Regent Hotel Cake Shop (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Jelloman’s birthday is coming up soon, so I’ve been on the lookout for a birthday cake for her as part of the celebration. This is always going to be a tough call, since we’ve already exhausted most of the cake options over the years.

The Regent Hotel Cake Shop came to mind after I stumbled upon its small but refined selection of pastries on social media. I thought it was worth trying for this occasion.

They are only offering a handful of birthday cake options including honeycomb cake, strawberry Charlotte cake, Peruvian chocolate cake, and different flavors of mille-feuille.

Honeycomb cake ($368) — One of the more popular creations here.

This wasn’t a sophisticatedly designed cake. The delicate layer of pecan sponge was hugged by some deeply aromatic longan honey mousse, supposedly to create a palate-soothing experience.

I thought the heart and soul of the cake — the organic longan honey harvested from a local farm in Hong Kong’s New Territories, would provide the highly distinct, floral sweetness to elevate the pillowy sponge. But those floral flavors never stood out as planned. Yes, there was sweetness (honey) and a lemony note (citrus coulis) to pair with the sponge, but it still wasn’t quite enough to satisfy the more discerning palates.

Texture-wise, there was also something sorely missing — something crisp or crunchy to add contrast to the soft, fluffy textures.

Food Rating: 6.1/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui / Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2721-1211

Website: https://regenthkshop.com/collections/cake

Tao Tao Ju One Avenue 陶陶居 卓悦中心店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After a very busy work schedule in early August, and two weeks in Europe, I finally found myself back in Shenzhen for the first time in nearly a month. Good thing I’m on my own this afternoon, so I can move a lot quicker without the group around me.

My first stop was Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居) at One Avenue (卓悦中心), my go-to dim sum spot in Futian to see if they have any new creations since our last visit.

Despite having an online ticket, I waited almost 30 minutes for my table which wasn’t ideal. I should have timed it more accurately!

Congee with lean pork and century egg (生滾皮蛋瘦肉粥) (¥30) — I like the one at Sense 8 Cantonese Cuisine (譽八仙粤菜) a little more for its velvety (綿) texture. 

This was just OK.

Guangzhou-style steamed rice rolls with fatty char siu and scrambled eggs (廣式叉燒滑蛋腸) (¥33) — As I promised myself, I would try at least one brand-new dim sum here and there are quite a few options on the menu this afternoon.

This was pretty tasty. The rice rolls looked more “transparent” than most ones we’ve seen at Cantonese restaurants, which actually gave us a clearer view of the fillings — diced vegetables, runny scrambled eggs (just a tiny bit), and, of course, fatty barbecued pork.

I always enjoy having steamed rice rolls so I knew I would love this. One thing they could really improve here was using less fatty barbecued pork, which sometimes made the rice rolls a bit chewy.

So glad I’m back in the swing of things again. Next up, some game time, and hopefully I can squeeze in an afternoon tea afterwards.

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address:  Shop L233, East Zone, Level 2 One Avenue, Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华路卓悦中心商场东区L233号铺

Closest Metro Station: Gangxia (岗厦)

Tel: +86 (755) 8299-8870

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/39/WOi

Doughman Bakery & Coffee Tsuen Wan (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Little nugget is an absolute sucker for mango pomelo sago cream (楊枝甘露) so when I saw on the social media that Doughman Bakery is launching a limited-time only mango pomelo sago danish (楊枝甘露丹麥酥), I knew I had to get one for him.

Interestingly, it is only available at their Tsuen wan outpost but not their original Lai chi Kok flagship.

With this price tag, I knew immediately that it’s going to be a pretty tough sell.

Mango pomelo sago danish (楊枝甘露丹麥酥) ($33) — I joked with little guy that this looked and tasted a bit more like a Chinese youtiao.

I was hoping it would be rich and buttery, with a delicate, flaky crust but that wasn’t entirely the case. At the same time, the mango pomelo sago cream custard was way too artificial, lacking the freshness and fruitiness I was hoping for.

Like Jelloman said, it’s much less refined than any artisanal baked goods from the shop. They tried too hard to make this work.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 208-212, 2/F, Tsuen Kam Centre, 300-350 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsuen Wan

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 8:30pm daily