Pan de Pain pancake & sweets (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It's been a while since we last had desserts at Pan de Pain pancake & sweets. In fact, it's been quite some time since we had Japanese souffle pancakes and little one wasn't thrilled. So, when we walked past Pan de Pain pancake & sweets on our way out of K11 Art Mall, he decided to stage a round of protests!

Of course being the good parents that we are, we decided to grant him his wish. After all, we wanted some dessert too!!!

I haven't had a good matcha latte since our visit to Jeju Island in 2019. These reminded me of the bottled matcha latte we had at O'Sulloc Tea Museum and it was one of the best I had in ages.

This came with a layer of milk pudding on the bottom. Very well balanced flavors. Love it~

Original Soufflé Pancake - This was still very good if you ignore its subpar presentation. It's still soft and airy but the shape really left something to be desired (not the nice round shape like those at A Happy Pancake)...

Berry Cheesecake Soufflé - The same soufflé pancakes served with mixed berries. Not bad.

French Toast - My first time having deep-fried French brioche here and it was sooo good! In my opinion, even better than the soufflé pancakes thanks to the super pillowy texture. Definitely won't mind having this again.

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop B111, B/F, K11 Art Mall, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui / East Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2576-1968
Website: www.facebook.com/pandepain

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 10:00pm daily

Sai Sons The ONE 醒辰冰室 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

One of the food trends I began noticing from the start of the pandemic was the rise of more and more casual eateries. Modern tea restaurants (冰室) are opening everywhere left and right. Even The One, the upscale shopping mall in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui is getting one - Sai Sons The ONE (醒辰冰室).

I wasn't planning to meet up with anyone for supper after getting my haircut done tonight but Jelloman rang me after she met up with a friend in TST. Turns out I just finished my haircut. So, we decided to grab dinner together and both of us wanted something "Sai Sons" (醒神) (or literally meaning brighten up in Chinese!). Look like Sai Sons Cafe at The One (醒辰冰室) matched the theme perfectly.

Kicking things off was a small salad, with butter toast and tomato soup.

Fried fish fillet Japanese curry rice (日式咖哩炸魚柳飯) - Japanese-style curry at a Chinese tea restaurant, why not? This was just OK as Jelloman put it. I think she said nothing to write home about.

Sai Sons fried rice with tomato sauce (醒辰西炒飯) - I was in the mood for some sizzling hot fried rice. This wasn't bad, tossed with tomato sauce and goodies like diced barbecued pork, sausage etc. It didn't have the wok hei from a typical local cha chaan tien, nor the temperature (just lukewarm I am afraid) but I like the Japanese presentation with the scrambled egg and ketchup on top.

Service was surprisingly good for a tea restaurant. It doesn't have the finger in the tea or yellin at the top of the lung from any of the servers. I certainly won't mind paying a bit extra for the premium location.   

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop L121, 1/F, The ONE, 100 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2633-2526

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:30pm daily

ATUM Restaurant and Dessert Bar (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

For some reason, I had trouble getting pictures (or memories) of my last meal at ATUM off my mind. It was that good...so a little more than a week later, I decided to pay them another visit.

This time around, it was already late in the afternoon and no more lunch menu. Beggars can't be choosers. I had to dive into their a la carte menu since I haven't had anything to eat all day.

Pan-seared duck breast, chestnut, barley risotto - This was a beautifully decorated dish with pan-seared duck breast and chestnut placed elegantly on a bed of creamy barley risotto with simple (and random) garnish of radish, snow peas and edible flowers atop. A subtle balsamic sauce provided some lovely acidity to the meat and barley.

The duck breast was a bit chewy so I had to take some marks off but all in all, it was a nicely executed dish with a mix of interesting textures and flavors.

The presentation also warranted some extra marks. Although the wait was a little longer than expected but it was well worth the long wait.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 101B, 1/F, K11 Art Mall, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui / Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 3586-1959
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm daily