Bakehouse Wanchai (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

It's been a while since I spoiled my little nugget with Bakehouse's sourdough egg tarts.

I was trying to see if they have any new creations, including a BBQ pork pie I saw Greg demonstrated on the social media. It’s obviously not a regular menu item — more like an off-menu special.

Sourdough Egg Tart ($12.5) – Still the best in the business, despite all the competitors trying to replicate the recipe.

The pastry was incredibly flaky and had a slight chewiness (in a good way), perfectly complementing the smooth and rich egg custard on top.

Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$
Address: G14 Tai Wong Street East, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Website: https://bakehouse.hk/

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 9:00pm daily

Santorini Greek Taverna QRE Plaza (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Work has kept me busy lately, so I really haven't had the chance to enjoy a full lunch for weeks. But today was the exception. With an important meeting in the afternoon (though no presentation from me), I finally had the chance to meet up with a good colleague of mine at QRE Plaza in Wanchai for a 1.5-hour lunch.

Santorini Greek Taverna is a name I'm familiar with thanks to my strolls in Soho, but I didn’t realize they had a branch in Wanchai as well.

Yes, I could definitely use a big salad like this. The garden leaves were nice and crisp, while the cherry tomatoes added a lovely acidity to the mix. The feta cheese on top was a nice touch, too.

This was even better than the salad, a nice bowl of penne tossed in a creamy sauce with chicken and mushrooms. A simple and hearty dish, done right.

I have to admit, I’m no fan of chocolate brownie cake. A little too rich and heavy for lunch, I’m afraid.



Still, it was nice to have a relaxing lunch for a change. I really don’t mind my solo meals at cha chaan tengs, but this was a refreshing change of pace for a Friday afternoon.

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: $$$

Address: 5/F, QRE Plaza, 202 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai , Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai

Tel: +852 2887-8700

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 12:00am (Tue - Sun)

Baker & Spice Upperhills 深業上城店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Baker & Spice is a fast-growing bakery in China, with over 60 branches nationwide. I first stumbled upon this brand while working in Shanghai, and nowadays, they have branches in Southern China including right here in Shenzhen.

Since we're staying at the Mandarin Oriental this time around, it was an easy trip downstairs to UpperHills (深業上城) for some of their freshly baked goods.

Apart from their croissants and doughnuts, they also serve simple salad and pasta dishes (and of course coffee) tailored to the Asian palate.

I had long been eyeing their berliners but never really had the chance to get my hands on one until today.

Vanilla Berliner (¥15) – This looked exactly like the custard cream doughnuts I’ve been getting from Bakehouse.

While its appearance was soft and fluffy, the reality was quite different. The dough, including the crust, was a little too crunchy for a doughnut, and even the vanilla custard cream was a tad too thick — even for a custard filling. Overall, it was decent but not something I'd go out of my way for again.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop T3061, Level 3 Upperhills, 5001 Huanggang Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区皇岗路5001号深业上城L3层T3061号铺

Closest Metro Station: Donggualing (冬瓜岭)

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 10:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/36/3FGk