in the end you didn't learn anything at all. This class started on time, there were about 12 of us, which is a little packed and there were some late comers as well. We each had our own area to bake and the teacher started to teach us how to make macarons. From my experience, the teacher was not very patient. He got frustrated at some of the students who did things wrong. Not everyone is a master baker. I think he should realise that. It kinda put us off a little bit. Regardless, at least the macarons turned out nicely. I haven't been back since, maybe because I was a little intimidated by the teacher or perhaps I just got really busy. It's a cool experience, at least with this macaron class, we actually got to measure out everything and did it as if we were baking at home. props to that.

LGB Cafe is a good option if you are meeting up with friends or just to people watch. I highly…read morerecommend grabbing a table in the courtyard area instead of inside the actual cafe. The interior is just dark and dim with tables packed closely together. A pot of tea to share or a Flat White? Both were decent. I could not comment on their food since we did not order any. Service though was slow. It is hard to track down the waitstaff even when I tried to wave them over. They seemed to be short staff. With their price point and location, I do expect much better service.

Came here on a not-very-busy Monday morning for breakfast. My friend and I sat "inside" -that is to…read moresay not in the ifc itself but in the cordoned off back room. Despite there only being one other party there, we had to flag down the wait staff every time we needed something---to order, water, salt, the bill--you name it. The service was terrible. The food itself, though not astronomically expensive, was sub-par. I ordered an egg-white omelette that was drowning in oil. The bread that accompanied it looked like whatever scraps they had laying around the kitchen. My friend ordered the yogurt parfait with fruit. When she received her order it had '5' blueberries on it, and right in the middle was a cherry tomato. I think the knowledge of knowing a tomato is a fruit, and wisdom being not putting it in a fruit salad can also be applied to a fruit and yogurt parfait. There was no other fruit to speak of. There are definitely better breakfast options in IFC. Perhaps their tea-set is why people come here. Unfortunately do not think I will be back to try it.

During our trip to Hong Kong last year, my husband and I had discovered Caprice, and totally fell…read morein love with this 3-Michelin-starred French restaurant, which is located on the 6th floor of Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong.  When we visited Hong Kong again this year, we invited my beloved former high school teacher to join us for dinner or lunch at Caprice.  My teacher and I have a very good relationship for decades and she has been very generous to me.  I always wanted a chance to treat her with a superb meal, and this was an excellent chance. My teacher is an elderly and preferred to have lunch for dining out instead.  I was thrilled that both she and our daughter were able to dine with us, and met each other. The 4 of us had a very wonderful gathering for over 2 hours at Caprice.  It ended up everybody was impressed with the lunch, and my daughter and my teacher truly admired each other! My teacher had been a principal at another high school, and is a foodie.  Seeing her enjoying and praising each and every course just made me so happy.  Since we planned this lunch ahead of time, we made a reservation even when we were still in the US.  This time around we were able to get a table by the big windows overlooking Victoria Harbor.  My teacher praised how beautiful the view was throughout the lunch! Since no one at our table wanted alcohol for lunch, our server recommended to us a bottle of ANICCA Sparkling Tea - Peach, Bergamot, Earl Grey (HK$700/ US$90), that was refreshing and very good.  Caprice offers prix-fixe menus only: four or five courses at lunch, and two seven-course options for dinner. The four-course lunch (fish or meat) is priced at HK$1,288 (US$166), while the five-course (fish + meat) is HK$1,338 (US$173). With optional add-ons, however, the final cost can increase quite a bit. Last time both my husband and I went for the five-course menu, but we were so full by the end that we had learnt our capacity, so this time we opted for four courses instead.  My teacher let me make all the food selections for her.  So, I avoided all the options that would have allergens for her, and I ordered the exact same choices so that I knew what my guest was eating.  Actually, any dishes at Caprice would be delicious and cooked to perfection with the freshest ingredients, presented beautifully and sometimes with innovations and nice surprises.    For four adults, our 4-course Menu du Déjeuner (HK$1,288/ US$166 each) were as follow: Appetizer: 2 x Haddock Panna Cotta with Cold Potato, Daikon and Pike Caviar from "La Maison Petrossian" 2 x : Alaskan King Crab - Crustacean Jelly, Gillardean Oyster and Osciètre Prestige Caviar from "La Maison Kaviari" (Supplement HK$650/ US$84 each) Soup: 3 x Foie Gras Dumpling with Duck Consommé 1 x My Hot and Cold Onion Soup Fish: 3 x Daily Wild Caught Fish, Snails and Razor Clams Cannelloni, Emerald Sauce 1 x Brittany Blue Lobster, Beetroot and Chocolate with Ruby Sauce (Supplement HK$650/ US$84) Dessert: 3 x Seasonal Soufflé (Supplement HK$150/ US$19) 1 x Chestnut Tart and Chantilly with Blue Vanilla Coffee or Tea Caprice was able to change some of the items on their menu from last year, just to keep some of their signature dishes.  I have to mention that bread service was truly excellent, and there was a complimentary starter to kick off the phenomenal meal, and there were complimentary mignardises at the end that we were too full to enjoy but were happy to take them home in their beautiful takeout boxes. The bill came up to HK$9193/ US$1,186.  We felt that it's worth every penny of it.  It made me happy that everyone truly enjoyed this luxurious yet relaxed lunch. The opulence of the décor, the panoramic view of Victoria Harbor, the outstanding food and drinks, the impeccable service by the whole team of friendly, attentive, kind, and professional staff, all contributed to a top notch 3 Michelin Star meal that is so memorable and hard to beat.

French Cuisine in Hong Kong. 3 Michelin star restaurant…read more Stellar service. Breathtaking views of the Harbor and Kowloon from the sixth floor of the Four Seasons Hotel. An open kitchen. April 2024 - I was working and barely ate. Took some photos ;) and did post them. February 2026- my dear son joined me and we went all out for the seven course seafood heavy tasting " Menu Connoisseur"; 4890 HK $ or approx $670 US pp. Drinks and tip extra. French duck, Brittany blue lobster cooked in lobster butter, scallops n couscous n caviar, foie gras ravioli in duck consommé, Alaskan king crab with crustacean jelly and Gillardeau oysters plus a crazy good Cheese platter. Hey could not skip dessert with the personalized chocolates, the piedmont hazelnut soufflé with coffee ice cream, coffee as in beautiful and gorgeous strong coffee with petit fours. I was mesmerized by the description of each item and the outstanding presentation. Each dish was better than the other. The scallops were my favorite. How could I forget about the bread basket? Second favorite part of the meal. The crunchy baguette and flaky wasabi sesame pastry with the salted butter were a match made in Hong Kong heaven. We had a blast. This was pricey but hanging out with my main man was simply priceless. Loved Caprice. Everything about it!!!

If you want to impress your friends aboard with truly local snack, this is THE place…read more Wong Wing Kee has been around for more than a century, owned by Wong's four generation of family, but the shop here in Sheung Wan looks very classy, neat and clean. The staff here are super friendly, and that is something you will be kinda of surprised to see in HK. They will offer you free sample to try, and there you can tell the difference between their products and others' - strong flavour but not overly sweet or salty. For expats, here is some good news. All products are labelled in their English translation too. I'd never know 腐乳 is preserved bean curd, but here you go. They have almost every local snack you can name, 話梅、陳皮、冬薑、焗蓮子、山楂餅、加應子 (hey, come to the shop and look for the translation yourself...), but also flower flavoured tea bags. Extra bonus if you want to post the snack aboard - they can advise you which snack you can import to US and which you cannot. Very handy advice as I had absolutely zero ideas. If you look carefully in the shop, you can also see a photo of the owner with Prince Charles. Kinda of a big deal you wouldn't expect from a very local shop just sitting around the corner in Sheung Wan!