For your Valentine, or for you? 8 of the best Valentine’s Day treats in Hong Kong – strawberry shortcake, chocolate lava tarts, truffles and more
- Hong Kong’s best pastry chefs are pulling out all the stops for their Valentine’s Day confectionery, offering some classics and a few modern twists
- While designed for the special person in your life, there’s nothing to stop you from treating yourself to some truffles or strawberry shortcake
While it’s often fashionable to disregard Valentine’s Day, there’s no need to be all sour grapes if you feel disdain for the Hallmark holiday.
Few of us require an excuse to treat ourselves to the odd dessert, and with the day fast approaching, there is ample opportunity to discover and consume some limited edition sweet treats.
For those in Hong Kong who celebrate the occasion with their partners, perhaps the suggestions below will offer inspiration for gifts to end the day on a delicious note.
For those who don’t, then I’d like to paraphrase a recent Miley Cyrus hit: you can buy yourself chocolates, too.
Kiyoka
Kyoto-born pastry chef Asuka Matsubara’s discreet cake shop, to the side of Ciak restaurant in The Landmark mall in Central, is the place people go to for elegantly designed cakes that are never too much.
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For Valentine’s Day, Matsubara has created a luxurious tart inspired by chocolate lava desserts, made using 67 per cent Belgian dark chocolate, Cointreau-infused whipped cream, dark cherries and dark chocolate ganache.
Shop 327-333, 3/F, Landmark, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, tel: 5502 0228
Finessence
Pastry chef Mandy Siu creates what I think is one of the best galette des rois in Hong Kong – so it’s exciting to see her bring out a new version for Valentine’s Day available until the day itself.
The Rouge D’Amour uses the same “tedious yet very worthwhile” method of working the pastry for light, crispy layers, and is filled with whipped cream infused with red berries, yuzu chocolate crunch, and a bergamot and lemon compote.
Finessence Patisserie, 9 Tsun Wen Road, Tuen Mun.
Date by Tate
You can always rely on chef Vicky Lau and her team to create some of the most photogenic treats, and their Valentine’s Day collection nails the brief.
The highlight this year would be the Valentine’s Day “Book” set, which consists of two understated but beautiful fabric-bound hardbacks that, when opened, reveal various sweet delights: chocolate bonbons, chocolate bars, financiers and cookies.
Best yet, the “books” can be repurposed and reused to hide whatever vices you might have.
210 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, tel: 6730 2494
Peninsula Boutique
The grande dame, with its long history and generations of talented chocolatiers, is always a reliable option for high-quality treats.
Pop by for the “Precious Love” chocolates that come in boxes of four to nine pieces to divide to your heart’s content.
If you’re the type who loves a statement, the heart-shaped “Sweetheart” cake – a sponge filled with Madagascar vanilla mousse and raspberry jelly – is no-frills but bold to boot.
The Peninsula Arcade, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Butterfly Patisserie
The Rosewood’s pastries are a staple in my book, and for Valentine’s Day, you’d do well to try your luck at getting in for the dinner at Butterfly Room, where they’ll be serving a four-course menu that concludes with a raspberry and hibiscus cake.
Even if you can’t, at least reserve a cake to take away from the Butterfly Patisserie.
Some of their bestsellers, such as the strawberry chiffon, have been fashioned into bougie heart-shaped editions; the fluffy cake is crafted with Hokkaido cream and the season’s best strawberries.
This version is available for pickup from February 11 to 15 only.
Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 3891 8732
Le Dessert
This home-grown online brand by entrepreneur Julien de Preaumont launched in 2018, bringing French patisserie to dessert fiends across Hong Kong.
Le Dessert’s Valentine’s collection is short but sweet, with thoughtfully constructed items such as the Charlotte cake comprising crumbly streusel, strawberry cremeux, fresh strawberry compote, yogurt vanilla mousse, vanilla sponge, lady fingers and whipped Chantilly cream.
For those looking for something even lighter, the Valentine’s Day pavlova features airy meringue topped with strawberry and vanilla Chantilly cream and fresh berries, mango and raspberry rose gel.
Charbonnel et Walker
This British brand’s signature pink champagne truffles are an easy crowd-pleaser, but if you’re more into treating yourself, then why not opt for their selection of “mini hearts”?
Tiny, heart-shaped boxes hold exactly three truffles, and you can choose from flavours including the classic pink or milk marc de champagne truffle, milk caramel sea salt truffle, or the dark caramel sea salt truffle.
Four Seasons Cake Shop
Ringo Chan is one of Hong Kong’s most talented – and consistent – pastry chefs, delivering new creations for pretty much every season and holiday.
His Valentine’s Day rose, berries and passion fruit cake is a restrained yet elegant dessert, with its mirror-like shine and “love letter” crafted from finely tempered chocolate lightly draped on top. Available in ½lb (227 grams) or 1lb versions, depending on how many people you’d like to share it with.
The hotel’s signature afternoon tea takeaway is also zhuzhed up for the season, with treats including rose and strawberry cream shortcake, and white peach and champagne verrine.
Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Central.
