Ohlalagout (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

When L'Eclair de Génie (閃電巴黎) opened its first store in Hong Kong in 2015, it undoubtedly made a lasting impression on the city despite its sudden closure two years later. These days, Hong Kong boasts a number of pastry shops with a nice selection of exquisitely crafted and irresistibly delicious éclairs, many of which are creations of local talent. In Sheung Wan alone, there are a couple of these notable establishments, including Ohlalagout.

No.1 in town for éclairs and French egg tarts? Really?

At Ohlalagout, the focus isn't about variety when it comes to their selection of éclairs; instead, they shine through with their commitment to quality.

Crème brûlée éclair ($50) – On top of the puff pastry was custard cream filling and a think slab of intensely flavored frozen vanilla brulee. There was supposed to be caramel ganache hidden in the middle as well but the flavors barely made any impact. 

 

I like the idea of this, especially the contrast in temperatures between the vanilla brulee and the puff pastry. It's almost like having a cold pudding on top of a flaky pastry but the execution certainly had room for improvement. 

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop B&C, G/F, Tower II Tern Centre, 251 Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sheung Wan

Tel: +852 9722-2817

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 7:30pm (Mon - Fri), 9:00am - 7:30pm (Sat - Sun)

Hong Zhou Restaurant 杭州酒家 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We are starting a one-year collaboration project and I got teamed up with a colleague who I have known for years but never had the chance to get to know personally. After a couple of phone calls this week, we have decided to meet up for lunch so we could get to know each other a little better.



We decided to meet up in Wanchai and just when I thought I knew almost every single restaurant in the area, my colleague threw out a name that I have never heard before, Hong Zhou Restaurant (杭州酒家).

Hidden on the second floor of a commercial building on Johnston Road, Hong Zhou Restaurant is an old-school Chinese restaurant serving Jiangsu and Zhejiang dishes (江浙菜) in a modern décor.

Deep-fried fish with soy sauce (杭式燻魚) – Instead of serving this in standard cold temperature, it came out lukewarm which I thought was even better. It was pretty nicely done too, with a soft interior while the outside was crispy.

Steamed dumplings stuffed with minced pork (鮮肉小籠包) – Obviously, not a strong suit here at the restaurant.

The wrapper was pretty thick so it was providing very effective support to the rich and flavorful broth.

Stir-fried beef fillet with Hangzhou chili and assorted mushrooms (杭椒鮮菇牛柳) – This came with pretty nice "wok hei" and I love the fact that both the beef and mushrooms were nicely coated with the sauce. The only blemish was perhaps the texture of the beef fillet which was way too soft and wobbly.

Fried noodles Hangzhou style (杭州炒麵) – I always like the thin noodles a little more and it was the perfect match with the think strips of pork, mushrooms and scallion. 

I think only a handful of old-school restaurants offer complimentary dessert soup after a meal these days. 

Food Rating: 6.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: 1/F, Chinachem Johnston Plaza, 178-188 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai

Tel: +852 2591-1898

Opening Hours: 11:45am - 2:30pm, 5:45pm - 10:30pm daily