dessert | Fork & Talk

A trendy and kitch tea shop, Teakha really made an awesome tea experience this morning. Home blended teas and freshly baked cakes and pastries, this little sanctuary really put a smile on our faces as we took shelter for the code black torrential rain that swept across Hong Kong this morning.

We got to the tea shop at 11am to staff who happily told us their tea was not ready and their cakes hadn’t finished baking. One thing you will realise in Hong Kong is that they are not early risers and nor are they breakfast people so expect the start to the day to be slow. Usually Elena would have had a heart attack at the thought of being denied food yet as we saw they were brewing their own teas and were frantically mixing batters and shoving them into ovens, well we knew we were in for a treat.

The staff kindly allowed us to take shelter indoors while they finished and we shift through their menu. I ordered the Rose Tea which came with a frothy top, caramel drizzle and edible rose petals. The aroma is that of fresh rosa petals and the taste is just like sweet rose water. Will definitely try and make something like this at home. Elena ordered an aromatic black tea which was earthy in flavour and rich.

We ordered the most amazing cakes. Elena ordered a chai caramel brown which came straight out of the oven so was warm and gooey on the inside. I ordered a chamomile, buttermilk and custard tart which reminded me a lot of a traditional New York cheesecake, milky, light and airy. Delicious.

Beware, it is not a traditional tea house and is very modern. It is an expat hotspot as the flavours here are more for the western diner. This place is cute and stunning and we wish we could try the other things on the menu.

Two things Teakha made us realise were:

1. We should always pack a scarf or sweater as the air conditioning inside was freezing and that goes for all restaurants in Hong Kong

2. We really want to try a traditional Chinese tea house before we leave and obviously share those details with you

Teakha

Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Road SOHO Sheung Wan.

A few weeks ago I walked past a place in Camden where the ice cream was being made while the customers waited. I was mesmerised and it had been a life long dream to be part of that creaming process and be able to add what I want.

“NOOOOO, you cannnn’tttt!” You say? Well it is possible with the help of liquid nitrogen!!!! However, we never got to try it out in London but decided go for every flavour that was offered when I found the Lab Made Cafe on the streets of Hong Kong.

Now unlike London the Hong Kong-ese tend not to go for your bog standard flavours so forget your vanillas or Oreo cookie for this event. We decided to try all four of the seasonal flavours. We tried: Tai Hing Chilled Milk Tea, Tai Mango and Coconut Rice, Sea Salt Gelto with crunchy caramel and Crispy White Chocolate with Greek Yoghurt and Strawberry Sauce.

Each cup of goodness is blended with cream and relevant flavours and then the dramatic stuff happens, the liquid nitrogen in poured in and the mixer over fills will cold smoke and then waaalaaa, your ice cream is ready. The flavours are so odd yet wholesome and nice, after a few scoops that is lol. Two scoops costs you £44 Hong Kong dollars which works out at about being £4.40 which is on the tad expensive end when you think about how much you get. It’s a cute but faddy ice cream place which Hong Kong is full of. A word of warning, the liquid nitrogen makes the ice cream melt ridiculously quickly so be prepared to knock it back quick. Interesting fact – Lab Made Cafe change their menu every two weeks so be prepared not to be able to try any of the flavours we mentioned.