Sense 8 Tea House MixC World 譽八仙茶室 萬象天地店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It had been raining a little in Shenzhen this afternoon. Our pickleball game was partially rained out, so we headed back to MixC World (萬象天地) a bit earlier than planned. After a quick afternoon tea, our group went our separate ways. I managed to squeeze in some extra game time before meeting up again around dinner — around 5 pm as the locals like to eat early.

Like its sister restaurant, Sense 8 Cantonese Cuisine (譽八仙粤菜) at RAIL-IN (深圳灣睿印), Sense 8 Tea House (譽八仙茶室) is known for its luxurious, vintage Hong Kong tea-house vibe, classic dim sum, and polished Cantonese stir-fry dishes. The menu here is slightly different from the one at RAIL-IN, with fewer options (such as congee), but it generally stays true to the “Old Hong Kong” theme.

As usual, our visit to Sense 8 began with a few photos of the venue — plus some selfies. Jelloman, her mom, and her aunt (visiting from Australia) had never been here before, and not surprisingly, they absolutely loved the retro atmosphere.

Hong Kong-style roasted duck (明爐燒鴨) (¥68) — The same dish I ordered last time. This time it was just as tasty, with the tender, succulent flesh.

Hakka-style omelette with preserved radish (客家菜脯煎蛋) (¥48) — Not bad. The crunchy preserved radish really helped bring the dish together.

Fried rice noodles with sliced pork (豉油王炒生麵) (¥58) — The flavors from the superior soy sauce could have been more pronounced, but some of us actually liked that it was less oily than what you typically find in Hong Kong.

That was a pretty quick supper as we managed to finish everything in a little over 30 minutes.

As always, they did an awful job pacing tonight so we ended up taking the dishes one at a time (I like most dishes being served all at once). That’s always the drawback of eating here. It's not a great choice if you’re pressing for time. 

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Level 6, MixC World, Shennan Road, Nanshan, Shenzhen, China

深圳市南山区深南大道华润万象天地L6层

Closest Metro Station: Hi-Tech Park (高新园)

Tel: +86 (755) 2290-9501

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 2:30pm, 5:00pm - 9:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/7e/yJ6

GE Flavor (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

GE BAKE is a highly regarded Japanese-style soufflé pancake and brunch spot in Shenzhen, and it’s gained solid momentum over the past few years. Now that they’ve built a loyal fanbase for their signature soufflé and western brunch items, it’s time to expand.

Enter GE Flavor — a brand new all-day-menu restaurant focused on comfort food, from salads and pasta to more classic, shareable plates.

Naturally, for their first location, they’ve chosen MixC World (萬象天地).

It was 3pm in the afternoon and the place was absolutely buzzing. Why am I not surprised?

Beef and fig salad with Balsamic glaze (牛肉無花果黑醋沙律) (¥78) — The beef fillet was really tender. I thought the fresh pink fig, corn, broad beans and balsamic dressing did a great job cutting through the richness.

Grilled ox tongue with sancho and scallion (山椒葱絲烤牛舌) (¥78) — The ox tongue had that melt-in-your-mouth texture, and it worked wonderfully with the extra heat from the sancho pepper (花山椒) aioli.

Chestnut Mont Blanc (栗子蒙布朗提拉米蘇) (¥56) — The reason why we were here in the first place.

I saw this on social media last week. In the clip, the server uses a special handheld squeezer to spray chestnut vermicelli all over the sponge cake — essentially what they call a tiramisu on the menu. Unfortunately for us, the spraying of chestnut was already done in the kitchen so we could only see the finished product.

The chestnut vermicelli itself was fine although it definitely wasn’t the creamy Tanba chestnut (丹波栗) from Japan. That said, it wasn’t the chestnut that bothered me. What really threw me off was the sponge cake at the bottom, which came with crushed nuts and dried fruit.

That was just weird to me. When was the last time you had fruit inside a tiramisu?

Food Rating: 5.7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: G/F Tower C, China Resources Land Tower, No. 9668 Shennan Road, Nanshan, Shenzhen, China

深圳市南山区深南大道9668号华润置地大厦C座

Closest Metro Station: Hi-Tech Park (高新园)

Tel: +86 18026962030

Opening Hours: 9:00am - 10:00pm (Mon - Thu), 9:00am - 10:30pm (Fri - Sun)

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/14/H8pM

Cha of Yulian MixC World 裕蓮茶樓 萬象天地店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After enjoying a few rounds of Chun Tian Tea Company (椿田熟成茶行)’s Golden Brick Silk Stocking Milk Tea (金磚絲襪奶茶) back in April, I started to feel a little bored. The Ceylon tea flavor was definitely pronounced, but it has a pretty similar fragrance to the ones you can find locally in Hong Kong. To satisfy my ever-changing palate, I wanted something different — something more unique.

And I found it this afternoon when we stumbled upon MixC World (萬象天地), the upscale shopping complex in Nanshan district that we haven’t visited in months. The place? Cha of Yulian (裕蓮茶樓) — a tea house we usually stopped by for egg tarts, but never really took the time to explore their popular milk teas, which are especially known for their aromatic tea base.

Cha of Yulian is highly celebrated for its signature He Ding Black Tea (鶴頂紅茶). It is renowned for its rich flavor profile that starts with a sweet, candied-fruit-like aroma, that transitions into a subtle woody note, and finishes with light floral and fruity undertones.

Amber Milk Tea with Tea Ice (特濃茶鑽琥珀奶) — This uses the He Ding Black Tea as a heavy-tea base, topped with a special tea-infused ice block. Even as the ice melts, the milk tea stays incredibly rich and bold. It doesn’t end up getting watered down.

I just love how deep and robust the tea flavors are, especially with those delicate floral and fruity undertones.

 

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop B107, Level B1, MixC World, Shennan Road, Nanshan, Shenzhen, China

深圳市南山区深南大道华润万象天地B1层 B107号铺

Closest Metro Station: Hi-Tech Park (高新园)

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/fd/P1ri