I got a box of 12 macarons here since i was craving while shopping and i was pleasently surprised…read moreat all the sweets that they sell. They also have chocolates that were really uummy and rich when the sales person let me have a bite. The macarons were extremely rich in flavor and the depth of the tones of the fillings matched the cookies well. My least favorite flavor was the orange creme because it seemed to have some notes of liquor that made it a slight bit too bitter but i thinj the best and safest flavor would be the extra shiny vanilla. I dont know what the filling inside is but it tasted like an oreo cookie filling.

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.

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

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.

Heard that afternoon tea at The Peninsula's Lobby is a must in HK so of course we had to try it…read moreout! Some things to note: - Their website says the afternoon tea is on a first come first serve basis but when we arrived we found out that you CAN make a reservation ahead of time. We arrived shortly after 2pm on a Sunday without a rezzie and ended up having to wait ~10 mins for a table. - Dress code is smart casual but we saw some diners wearing shorts and sandals. Likes: - Live band jamming instrumental versions of top 40 hits!! - Upscale environment and top notch service - Earl grey and Flowery teas - Raisin scones (especially with the clotted cream) - All of the finger sandwiches Dislikes: - Corn tart - Tea pastries were a hit or miss Overall, you're really paying for the experience and the ambience because the food itself was average and not that impressive. It's nice to splurge once, and at HK's most iconic hotel to boot, but I likely won't be back.

One of the quintessential things you need to do if you visit Hong Kong. I do it at least once a…read moreyear. The Peninsula is one of those iconic places and very expensive to stay so Afternoon Tea is the thing to do. High end service and old timey atmosphere of Colonial Hong Kong.

Beautiful cakes, small and large. Something for everyone. There is option to take home or eat at…read morecafe tables in Royal Garden Hotel.

Lured by the beautiful IG photos of their apple cheesecake, I'd been eyeing this place for the last…read morefew months. When we finally were able to go, I was ecstatic. Located in a hotel, this little dessert place / bakery has many picturesque creations, but I definitely think the apple cheesecake is the most unique. The "apple" encapsulating the cheesecake is made of chocolate while the cheesecake itself captures the tartness of green apples. All together, it still wound up being too sweet, but I can certainly appreciate the artfulness of their presentation. Finally, FYI, if you want to sit down to crack open your cheesecake, you'll incur a service charge.

This place is situated in a random plaza and you have to take an elevator up to the 4th floor, as…read morethe escalators don't go that high for whatever reason. Pretty good Taiwanese food, definitely better than anything in the states (I'm looking at you, 626!). My theory is anything closer to the country will have better food from that country, and TeaWood definitely proves my point. I got the beef noodle soup and Taiwanese sausage. Both were really good, and the flavors and textures were on point! The noodles were thick and chewy, and the soup-noodle-beef ratio was solid. I would've liked a few more carrots and daikon radishes to cut the dish. I also got some berry dessert that was a special, but the staff was a bit inattentive and I had to ask for it again. They legit thought I was just sitting there after my meal not paying . The dessert had some pieces of strawberries, two French macarons, two blueberries, two overwhelming strawberry frosted donuts, and a scoop of ice cream with a little glazed cake thing on the bottom. The macarons were not good, the donuts looked frozen and then thawed out and were way too sweet, the ice cream was redeemable, and the glazed cake thing tasted like a jello cake. If I wasn't so interested in the way the dessert was decorated, I would have just gotten the pineapple cake dessert. Maybe that was the way to go ‍

Honestly, I have tried the toast box last time and don't think I'm really into it. The whole…read moreconstruction is just too sweet and plain. While the ice cream tastes quite artificial and the toasts cool down too quickly, I have lost my interest after taking a few pictures and tried a few bites. Anyway, I like the lunch set here. This is my twice time here and I've order the same beef brisket, minced meat rice and veggie as the last time. The beef brisket is quite impressive and tasty, perfect to go with the rice. Also, the latte is good, authentic Taiwanese style.