I remembered when Cafe Deadend first opened its doors it generated so much media hype it was…read moreimpossible to get a table without waiting in line for hours. That's enough to push a lot of people away and/or make any decent food lost its taste. Luckily they are located in a "deadend" so unless you are a determined foodie, regular people don't come here :P The media hype has since died down and there is no longer the ridiculous queue. In fact, I am glad this place is still around (as many don't). The food and coffee is still as good I remembered and it is still a cash business. However, without the grumpy (and hungry) eaters staring at you waiting eagerly for your table, I found my experience very enjoyable. I should come back more frequent now :)

For a cafe in the SoHo vicinity, I expect nothing less than 100% hipster--and that exactly…read moredescribes every component of my visit to Cafe Deadend: brunch items with liberal use of runny eggs, crafty photogenic pastries, a posh ambiance that looks like a Tumblr photoset in real life, a whimsically obscure location, limited seating that gets crowded easily, Instagramable latte art, a paper menu that looks seasonal, coffee campers with shiny Macbooks, and unfortunately, a slightly marked-up pricing for the complete hipster dining experience. [THE GOOD] The highlight was definitely the apple tart--somehow they came up with the ingenious idea of taking a whole apple and building the tart around it. It comes out horizontally sliced (and thankfully de-seeded) in a unique presentation and a nice, strong apple taste that goes great with the caramel sauce, pistachio topping, and vanilla ice cream. [THE MEDIOCRE] I got the steak salad because I always find myself vegetable-deficient and craving salads when I'm in HK. It was quite good and the portion size was okay. My friends got a BLT and a ham sandwich with which they were generally satisfied. However there was nothing particularly special about the food and it was wayyyyy pricey. At first it seemed rather normal to me coming from the exalted San Franciscan standard of living, but for this price in SF at least I would get local/organic/fair trade/etc etc and mind-blowing quality, but Cafe Deadend turned out to be rather mediocre. My friends also reminded me of how expensive HK$80+ sandos and sandwiches are when there is in all the yummy and cost-effective glory of HK food. [THE BAD] A bunch of my friends developed mosquito bites after our lunch here :/ Not sure if it's something in the cafe or from the semi-wilderness of the Mid-Levels neighborhood. [THE VERDICT] If you are into hipster things, this is your natural habitat. If you are looking for good food, try the apple tart. If you are looking for cost-effective food, Cafe Deadend might be a bit of a dead end.

High quality food at an extraordinary price. The service was really good but the way to order was…read morenot clear so I sat at a table for a few minutes looking lost. The food was very high quality and had a great presentation. This is a must do if you're in Hong Kong. I found this place off a list titled "most Instagrammable restaurants".

I'm not a macaroon fan, so when I'm writing to give this place 5 stars for their macaroons I really…read moremean it. Stopped by for some french/American inspired sandwiches, since I didn't like the asian mayonnaise and butter sandwiches that my uncle eats. Nor do I like the asian cheap ham in my sandwich. I have up low quality when I graduated high school and left that cheap cafeteria food behind. The sandwiches are okay, but for HK, and if you want a taste of Europe or the USA then they are more than okay because they remind you of home. So, when I was looking through which dessert to get, the lady at the counter said their macaroons are well know. That sounded like a challenge so I had to try one. Wow, that one macaroon turned into 20, as I wound up buying a whole box and eating it all before I reached the end of the street. They had coffee flavors, coconut, etc, and they were all delicious. I couldn't stop eating them. One of the best macaroons I've ever had, and I don't even like macaroons!!!

Pret A Manger is a UK chain that serves salads and sandwiches that are pre-made for a quick grab…read moreand go lunch. They also serve coffee and have a variety of fruit juices and drinks. When we have an all day workshop or am working lunch, Pret is often provided as a lunch. I've gotten so sick of their food that I would often skip the free meal and either not eat or buy something else. Their sandwiches are really not any good. The crawfish sandwich at this point is the only one I can tolerate. The beat root quinoa salad is probably the only item I like and would be willing to pay money for out of my own pocket. Their cookies are also pretty good. These two things are the only reason why I don't give this place one star.

Pret a Manger hardly needs an introduction, the British sandwich and coffee chain that's ubiquitous…read morein working areas and has become a favorite among HK white collars. 'Pret a Manger' means 'Ready to eat' in French, but of course, my mom loves to tell me that she's at 'Pret a MANAGER'. The sell here is freshly made, no additive, soups, sandwiches and, salads that can be plucked straight off their shelves and consumed. There are 4 types of each food category (e.g. 4 different types of wraps - meatball, chicken tikka, pulled pork, falafel) every day, with one being a meatless choice. The quality of everything is decent, price is a bit higher than average (A salad costs HKD 5X and a hot wrap is HKD 4X). It is worthy to note that they bake everything in the morning and their cookies are surprisingly good - you can smell them if you pass by in the morning. Everything is sold same-day, everything left at day-closing is donated to Feeding Hong Kong, a charity that picks up their foods to serve the lesser privileged in the city. Not all stores do this though, but you can help, according to their site - "Tragically a few of our shops have no regular charities able to collect from them. If you are a Hong Kong registered charity and interested in collecting unsold sandwiches on a long term basis, please contact Gabrielle Kirstein at Feeding Hong Kong on Tel: 2205 6568" Pret checks all the boxes to become a go-to lunch spot: convenient location (the Quarry Bay one is INSIDE Taikoo Place, no need to even go outdoors), quick service, fresh ingredients, decent flavor, reliability and a conscience (CSR is all the rage among young professionals). With just one drawback being the lack of variety - 4 choices of salad means you can only go so many times before repeating yourself - Quarry Bay Pret has become a canteen of sorts for the Taikoo Place workers, expect a bustling Monday to Thursday lunch, and emptiness during Friday (people actually eat 'out') and all dinnertimes.

I'm never been the biggest fan of their food because I think it's over priced for what it is. I'm…read morenot saying their food isn't good, just not worth that price. On the other hand, they do have some really unique coffee drinks though. They also sell coffee liqueur drinks! The decor and seating at this specific Caffe Habitu is really cute and comfortable though. I love how open it is, and I think it's really cool that you can see into the kitchen. There is a small seating area that is outdoors too.

Finally get around to writing a review on one of my favorite cafes in SYP…read more - Great coffee with a selection of milks (soy milk, and they even almond milk which seems to be a latest hipster trend). - Free wifi. Speeds quite good (after all this is HK). Wifi also works outside in the courtyard. - Power at some of the tables, including USB outlets too. - Very spacious (which seems like a luxury in HK) - Outdoor Courtyard. Which is nice in the cooler months. And a lot of people overlook it so it's a nice quiet work space. - Pet friendly. There's even a puppachino for the pets. - Good food also. I like the pasta here. - Cheap co-working space upstairs (which may or may not be related). But they use the same bathrooms anyway.

THEY HAVE REALLY COLD AIR-CONDITIONING HERE! This is a luxury during the hot months in Hong Kong…read more(which is about 9/12 months of the year). Also they have really good coffee and the prices are cheaper than a lot of the coffeeshops in Hong Kong (especially the ones by sheung wan that I like). I always get their iced coffee with almond milk along with their smoked salmon sandwich! Their coffee is a lot more aromatic and stronger than a lot of other coffee shops in hk. Also, their coffee is less acidic too. I mean there's not a lot of good coffee in hk. One more thing I like about this place is that they have a lot of milk options. They let you pick between almond milk, soy milk, low-fat milk, and whole milk! Tip: they have wifi, a lot of space, and their bathroom is huge (upstairs)

Strong, properly brewed coffee. If you're in serious need of a caffeine boost, order the Magic…read more The food itself is okay, nothing mind-blowing. I prefer their breakfast over lunch / dinner - there are freshly baked pastries and options like truffle scrambled eggs croissant and Eggs Benedict for breakfast. Eggs are poached perfectly, which is a rarity in Kowloon. Comfortable seating, lovely staff.

Mon dieu! It means…read moreOh. My. Gizzle. Molten yolk / flowing custard croissant 流奶牛角包, shortened to 流奶. It was one of the greatest moments in my mouth during my recent Hong Kong trip. It apparently replaced the pineapple butter croissant, which was basically the classic HK pineapple butter bun, but instead of a bun it was a croissant. This beautiful creation is basically taking the yum cha dim sum "lao sa bao" (flowing salty egg yolk custard steamed bun) but putting regular sweet molten custard inside a perfectly flakey crispy delicate layered croissant. At $22 and from a visitor's standpoint, a really good value for the quality. It may seem like a modern gimmick, but when you taste it, you cannot believe how perfect the fusion became. There was a lot of thought put into this, down to the execution, and the results speak for themselves! Even their standard plain croissant kicked so much ass, and I liked it way better than nearby Le Salon de The Joel Robuchon, which I had a day later and found it to be severely lacking. Apparently Urban Bakery's version (this particular location) comes closest to the Paris experience, and easily outperforms most croissants in San Francisco Bay Area.

-salad $60 for small box of four choices Value for money for…read morea Central salad lunch. Hope they keep this prices! Yes they don't have kale and it's heavy dressing. It's absolutely a great cheat day salad! Try the thai noodle and salmon with beams. - Peking duck wrap $67 Again it's fresh. The shredded duck wrapping in front of you with thai salad. Also filling. - crossaint heaven Peanut butter, cheese, all sort of calorie loaded flavour challenge your plate. Maybe get a long black alongside your indulgence.

Recalling how amazing the croissants were at Joel Robuchon's bakery in Shinjuku (Tokyo), I elected…read moreto indulge in a plain croissant here, despite facing an onslaught of baked goods and carbs from an impending afternoon tea soon after. The decor is that black and red that many Robuchon establishments wear. There is a diverse offering of baked goods, ranging from breads to macarons to cakes. The croissant here, while not a disaster, wasn't amazing. I mean, it's not the crap you'd see at a supermarket, but I expected more. The texture was reasonably flaky and buttery. The interior was fairly light and airy inside. I wouldn't have a problem eating this but given my experiences with Joel Robuchon bakeries in the past, I was rather underwhelmed by this selection.

Le Cafe de Joel Robuchon is located in the Harbour City Mall, near the ferry harbor. This review is…read moreonly for the bakery area. My family already had dinner, but passing this in the mall I had to try his famous Rose Cake. I got the Rose Cake and my son got a Caramel Macaron. Macarons are his favorite. The prices of his cakes aren't cheap. The single serve Rose Cake was $7US and the macarons were almost $4US. While many praise his Rose Cake, I didn't like it. It left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. I can't even tell you what it tastes like because it has a taste of its own. I've never tasted anything like it in my life. The edible gold flakes on it was a nice touch. My son loved his macaron. He said it's the best he's ever tasted and he gets macarons everywhere we go.