Maccha House: chill out while sipping on green tea and munching on desserts
A highlight of the menu, matcha almond tofu.Maccha House
Shop A132a, L1, New Town Plaza Phase 3, 18 Sha Tin Centre Street, Sha Tin, New Territories
Tel: 2974 5540
Grub: Japanese, with a focus on green tea specialities.
Vibe: Bamboo and wooden decorations give a cosy feel. Despite being in the middle of a busy shopping mall, it’s the kind of place where you can find inner peace while sipping green tea and munching on fresh sashimi from Hokkaido. This place is great for hanging out, or treating yourself to yummy desserts after stressful exams.
Who to take: Green tea lovers! Definitely bring a friend or two to share hotpot or a jumbo-sized dessert.
What’s hot: If you want to spice things up a bit, give the spicy beef udon a try. There’s also a wide selection of rice and ramen to keep you warm and cosy in the chilly aircon.
But really, the (incorrectly spelled) name of the restaurant says it all. This place is heaven for any green-tea-enthusiasts, offering mouth-watering matcha desserts with an added bonus of Hokkaido milk.
The matcha shiratama parfait is a must-try. It’s more than six layers of awesomeness, ranging from whipped cream topped with red bean to crunchy corn flakes for added texture. Once you see the size of this ginormous dessert, you’ll see why it’s best to share it.
The matcha almond tofu is another highlight, combining the best of Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Almond tofu with a spoonful of green tea syrup is guaranteed to sweeten up your day, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the sugar, a small sip of tea will cleanse your palate.
What’s not: Keep in mind that matcha and green tea are actually different things. Matcha is a lot richer in flavour, as the leaves are grown in almost complete darkness, whereas green tea leaves are exposed to sunlight all the time. But people interchange them, so even when a dish has the fancy matcha title, it might just be made from low-grade green tea powder.
Also, the rice and ramens are quite small compared to the desserts. A few pieces of salmon sashimi and a dollop of salmon roe hardly seem worth HK$89.
Cost: Rice bowls are HK$49-HK$99; ramens are HK$59-HK$84; udon dishes are HK$59-HK$79; sides are HK$29-HK$49. Green tea drinks are HK$19-HK$49, and desserts are HK$29-HK$79.