Holly Brown Coffee Roasters (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Holly Brown is a home-grown coffee roaster that has been around for 7 years now. They have expanded a bit since opening their first store in Central and the brand now owns 8 different shops in the city, including this new flagship store in Lai Chi Kok.

Personally, I have never been a coffee lover. I do my occasional cafe hopping from time to time but it's never been my game. But why am I here today then? Well, I have just been told that Holly Brown is not a one-trick pony. In fact, they've got some really tasty gelato and some of the naughtiest shakes in town so that's pretty much all the incentives I needed to make a special trip over.



These "freakshakes" got everybody freaked out when a little Canberra cafe called Patissez put it on their menu a few years ago. In case you haven't heard, it's basically a thick milkshake with shed load of cake (or doughnut), crazy toppings and whipped cream on top. There're currently 5 different versions offered at Holly Brown. For the same price, one could get a pasta or pizza around here.



But why would I want a pasta or pizza if I could lay my hands on this baby called "Monkey Business" ($98) which was actually a chocolate and banana milkshake with chocolate doughnut hanging around its neck. Would I trade it for a pasta or pizza? Not in a million years!



Their Japanese-style pancakes also caught my eyes. We ended up having their souffle pancake but thought it wasn't fluffy enough.



Their pastas were passable if you weren't too picky. After all, Holly Brown made its name as a coffee roaster, but not as a casual diner.



Food Rating: 4/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 01, G/F D2 Place TWO, 15 Cheung Shun Street, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok
Tel: +852 2371-2826