Artte Barcelona - Art & Tea

Artte is yet another masterpiece by interior designer Lazaro Rosa-Violan, which I introduced to you on my Praktik Rambla Hotel review. This trendy cafe actually specializes in tea, and has a tea shop at the entrance where you can buy loose tea. 

Did you notice all the tea pots hanging from the chandelier? :)

It's perfect for either a cup of tea with a pastry or a full meal. We went with a couple of friends we hadn't seen in a while and they had a cup of tea, while J and I had something to eat since we had only had brunch earlier that day. I went for the hummus and eggplant spread, which was absolute delish. I would so totally go for it again! 

The tea selection was huge, just how I like it! So many loose teas to choose from it was hard nailing it down to one. I loved how all the teas come with timers, either digital or in the form of  an hourglass, to tell you when your tea will be ready to be poured. I absolutely loved this, since I find most restaurants don't take proper care about this and you end up pouring a tea that's been sitting for too long or too short. Teas have a timing for god's sake! I particularly liked the sand clocks, simply brilliant!

It was the first time ever for Liam to sit in a high chair, and he LOVED it! He was so curious, and kept touching the little table attached to the high chair, it was just adorable. 

Artte is more than a cafe, it's a place where food and tea meet art. In fact I think its name plays with the word Arte, the Spanish for art, and the word Te, the Spanish for tea. At Artte you can find numerous pop-up art and music exhibitions. You can take a look at the schedule on their website http://artte.es/

Visited on: December 20, 2014
Overall Quality: 4.5* Everything was perfect, except for the service, which was a bit uptight.
Price: Around 3.5 euros for a cup of tea. Around 10 euros for a main dish.
Value for Money: 4.5*
Would I recommend it? Yes, it's one of the most gorgeous venues in town.

Artte
Muntaner, 83
Barcelona
Closed on Monday

Baluard Bakery Barcelona

The newest Praktik Hotel in Barcelona, Praktik Bakery, is a hotel with a great asset {not to talk about its superb location!}. Its entrance has a yummy bakery, the perfect spot for both guests and passers-by, with lots of pastries to choose from and a very nice sitting area. I'm talking about Baluard Bakery, which has its main branch in La Barceloneta, but has now opened here, next to Passeig de Gràcia, to my delight. 

I had a mixed berries pie, which was a bit bitter, probably due to the blackberries. I wouldn't go for it again. I paired it with cold Cacaolat, a chocolate milk drink from Catalonia.

This bakery is really close to the nice cafe I reviewed last week, yet the style of both places couldn't be more different. Baluard has a younger feel, with a trendy yet low profile decoration, perfect for a casual afternoon.

Visited on: July 16, 2014
Overall Quality: 3.5* 
Price: 2.10 euros for the pastry, and 2.10 for the Cacaolat
Value for Money: 4*
Would I recommend it? Yes, it's a nice atmosphere in a good location.

Baluard Bakery @ Hotel Praktik Bakery

C/ Provença, 279

Phone: 93.488.00.61

Cafe Loisl - Vienna Coffeehouse in Hong Kong

There is no other place in Europe where I like cafes more than in Vienna. I consider myself a very lucky girl, having had the chance to visit lots of European cities and countries. Out of all of them, Vienna beats the rest when it comes to amazing cafes, with their elegant atmosphere, great coffee and superb cakes {yes, the cakes are my favorite part!}. 

Vienna coffee houses rank among the oldest in the Western world, together with those in Venice, Warsaw and Oxford. The whole Austrian capital is filled with timeless elegance, but there's something truly magic about its cafes. 

Loisl cafe in Hong Kong didn't disappoint as a Vienna coffeehouse. It is much less "grand" than its Austrian counterparts, but the savoir-faire is there. An extensive list of different kinds of coffee, as it's a must in Austria, together with more than acceptable Austrian cakes, make of this a small hidden gem in Sheung Wan. I don't know if the fact that it was a rainy weekday had any effect on the cafe being almost empty. Anyway, it was nice being able to sit in a cafe in Hong Kong without being surrounded by a crowd!

There's a tea set at HK$68 including a slice of cake and a drink, so both Juliana and I went for it. I had the quintessential Viennesse cake, the Sachertorte. The Sachertorte is a dense chocolate cake invented by Franz Sacher in Vienna in 1832. I tried many Sachertorte in Austria, including the most renowned one at Vienna's Hotel Sacher, and I can tell the one from Cafe Loisl was not the same since I can't remember feeling any apricot jam in it, but still good for a Sacher fix. 

Needless to say the coffee was good as well. Overall a very nice experience I'm willing to repeat real soon!

Visited on: July 22, 2013
Overall Quality: 4*
Price: HK$68 + 10% service charge for a coffee and a cake
Value for Money: 4*
Would I recommend it? Yes, if like me you've fallen in love with the cafes in Vienna, you'll be glad a place like this exists in Hong Kong!

I was wearing the mini roses ivory skirt from my shop Frill Me.

Patisserie - Hyatt Regency Shatin

Patisserie is the bakery cafe at the Hyatt Regency in Shatin, and it's one of my favorite patisseries in town. It's always full with mouth-watering pastries, cupcakes, petit-fours, cakes and imported delicatessen. I love that is small and, because of its location, seldom crowded. Patisserie might be a bit pricey with doughnuts selling at HK$20, but it's all worth it!

Since I live in Shatin, coming here is pretty convenient and it really makes my day! Yesterday J and I went to Patisserie for an afternoon snack and, as usual, ordered the Pastry Set. The Pastry Set, at HK$72, is available from 7AM to 9PM and it includes a cake of your choice and a drink.

We ordered an Apple Pie {Patisserie's signature dish}, a Chocolate Crunch Cake, a Cappuccino and a Cafe Latte. Everything was as delicious as it looks.

Visited on: January 5, 2013
Overall Quality: 5*
Price: Pastry Set for one: HK$72
Value for Money: 5*
Would I recommend it? Totally. Don't miss the chance to visit if you happen to be around!

Passion by Gerard Dubois

Ah, Sunday, beloved Sunday...! There is no denying this is one of my favorite days of the week! Today was even more special because I had something to celebrate. Yesterday was 1 year since I started working in my current company. It's the longest I've ever been in a company so this first anniversary had to be celebrated! So J and I made of this our excuse to go to Passion today, a French style bakery and cafe by chef Gerard Dubois, and boy did we love it!

Passion by Gerard Dubois made me feel as if back to Europe again. With delicious French pastries and petit fours, and illy coffee accompanied with Italian biscotti. 

We had a Peach Danish of superb quality. I've only ever eaten a similar quality one at Mandarin Oriental's Cake Shop. We also had the Rasberry mille-feuilles, another masterpiece to remember. Our third choice was the Passion chocolat, which turned out to have some passion fruit inside. For one reason or another I didn't really like this one, but then chocolate cakes are never my favorite.

This is a cafe worth a visit. On weekends you may need to wait before a table is free, but it's all worth it!

Visited on: 25 November, 2012

Overall quality: 4.5*

Price: $170 for two cafe latte, one pastry and two petit fours.

Value for Money: 4.5*

Would I recommend it? Yes, and when you do come, you will want to come back, for there are so many things to try, you can't possibly eat them all in one visit!

Initial Cafe - 48 Cameron Road

Initial Cafe is one of the trendiest spots for a casual get-together in Tsim Sha Tsui. Two in one, cafe + fashion store, moneyed hipsters have made of this a place to call their own.

Initial Fashion is an alternative fashion with Japanese inspirations, targeting eccentric Asian fashionistas in their twenties & thirties. Far from following fashion trends, Initial design is more of a timeless approach to fashion, all produced with the highest quality. Pricey as it is, do not miss the opportunity to visit any of their stores during the sales season: before the Chinese New Year and during summer, as almost all their prices drop to 50%.

Now back to the Cafe, despite its bohemian style with a blowzy touch including cracked non-tiled floor, one should not be fooled to think the place needs some reconstruction work. On the contrary, the décor at Initial Cafe is planned to the detail. It's the interior design version of those messy looks so often seen on fashion trendsetters, where nothing is left to chance, while the main point of the look is for it to seem all happy-go-lucky.

Excellent environment, presentation and service makes this a good choice for a relaxing reunion in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui. I had the hot Designed Cappuccino (4*) while J had the iced Black & White Mocha (4.5*).

Visited on: 09 August 2012

Price: $42 for a hot cup of coffe, $45 for an iced cup of coffee + 10% service charge

Overall quality: 4.5*

Value for Money: 4.5*

Do I recommend it? Yes, the perfect spot for a shopping break!

48 Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui