World’s #2 ranked coffee + Macau + Dessert Art (Day 5 Recap — Hong Kong March 2016)
By Day 5 of my Hong Trip, my mind kept wanting to explore more but my body had already pushed past its limits. My right ankle had a non-stop aching pain from all the wear and tear of the constant walking from the past few days, and every time I found a couch or chair I seemingly found myself stretching and putting up my feet in a position similar to the cat shown above. As such, Vickie and I decided to take this day a bit easier than we had the previous days, opting to check out a coffee shop with the world’s #2 ranked baristas and make a day-trip out to the famous gambling province of Macau.
The Cupping Room => Ranked #2 Coffee Baristas in the WORLD!
We started our relaxing day by making our way out to Sheung Wan (which is a nearby district just slightly west of Central). Even with the short trip, my foot was hurting so bad that even this was a difficult trek for me. However, making our way to The Cupping Room was one of the best decisions of this trip, as their coffee and food absolutely blew me away! We started by both ordering a Flat White, which is similar to a Latte except that the milk is mixed evenly throughout the drink, helping it maintain a stronger coffee/espresso flavor. For brunch, we ordered their famous Avocado Toast with poached egg and Brioche French toast. While both dishes were delicious, the French toast definitely stood out as it had the perfect mix of cripsy on the outside yet hot/soft/juicy on the inside! Finally, I finished my meal by also trying a Cold Brew coffee pressurized with nitrogen gas. This provided the coffee a creamy and smooth texture, and was unlike anything I’ve ever drank before in a good way. =)
Central Ferry Terminus and Spontaneous KFC meal
Reawakened after being infused with coffee, we now set forth towards the Central Ferry Terminus that would set us on course for our upcoming trip to Macau. Upon arriving to the Ferry Terminus, we were a bit bummed to find out that the next Ferry wouldn’t be leaving until 1:45PM (which was over an hour from the time we arrived!). As such, to kill the extra hour we had to spend in the Ferry Terminus, we did even MORE EATING!
Throughout the trip, I had came across this KFC advertisement pictured below (often throughout the walls of the MTR stations). With an extra hour to spare, I decided to buy myself one of these Japanese-inspired fried chicken meals, and to my surprise it tasted far superior to the KFC I’ve had here in the states. This Fried chicken had the same type of sweet glazed flavor you would get when eating Japanese Takoyaki balls, and I could’ve sworn the actual chicken itself was crispier than what they give you here in the states! To top it off, they even give you gloves, which is a dream come true for a germaphobe like me! haha
The Venetian Macau
I’ve been to Vegas numerous times, and I’ve loved all my trips out there. The glitz, glamour, and rebellious vibes of Sin City have me repeatedly headed back there, and so I was more than thrilled to make the hour long ferry trip out to Macau for a day to see how China’s “Sin City” measured up.
What I immediately noticed is a couple things:
- The hotels here are far bigger and more grand as a whole (due to larger amounts of land)
- Gambling is far more serious here…. In the casino, you won’t see hungover drunks stumbling from table-to-table. Instead, you’ll see throngs of Baccarat players who look like they were from the World Series of Poker.
- The Venetian is truly a sight to behold. It’s gotta be like 4–5 times larger and grander than the one in Vegas (and to be honest, the one in Vegas is already quite nice!)
We unfortunately didn’t make it out to the original location of the famous Lord Stow’s Bakery in Macau due to my ailing foot. However, to my surprise, they had an additional location here at the Venetian which provided me with the opportunity to try their world-renowned Portuguese Egg Tarts! These were definitely among the best egg tarts I’ve ever eaten, and the convenience of being able to eat it while walking through the Venetian hotel totally made my day!
City of Dreams + Chan Kee Roasted Goose
The Venetian Macau was so large that it took us over 2 hours to find our way outside of the hotel (seriously, it’s so big and has absolutely no windows, making it seem as if they purposely trap you inside the hotel so that you have to keep shopping! LOL). When we finally got outside, we crossed the street to Macau’s latest development, City of Dreams. City of Dreams reminds me a lot of Vegas’s “City Center” complex, and within the complex they have this new dining area called SOHO, which is meant to be a replica of the famous New York neighborhood. It’s a fun and hip setting, and perhaps the best part of it all was that there was seemingly so little people (which was a refreshing change of pace from how packed The Venetian was!). There was such a small amount of people there, that you didn’t even need to get in line if you wanted to eat at Din Tai Fung, one of the restaurants here in SOHO and one that is typically over an hour wait in LA!
After taking a stroll throughout the assortment of dining options in SOHO, we ended up deciding to eat at Chan Kee Roasted Goose. This restaurant is actually one of the most famous Cantonese restaurants within Hong Kong. The high-end location here in Macau is very different than the original location in Hong Kong, which opened on a street corner laced within the rugged frontiers of the New Territories during the 1940s and remains a local favorite. While this location has certainly been Westernized from an ambiance perspective, it remains true to the original location’s reputation of having the absolute roast goose in all of Hong Kong!
To make things easier on its guests, this location offers a 4 course set meal for couples, that Vickie and I delightedly ordered! Included on the menu were the following:
- Ginseng and Black Hen soup
- Hong Kong Roast Goose
- Char Siew (BBQ) pork
- Sweet and Sour pork
Following our culinary adventures in Macau, it was time to make the ferry trip back to Hong Kong. When we arrived at the Macau Ferry station, we unfortunately realized that all Economy seats for ferries were sold out for the next 2 hours (the next available boat wasn’t until 11PM, which would mean that Vickie and I wouldn’t get back to Hong Kong until past midnite!). However, considering that Vickie and I had one more foodie adventure we needed to get to in Hong Kong that night, we reluctantly decided to pay for Premier class tickets on the next scheduled ferry ride (9PM). Riding Premier class didn’t feel like much of a different since the ferry ride is so short, but at least you get a free meal (so perhaps that justifies the cost?! LOL).
You’re probably now asking, “What is this late nite foodie adventure that we so desperately needed to get to?” Well, it was for DESSERT of course. But just to clarify, this wasn’t just any normal late nite dessert run. This was a date with Hong Kong’s most famous desserant, Atum.
Atum — Where ART and DESSERT meet
Sitting on the 16th floor of a skyscraper within Hong Kong’s bustling Causeway Bay streets is ATUM Desserant, a place that desires to reinvent the way you view dessert. Unlike a typical restaurant where you’d look at a menu and determine what you want to eat, here at ATUM their world-class dessert chefs politely ask you to take a seat and join them on a culinary adventure. The result?
Improvisation => For every dessert meal, their chefs put on a new show where they use a variety of food sources (juicy sauces; freshly made nitrogen ice cream; fruits; jello; etc.) as their paint, and the table in front of you as their canvas.
It’s a truly unique experience that beautifully blends ART and FOOD, and it’s probably the most fun and pleasurable culinary experience I’ve ever had an opportunity to be a part of. Additionally, the chefs encourage you to join in on the fun too, often asking you to draw whatever your heart desires into the masterpiece unfolding in front of your eyes. To top it off, the final dessert tasted delicious, and proved that the food was more than just beautiful but had substance too!
It’d be an understatement to say that paying extra for the Premier class ferry ticket in an effort to make it back to Hong Kong Island in time to take part in this experience was worth it. It was absolutely worth every penny, and I would’ve missed out on an incredibly unique opportunity had I not done so!
