Fine Foods (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It’s been a while since I last visited Fine Foods at the Royal Garden Hotel in East Tsim Sha Tsui. After getting my ramen fix at Nadaman, I thought the popular cake shop would be a convenient stop before heading home to get some work done.

I spotted some familiar creations from my previous visits years ago, but I made it clear to myself that I wanted to try some new flavors this afternoon.

Rose, watermelon, strawberry & Earl Grey ($68) — It isn’t the first time a cake shop has attempted the idea of a rose–watermelon–strawberry cake without following the mold of the patented Black Star recipe, and it won’t be the last.

The varying textures of the rose, watermelon, and strawberry weren’t bad, and the introduction of Earl Grey tea was a nice touch. However, the design — everything hidden inside a chocolate hemisphere (meant to be half of a watermelon) — made the dessert much less enjoyable to eat. 

Even with my best attempt to break the chocolate crust apart, the watermelon slice still got in the way.

Pandan mango sticky rice ($64) — Much better than the previous dessert.

It had all the elements of a solid Thai-style mango sticky rice: mango, glutinous rice with a mochi-like chew, and the pandan sponge neatly combining everything into a pillowy cake. While the execution wasn’t exactly perfect, the balance of flavors and the mix of textures were enough to excite even the ordinary palate.

This was definitely a long overdue visit. While I still enjoy the consistently stable quality of Fine Foods’ pastries, a few smaller French patisseries—such as Finesse Patisserie, Relive Patisserie, among others have already quietly overtaken Fine Foods on my short list.

Food Rating: 6.4/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Lobby Level, The Royal Garden, 69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2733-2045
Website: theroyalgardenhotel.com.hk/index.asp

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 8:00pm daily