I was craving egg tarts one day before work in Tai Wai (after devouring one stick of the infamous fishballs near the MTR station) and noticed a new Arome had just popped up. Arome bake + drink has some Hokkaido milk egg tarts for under $10 that are unlike your typical egg tarts in other local bakeries, and worthy of a Yelp. Everyone who's tried them can vouch for their superior quality. The milkiness is discernible even before you take a bite, with a slightly silkier and lighter-coloured filling. It is slightly less artificially sweet than the normal egg tarts, but more delicious, and went down well with my Oreo cookie milkshake, also from Arome. The giant plastic cup lasted me almost half a day before the cookie bits got all mushy and I thought I was just drinking melted chocolate icecream... (melted Magnum chocolate, though, if I were to specify the quality of chocolate...) The cakes here, too, sometimes use Hokkaido milk - like the Hokkaido milk cheesecake, which you can buy in little slices.
I would avoid the little chicken pies next time, as their shortcrust pastry is a little too sweet for my liking. But this is standard of most other Hong Kong bakeries. What I did like about it was that the chunks of chicken were generous, so you do feel like you're getting your $8 worth of chicken interior. Still, I would've preferred a more savoury crust than that shortcrust.
What's good about this shop is that they've got two cashiers, one for the quick shakes and nibbles, and the other for larger orders like cakes and breads. I didn't need to waste any time at all lining up, and went to my next class with the treats - the chicken pie still warm. Unfortunately, one student of mine denied this pastry pleasure as he said he didn't eat sweet snacks after breakfast and before lunch. I guess I know who I'm not inviting to my next brunch date... read more