Lady M Harbour City (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I thought Lady M Hong Kong would have a little more success with their new flavors of mille crepes in 2018 but it was largely a lost year. From coconut, passion fruit to the most recent charcoal mille crepes, I don't think they will bring any of those back any time soon.



While all of us Lady M mille crepes fans have patiently been waiting for the news of a new launch in 2019, it finally came in March. Check this out - Pistachio mille crepes with whipped pistachio pastry cream and Lady M's signature crêpes, topped by pistachio cream and crushed pistachios. This looked really good!



I was able to squeeze 15 minutes out of our busy schedule and sit down to enjoy a slice of pistachio mille crepes.



It turned out to be the best 15 minutes I've spent all week. The cake itself was light and soft as usual but what made it so heavenly was the pistachio flavored pastry cream which was sweet but without going over the top.



It worked so well with their signature 20+ levels of crepes and crushed pistachios. Amazing.



This is by far the best one coming out of Lady M's mille crepes series for years. It should rank right up there with the Rose and Earl grey flavors.



Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop OT 215K, 2/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 17 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2873-2356
Website: www.ladymhk.com

Impossible Burger at Triple O's (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

After a very successful debut two years ago in the United States, Impossible Foods is ready to launch Impossible Burger version 2.o following a launch party in Vegas early this month. The good news coming out of Vegas is that Hong Kong and Singapore will be first in line for Impossible Burger 2.0 outside US.

That's very good news but only one problem here, I have yet to check out Impossible Burger 1.0.



In case you miss it, Impossible Burger is the brainchild of Impossible Foods who worked with hundreds of scientists, engineers and researchers for years before coming up with the current version of plant-based patty that is supposed to save the planet.



Since I was in Admiralty this afternoon, I thought I better dropped by Triple O's to try out the Impossible Burger 1.0 before they officially roll out 2.0 which they vowed to be more juicy, meatier and with a much improved texture.



$88 is a small price to pay for the world's best vegan patty, right? Well, you make the call.....



From the look of it, it does look like a "real" beef burger with lettuce, tomato and purple onion.



Most Hongkongers like me who's familiar with Chinese-style vegetarian dishes like vegetarian duck, goose and, sweet and sour pork, should have a fairly good idea with what we're getting from Impossible Food (or Impossible Burger). At least that's what we all thought. But after my first bite, I realized there's more to it than our Chinese-style vegetarian dishes which are usually made with bean curds and wheat gluten. This is a little more spongy and it's working really well with the special Triple O mayo.



In fact, a closer look at the texture of the patty revealed that it does look like a slice of real beef patty. That's pretty remarkable. And most importantly, I thought it tasted great and that's even more incredible than the sustainability part (for me).



Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Unit 009, Level LG1, Great Food Hall, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 2581-1887
Website: www.tripleos.com.hk

Dunkin' Coffee House (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★☆☆☆

Despite some mix-up with our driver who went to Four Point Sheraton Namsan instead of Gangnam, we managed to arrive at Incheon Airport without much delay. Following some efficient work by the airport counter and immigration, we were already at the gate well before take-off time. It looks like I've got myself some spare time for a sip of coffee? 



Dunkin Donuts used to be very high on my list of places to visit when I was in Seoul but since their flagship store closed down in Myeongdong, I haven't been back ever since. 



But their mini pie donut (another fancy name for a cronut) really got my attention.



These came in two flavors, original and strawberry.



2,100 won is a pretty hefty price to pay for a mini cronut.



This has to be one of the least satisfying cronut I've ever had in my life. It's chewy without much flakiness. Very disappointing, especially for a cronut fan (Luckily, Dominique Ansel is opening in Hong Kong soon).



Food Rating: 3.5/10
Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 3/F of Passenger Terminal 1 (duty-free area near Gate 41), Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Incheon International Airport
Tel: +82 032-743-8309

C27 Cheesecake and Coffee (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

Our trip is drawing to a close really soon but obviously, none of us want to start packing yet. So, off we go to our final destination, C27 Cheesecake and Coffee, before we really call it the night.

Being here brought back a lot of memories for me because last time we were here, our little nugget was on his first-ever trip. Since then, he's been on 16 other trips with us. Time really flies!

C27 is often considered one of the most instaworthy dessert cafes in all of Sinsa. No, all of Gangnam!

It's fun picking out my favorite if there are only a handful of flavors but with 27 and counting, it's giving me a bit of a headache.



For details on all 27 flavors, their official website has all the information. I think only their M&M cheesecake was not listed.



We had the Earl Grey and tiramisu last time so two down and 25 more to go.



The Ricotta cheesecake certainly caught my eyes thanks to the colorful decoration of strawberries.



It's time to enjoy one last sweet treat before we say goodbye to Seoul.



Strawberry and ricotta cheesecake - A layer of strawberry mousse sandwiched between the ricotta cheese and cream cheese.



Anyone who thinks this is an American style cheesecake, it's the entire opposite. It's delightfully soft and airy.



It had the the richness and decadence of a typical New York cheesecake (almost) but with a light and fluffy texture. And I love the strawberry mousse there for the extra acidity to offset the richness of the cheese.

C27 Cheesecake and Coffee opens daily from 10am to 1am.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 545-12 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Sinsa
Tel: +82 02-544-1527
Website: www.c27.co.kr

Kkanbu Chicken Sinsa (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

There's still one thing on my mind before we leave for home tomorrow morning and that's Korean fried chicken. Yeah, we haven't had those on this trip.



Kkanbu Chicken is a Korean fried chicken chain that's fairly popular in Seoul with hundreds of outlets around the city. They have so many outlets out there that chances are, you will randomly run into at least one during your stay. That's exactly what happened to us on our last trip when we bumped into their Namdaemun branch.



I've seen a lot of slogans from different fried chicken restaurants before but this is by far the best I've heard so far - "Your Best Friend". That put a smile on my face.



What Kkanbu Chicken offers is very similar to other popular Korean fried chicken restaurants in Seoul (for example, Chir Chir, Chicken 678) - garlic, soy, sweet and spicy, cheese and of course a crispy version not unlikely the ones from KFC. 



This branch was so close to the Sinsa metro station (Exit 8) that we didn't have to break a sweat walking over.



Garlic soy crunch, drumsticks and wings (19,000 won) - Yeah, why would we want to settle for one flavor if we could get the best of three worlds? In this case, that would be garlic, soy and crispy, a combination of three of their flavors. These were really tasty. It's a tad too spicy for me but I can't say I didn't enjoy them~



This branch of Kkanbu Chicken opens daily from 4pm to 2am.





Food Rating: 5/10
Price: ₩₩
Address: 35 Gangnam-daero 152-gil, Sinsa-dong, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Sinsa
Tel: +82 02-544-1222
Website: www.kkanbu.co.kr

Opening Hours: 4:00pm - 2:00am daily

L’Inconnu (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

The folks at Étoile Boulangerie et Patisserie told me I've got to come back for my croissant. Suddenly with about half an hour to burn, I figured I should have enough time to squeeze in my late afternoon snack since I haven't got one today.

Situated on quiet Dosan-daero 25-gil right on the edge of Sinsa-dong, L’Inconnu is a relatively new French patisserie in town that I had plans to visit during this trip but had trouble fitting into our super packed schedule so far. This was the perfect time to do so.

Young owner-chef Kim Min-sun of L’Inconnu (means “the unknown” in French) spent time in France honing her skills before moving back to Seoul to open her own pastry shop in 2018.



I like the hanok-inspired interior which uses a lot of wooden panels and furniture to evoke a sense of warmth, comfort and harmony.



L’Inconnu is not your traditional French patisserie. Chef Kim challenges herself to go above and beyond in mixing local ingredients into her pastries. Take her popular pumpkin seed Paris-Brest as an example, she replaced the usual hazelnuts with roasted and caramelized pumpkin seeds to give it more of a Korean twist.



At this late hour, I didn't expect a lot to be left and I was right. Only three pieces of Chef Kim's exquisite pastries were left including these three.



The third one was a slightly different version of her popular pumpkin seed Paris-Brest, replacing the pumpkin seed with buckwheat.



The choux pastry made with buckwheat was nicely decorated with crispy buckwheat toppings.



What I love most about this Paris-Brest was the almond praline cream in the middle, which was soft, light and tasted almost like butternut squash.



It's definitely more healthy than any Paris-Brest found on the streets in Paris.



It's a shame that I came so late into L’Inconnu that I wasn't able to truly experience what they were all about. I'll most definitely make sure that I come back for a return visit in August.

L’Inconnu opens from noon to 9 pm daily except Mondays.





Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 556-27 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Sinsa
Tel: +82 02-512-6767

Étoile Boulangerie et Patisserie (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

With Mr. Holmes Bakehouse now out of the picture (permanently closed since late last year, sigh), Étoile Boulangerie et Patisserie takes over the sole possession as the bakery with the best croissant in Seoul (but newcomers Tartine Bakery and b. patisserie may have something to say about this one).



I wanted to make sure I got my hands on one before leaving tomorrow but no cigar. As expected, my favorite ham and cheese croissant was already sold out. Only different flavors of madeleine cakes were left at this hour. When I finally checked with the lady at the counter, she told me there would be a last batch of plain croissant coming out in about half an hour.



So, I left the store temporarily but not before I dropped 2,900 won for one of their plain croissants. Thankfully, I did! Because 20 minutes or so later when I came back, the new batch was also sold out!



Plain Croissant (2,900 won) - So glad I paid for this before getting some air outside and walking around Garosu-gil. The ham and cheese croissant would've made me a real happy camper but this was a nice consolation prize.



The cross section test result wasn't bad. A good croissant should be well layered, flaky and buttery without being too greasy. This ticked most of the boxes but not all of them. For me, it has got to be more flaky and well layered. I definitely like the one from Crème de Marrons a little better.








Food Rating: 5/10
Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 36 Apgujeong-ro 10-gil, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Sinsa
Tel: +82 070-7627-0057

Anthracite Coffee Roasters (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

After spending an hour walking around the labyrinth of streets in Hannam-dong, it was time for our caffeine fix. This would bring us back to Itaewon where one of my favorite coffee roasters is located (but not before climbing a staircase of at least 80 really steep steps).



Anthracite Coffee Roasters is one of the locals' favorite hang-out places in Itaewon for a nice cup of coffee. And if you're into industrial chic décor, you would fall in love with this place in a heartbeat. They have 3 branches in Seoul but this is by far their most spacious one with three stories at the premise.



It's amazing how they've turned this former shoe factory into a rustic space for coffee lovers.



Anthracite only uses beans imported from high quality suppliers and they are roasted in house right behind those glass windows (on the ground floor) for their signature blends.



They also offer some simple sweet treats from their own baking kitchen to go with their hugely popular coffee.



Some of their signature blends are available to take home for only 10,000 to 15,000 won (200g). 



As a shop touted for its pour over coffee, their most popular espresso drinks (4,000 won) which are made with their "Butter Trio Fat" blend, would be the obvious first choice here. For non-coffee drinks, I highly recommend their hot ginger chocolate (6,000 won). It's rich and not too sweet but what I like most about it was the extra heat (from the ginger).



If the coffee won't bring us back, the industrial vibe certainly would!



Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 738-20 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Hangangjin
Tel: +82 02-322-0097
Website: www.anthracitecoffee.com