[Review 3038] Vegetarian Christmas at Maya @ Maya Cafe Mediterranean Lifestyle

23/12/2013
Maya Cafe Mediterranean Lifestyle
灣仔月街5號地下
G/F, 5 Moon Street, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/vegetarian-christmas-at-maya-e2337042

Thanks to Maya Cafe for letting me sample this five course vegetarian meal for Christmas.
Before I tried the meal, I tried their a drink from their winter juices menu.

There were two that caught my attention:
Celebration and Heartbeet! but the other names were stylish such as Reboot!
In the end I chose Celebration because it was festive and it had pumpkin which reminded me of Thanksgiving.

The apple and cinnamon in the drink was very prominent while the pumpkin had a gentle earthy tone.
It would be nice if there was more proportion of the pumpkin in the drink.

Official Christmas menu (which was slightly different to what I tried:
Here was what I had in the five course meal:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soup:

This was cream of porcini soup served with almond crackers. The soup had a nice consistency that was not too thick or thin with a nice kick of black pepper in it.
If you like these crackers, they have them for sale and there is also sesame.

(a nutritious snack!)
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Savory puffs:

Next I had the puffs which were both delicious, one was spinach and the other was potato. They were both amazing because it was spiced with my favourite cumin.
The salad on the side was also good because is was dressed in sesame sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Baked veg au gratin:
A wholesome pot of sliced vegetables sandwiched together and baked in delicious olive oil with feta cheese on top!!
This was simple and delicious paired with healthy nutritious red rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dessert:
Lastly, there was dessert, it was a lovely moist cake made with coconut, dried fruits, nuts flavoured with orange blossom water drizzled with cashew nut sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hot Chocolate:
There is a drink included and I was recommended the hot chocolate which is raw cocoa that had a rich strong taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As well as the five course meal, I also tried the Chia seeds pudding which is interesting because it was nutty and light with a nice berry taste.
For new years eve they will have something special, featuring live dancing and mezzesl!

[Review 3037] Pacific coffee with a Chinese twist! @ 太平洋咖啡 Pacific Coffee

22/12/2013
太平洋咖啡 Pacific Coffee
上環荷李活道233號荷李活商業中心地下1,3至5號
Shop nos 1 & 3-5, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/pacific-coffee-with-a-chinese-twist-e2336983


I didn't realize this branch was new but I liked it because it was different.

While I was there I tried the Babychoccino

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Babychoccino:

Babychoccino next to a tall sized drink.
Babychoccino is steamed milk with chocolate.
The taste was very milky with a hint of chocolate and it is warm on the top and gets colder nearer the bottom.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Nice front with a sitting out area.

[Review 3036] Singapore's Cedele now in Hong Kong @ Cedele

22/12/2013
Cedele
上環德輔道中199號無限極廣場地下G08號舖
Shop G08, Infinitus Plaza, 199 Des Voeux Rd, Sheung Wan

https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/singapores-cedele-now-in-hong-kong-e2336982

I discovered this by chance because I was early in the area for a tasting.
At first it looked like a modern cafe with salads and sandwiches at the entrance, and cakes on the other side of the cabinet.

As I had a tasting, I decided to go for something light so tried the cakes.

I was delighted to see lots of pandan flavoured cakes, which made me realize it was Singaporean.
A nice addition to the market because Toast box and BreadTalk are getting boring.

The dining area was quite nice.

The staff there were really nice and spoke American English and you would expect a truly Singaporean brand to speak fluent English or at least Singlish because this is their native language.
It surprises me that Singapore has better English speakers and Western brands than Hong Kong because Hong Kong is more internationally well known but lacks good fluent English speakers.
The GDP of Singapore is overtaking Hong Kong over these few years.

Back to the delicious cakes!!

I ordered the Pandan cake and the Pistachio and chocolate cake.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pandan cake $40/slice:

Description from the label:
natural pandan sponge cake sandwiched between own made egg custard, pandan frosting finished with fragrant coconut shreds. Unrefined sugar and grapeseed oil used.

This was the first pandan cake I have tried, the ones I have tried before were the chiffon ones which were not as fancy as this.
The cake had a lovely strong taste and smell of pandan.
In the middle the kaya paste and the coconut shreds topping on top made it more coconutty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate pistachio cake:

Description from the label:
Chocolate truffle layered with soft pandan cake, topped with pistachios.

This cake was too heavy for my liking because the chocolate truffle layers were strong and dense so it felt like eating a bar of dark chocolate.
Although it was too strong, it was nice that it was not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
After trying the cakes, I went back for the Christmas Pandan logcake and the cheese scallion scone to take away.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Christmas Pandan logcake:

Description from the label:
Soft and moist pandan logcake.

The box for the cake was really nice and sturdy.

Compared to the Pandan cake above, there was more proportion of pandan buttercream in the middle and less of the cake.
Overall, I felt that the pandan cake tasted better because it was more satisfying.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cheese scallion scone:

Description from the label:
Savory scone filled with spring onions and cheddar cheese, recommended with soup.

Although I did not have it reheated, it tasted amazing.
It would have been divine if it had been warm because the abundance of spring onions in it made it moist and flavoursome and the cheddar cheese was lovely and cheesy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3035] Well hidden cake shop @ 凱施餅店 Hoixe Cake Shop

22/12/2013
凱施餅店 Hoixe Cake Shop
將軍澳坑口培成路8號南豐廣場平台一樓B1舖
Shop B1, 1/F, Nan Fung Plaza, 8 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/well-hidden-cake-shop-e2336979

This cake shop is the smallest branch of Hoixe I have ever seen.
It is hidden on the corner near Saizeriya.
Anyway, it is brightly lit and new compared to the other branches.
The chocolate roll looked attractive so bought that for $9.5.
The taste of the chocolate roll was quite nice and not too sweet but the chocolate cream and jelly in the middle was a bit heavy and artificial.

Overall the staff at this branch was helpful and friendly.

[Review 3034] A different flame is burning @ Flame

22/12/2013
Flame
灣仔盧押道18號海德中心地下B號舖
Shop B, G/F, One Capital Place, 18 Luard Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/a-different-flame-is-burning-e2336829

Previously this restaurant used to do roast chicken but then they closed for a while and now they serve pies instead of roast chicken.
The restaurant has now been converted into a small pub.
Here is the new menu and it's nice to see that they still have piri piri chicken burger on the menu.

I ordered two pies which were not available so I had to choose from the list she showed me, so in the end I had chicken and mushroom and the beef curry pie.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken and mushroom:
Evidently this pie was made in Hong Kong because it had the Asian shitaake mushroom.
The taste was ok but nothing spectacular because it was piping hot outside and slightly cold in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef curry pie:
It was crammed with lots of minced beef but again it was cold in the middle despite the hot steam coming off it.
The beef was a bit too gamey for my liking.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3033] Affordable localized pastries and cakes @ M18

22/12/2013
M18 
樂富聯合道198號樂富廣場地下L103-104號舖
Shop L103-L104, G/F, Lok Fu Plaza, 198 Junction Road, Lok Fu
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/affordable-localized-pastries-and-cakes-e2336828

I happened to be in the area so went for a walk when I saw this bright illuminated bell so stopped by to have a look.
It appeared to be a bakery with a dine in section.

On the right of the entrance, there was a window where people can see the pastry chef decorating the pastries.

Inside, there were lots of pastries, some were in cabinets and some were exposed.

The cookies which cost $5 looked really nice and there were four flavours: tomato, ginger, caramel walnut, chocolate.
Each were topped with respective toppings, the caramel walnut one looked the best!

After asking the staff, found out that they are a branch of Maxims, hence the M in the name M18.
The 18 is probably a Chinese thing so that they get lucky.

In my opinion, the decor, range and prices were going to win people because it differentiates them from their usual boring Maxim's style and incorporates more European and Japanese influences in it.
It is a crossover between Maxim's & you cafe selling Arome bakery room style cakes and patisseries. 

As well as that, the dine in selection looks good and cheap too.

The all day breakfast was the best deal for $36 which I saw people have and it looked decent with proper mushrooms and sausages as opposed to frankfurters and canned mushroom.

As I was full I could only try the cakes, and they both cost me $32.5 which is even cheaper than arome bakery room!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cinnamon apple danish $8.5:

In the middle of the apple danish, there was custard.

I found the danish pastry too thick and tough, the apple filling was too sweet and the cinammon was not strong enough.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Raspberry mille feuille $24:

There was also pineapple and strawberry mille feuille but I chose raspberry because you don't often see raspberry.
The layers of pastry were quite hard and flakey but it tasted ok and the custard filling was not too sweet with a reasonable vanilla taste in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★