If you walk by the cute decorations in Le Dessert Palais's display windows, chances are you'll do a…read moredouble take. I think I did a triple take, and then I immediately went onto social media to find more pictures of their desserts. The pictures of the desserts on Instagram were amazing, and I started drooling right away. Apparently they even have a decently priced (pretty cheap actually) afternoon tea set, although their tea set is a bit different from the traditional ones served in HK. After dinner, I walked back to this dessert place to ask them for their hours in the next couple of days and to take a sneak peek at their menu for prices. The woman helping us was not the most friendly - in fact, she was pretty cold, but it didn't deter me from looking at the menu. Their menu is on a tablet, which is fairly convenient since they have real pictures of the items in good photo quality; if the item is sold out or not offered for that day, the picture is removed or there's a "sold out" next to it. You select the items you want by clicking "add to cart" and then return the tablet back to the waitress. It's fairly high-tech and an overall unique experience. I returned a few days later with my family and we were taken to a small and tight corner for the four of us. There were a ton of tables at the front of the restaurant, so it was a little annoying that we had to squeeze into the uncomfortable table we were at. Looking at the prices, we decided to order just a few items. The individual items are pretty pricey, but they have interesting combo desserts that are much more affordable than ordering a simple cake. Mille cake was $39 HKD which is roughly $5-$6 USD. Not a bad price, but the mille cake was actually SUPER tiny. It was pretty much like a little biscuit that you could pick up in your hand and munch on. It reminded me of the puff pastries I would buy at Valu-Mart. The cream in the middle was rich and pretty sweet, and the puff pastry was crispy with a slightly sweet taste, but overall it was nothing special. The plate had this special edible salt that added a bit of flavor if you mixed it in with the cake, but it was a disappointment. Praline chocolate truffle cake was also $39 HKD. This looked really decadent in the pictures - like a chocolate throne cake. And when it came out, it was also ... really small. It was definitely rich and super chocolate-y tasting, but nothing special. There were two slabs of chocolate on the sides that gave the cake some extra texture, but it was not very good. Chenonceau was $58 HKD (about $8 USD). This definitely was the best dessert out of the three we ordered. There were five little desserts on the plate and looked incredibly unique. Green tea and black sesame ice cream in between three small cakes. On top of the ice cream was a sesame tuile. I thought it was fairly tasty and definitely worth the price. Cakes were soft and refreshing, and the ice cream had good flavor. There are a ton of other really interesting desserts with unique names, but we didn't order them because the pricing was a bit too high and we were running low on HK currency. I think we wanted to order a soufflé, but they were all sold out for the night. Ambience is definitely a good place to bring a date. Lots of girls (and older ladies) seem to like coming here and splitting desserts while talking the night away. The look and feel of the dessert place is definitely high class and trendy. I would associate the decorations with the look and feel of Caffe Concerto in LA. The only thing that seems to need some work is the service. For some reason, I really felt like the woman waitress who was snooty the first time we came around continued to give us attitude the night we dined here. Not sure if it's because we're not from HK or because my parents were with me, but just got the vibe that she was rushing us. She gave us the check before we had asked for it when there were tables who had finished eating and were just talking. tl;dr - Order their more unique and original desserts. Don't order the simple ones that are in their display cases - definitely a letdown. Atmosphere was super nice, but I felt the service was truly lacking.

Surprisingly very good desserts with friendly service in a cozy environment and reasonably priced…read more The presentation, taste and quality were comparable to a high end restaurant/Hotel. Each of the desserts had its unique presentation. Won't spoil the hype, so you will have to go here to find out yourself. I would highly recommend to others.

I am a huge fan of anything tea, and my favorite tea is Tin Kuan Yim. I told my cousin, that and…read moreshe took me here with her family to get Tin Kuan Yim Ice cream! Are my friends in the states reading this? Yes, you read that right, Tin Kuan yim Soft served Ice cream. It was every single drip of ice cream you dream of! it was so tea-ish! It was more than amazing!! I was completely obsess with this afterwards. I wanted it everyday! i wish they had this in the states!!!

Nice, Ten Ren Tea Station basically for Hong Kong, dubbed as 天仁喫茶趣. Based on multiple visits in the…read morelast 2+ years (plus having had Ten Ren drinks in Taipei) I have to say this location comes pretty darn close. Comparing Ten Ren tea drinks in Northern (and Southern) California to this Hong Kong location: Prices in Hong Kong are dirt cheap in comparison, nothing really above US$2 on average. Quality is easily x2 to x3 than that in NorCal (and quite possibly SoCal) Thus we pay x2 to x3 as much at 1/2 to 1/3 of the quality, bottom line. Employees are very efficient. A ten minute wait for a drink after paying, is considered a hellish wait even if the line seems long. Even if one of the employees is slacking off, he or she is washing/rinsing cups or blender vats in one hand, and surfing social media/checking texts with the other. Multi-task slacking and getting drinks out the door. And some of you out there have no qualms about 1.5 hour wait for ramen (or a food truck), or 45 minutes for a watered down tapioca milk tea drink. Sigh. This Ten Ren also has a limited selection of imported Taiwanese tea, tea snacks. Octopus (MTR/subway/public transportation) cards accepted for payment (stored value card). You can sip on your drink while browsing books and magazines in Eslite bookstore. Honey green tea, some matcha based drinks, even a classic like Chrysanthemum Pu-Er, are all very good. Honey green tea, even if semi diluted, is still better than the crap in the States....the Wattes....(like Lattes in coffee shops, except Watte is water with a shot of tea). What more can you ask for?

It's a Starbucks, what can I say…read more Did you know that in late 2017, the New York Times wrote an article highlighting that a new Starbucks opens in China every 15 hours! WOW! This is just one of those. It is not particularly large, but there is room to work. I prefer to sit outside on the shopping center's stoop and drink coffee and read a book in the shade. Staff is friendly and efficient. When I pop over to the Prada outlet, I like to then chill a bit at this location before I head back over to Central.

The last thing I want to drink in Hong Kong is some Taiwanese BBT. But Gong Cha is located so…read moreconveniently right next to Fu Kee Egg Waffle 豐記雞蛋仔美食. After indulging on Curry Fish Balls and Waffles, I need something to drink. There was a short wait for my drink but at least I can enjoy my treats from Fu Kee till my drink was ready. Lemon Kumquat has sliced of dried lemon peels inside was refreshing. Not a bad place for some Taiwanese drink but it is take out only.

Go-to is the milk tea with herbal jelly (20HKD), requested by the mother. Tried the earl grey milk…read moretea with coffee jelly (21HKD) as well this time, regular sweetness and ice since the regular milk tea was just the right sweetness and they don't put a whole lot of ice to begin with. For some reason though, the early grey MT was sugar overload, and that's saying something cause I have quite the sweet tooth. Earl grey flavor didn't really come through. I was worried it was because this was a different branch than where I went last night and that my regular milk tea would be too sweet too, but it was consistent. So word of caution, different drinks can vary in sweetness (I'm guessing flavored drinks are automatically sweeter). Coffee jelly was standard, small blocks that were pretty firm. Oh, and if you need a bag to carry multiple drinks, they charge you .50HKD. Wish I had more time to try their other drinks as they have a pretty wide variety besides milk tea. As of now, their herbal jelly is reason enough for me to stop by any future Gong Cha branches I see! Luckily they have branches in the states as well.

Yummy desserts. I enjoyed my green tea ice cream with mixed feuits. The variations of colors made…read morethis dessert plate very beautiful. Very fragrant green tea taste. Waiters are kind of rude. Walked away in the middle of ordering.

First off, I would like to say that Hong Kong does not have enough good quality dessert places…read more(that are not crazy expensive). Instead, you can see Honeymoon Dessert everywhere you go. I do not know how many exactly they have but I am sure you will agree with me on this. Hong Kong people have a reputation not to go home that early (especially when it is weekend the following day), so most people prefer spending some time in a dessert place. Therefore, often you may see people lining up around 9 outside the shops. Honestly speaking, I am not a big fan of Honeymoon Dessert but I certainly cannot live without it. Mainly because my friends and I really do want to spend more time together and this place seems to be an easy choice. They offer a wide range of desserts including Chinese sweet soup or western ones with or without ice cream. However I have to say that most are stored in a fridge for god knows when and it is pretty apparent that they are not going to change that. So yup, you will be spending HKD$30 dollars on something that is put inside a cooler for a few hours. As for other desserts like pancakes and stuff, I do have to say that if you can stand the durian smell, you will like the durian pancakes. They are rather refreshing and not as boring as mango pancakes. But I still have to say that those pancakes are FAIRLY small. So be warned. But what I can say? We simply have too many people in Hong Kong and not little dessert shops.

Matcha. Tea. YUM. An added plus for an English menu!…read more A friend suggested this cafe and I am so glad he did! They have a great menu with different tea and matcha drinks, desserts, and even a chance to try a tea ceremony. There is limited seating in the cafe so you will need to wait for a seat. I tried the sizzling matcha brownie and matcha yin yang (coffee, matcha, condensed milk). The brownie was a bit too sweet for my taste because I poured all the matcha sauce. The brownie also had macadamia nuts. The drink was perfect. You get a hint of the coffee and it didn't overpower the matcha. It was the perfect sweetness. They also have a cute cat at the cafe :)

Simnei Tea is one of those hidden cafes that you find out about through pictures, get super excited…read moreabout, and when you set out to find it you get confused and lost. After a bit of navigation around the solemn-looking office building, finding Sinmei was like hitting a matcha oasis. The ambiance is quite unique: rather than cutesy or modern which has become commonplace and sometimes tacky, Sinmei has a very traditional yet avant-garde vibe--reminiscent of Miyazaki because there's almost something spiritual and a real live cat in residence. In short, Sinmei is matcha / 抹茶 galore, featuring a number of specialty green tea themed items. In my opinion the food at Sinmei is much more unique and worthwhile than the drinks, but in general it is very good quality: everything has a strong matcha taste and that nice dark green hue. Matcha fondant: Lava cake / fondant has become a thing in HK but no matter how many you've had, the Sinmei version is mind-blowing--a perfect plump matcha cake enveloping a warm, luscious matcha filling. The vanilla ice cream with its crumble (soybean powder I think) and matcha powder toppings are synergistically delicious in texture, temperature, and flavor. Matcha sizzling brownie: I didn't try this because the fondant + 2 drinks was definitely more than enough matcha and sugar for two people, but I would give it a try next time (partly because the presentation on a cast iron skillet is so neat). Matcha soul: This looks magical in pictures, but in my opinion it was just okay--mostly a matcha latte with a flashy swirl and sprinkle of soybean powder that looks like gold flakes. Matcha snow: The cold matcha latte with vanilla ice cream was a treat, though I still found myself more excited over the matcha fondant. It's quite pricey for your 下午茶, but the matcha quality is good and Instagrammability is off the charts. Indeed I took multiple photos (including a shameless time lapse of my fondant filling seeping out) that ended up being very popular when I bragged about the matcha delicacies on social media. Advice if you talking to HK peeps: Sinmei does not correlate to the Chinese name 川善茶居 (I'm hypothesizing it's a Japanese phonetic translation, and I'm fairly certain that the owner is Japanese).

Finally, tenren comes to HK! For those unfamiliar, this is a Taiwanese bubble tea chain from…read moreCalifornia. Having lived in LA, I was very excited to see that they were finally opening stores here. So let's be honest, I'm a little biased. My favorites are either the original pearl milk green tea or jasmine green tea with pearls. The best part about this chain is that as is taiwanese custom, you can adjust the amount of sweetness and ice in the drink. For my light palate, 30pct sweetness and low ice is plenty. That way I can still taste the tea without having sugar overpower the whole drink. magnificent! Please open more stores!

We tried the milk green tea bubble tea and the honey green tea. Both with 30% sugar level. Both…read morewere excellent! Why don't US Ten Ren shops make it just like HK. The tea was tasty and not bitter. The boba was soft and chewy. The sugar level was perfect!