The Tea Room by Antique Patisserie - Traditional Afternoon Tea

Chloris and I went out for one of our ladies' afternoons last Tuesday. This time we went to The Tea Room by Antique Patisserie in Central. We chose this after having seen some pictures filled with undescribable cuteness. Well, we were most certainly not disappointed! The 16-seat salon at Antique Patisserie is all girly girls could hope for: French décor, laced tablecloth, flowery tableware, and well kept details make of this place one to be remembered. Upon arrival at the venue, our first delightful surprise: Antique Patisserie has about 40 teas to choose from, and they bring the samples of all of them to your table for you to smell and choose! They accompany this with a detailed description of each of the teas, so that you make sure to choose the right one!

The tea samples

I went for Thé du Loup, a black vanilla-based tea which unfortunately was not good at all. Chloris had the 1842, 29 Aout green tea and she said it was delicious. Once we had made our tea choices, we were served a refreshment consisting of blueberries and strawberries with whipped cream. Soon after, our teas arrived and so did our three-tiered Traditional Afternoon Tea set. The waitress provided a nice explanation on each of the products in our set. 

On the top layer we had 4 scones: 2 earl-grey scones, 1 raisin scone and 1 plain. There were also 4 puff pastries, 2 filled with sausage and 2 with spinach. I loooved the earl-grey scone, it was my favorite part of the set. Too bad the scones were not served with Devonshire clotted cream and were only served with butter and jam instead.
On the middle layer were the savories, consisting of 6 toasts: 2 egg&mayo, 2 bruschettas and 2 melon with parma ham. 
The bottom layer came with the sweet treats, namely 4 macarons, 2 chocolate cakes, 2 earl-grey cheesecakes and 2 green tea & chocolate mousee cakes. I disliked the fact that no hot water refill was offered to us during the whole time, and you couldn't really ask for it since the waitresses disappeared inside the kitchen and were never to be seen again until it was time to leave and they opened the door for us. The Tea Room does reservations and it's in fact most recommended that you do reserve a table, specially for weekends or holidays. When you do the reservation you need to prepay the afternoon tea set of your choice (3 or 2 layers). It's the first time I've seen something like this but I guess it's about making sure everyone shows up given few seats at the tea salon. Antique Patisserie has three sittings, at 12.30, at 3 and at 5.30. We went for the one from 3 to 5.30, the most usual time for an afternoon tea. I loved the fact that this set came with all the pieces doubled so that we didn't have to be cutting to share as with other sets. But then I guess this is expected given the fact that this set is as expensive as the ones in a 5* hotel!

Visited on: 02 October, 2012

Price: Traditional Afternoon Tea set for two: HK$430

Overall Quality: 4.5* {I didn't like the cakes on the bottom layer that much}

Value for Money: 4.5*

Would I recommend it? I totally do recommend this. It's more suitable for two {or a group of} girlfriends than to go with your boyfriend. I'm not sure whether he would appreciate so much cuteness!

Miu Miu Bow Satchel in Mughetto

I bought this adorable Miu Miu handbag last year September in Barcelona. The Miu Miu store in the Catalan capital had just opened its doors and I fell in love with it. From the interior decoration to the shoes, bags, clothes and sales assistants, everything was perfect at the Miu Miu store. My heart was beating fast that day at the sight of so much beauty. I fell in love with several items, but one of them I could not leave the store without! It was this gorgeous Bow Satchel in pastel pink that I have owned for a year now. 

These two pictures and the one above were taken in Barcelona a year ago:

The ones that follow were taken today, a year after my purchase:

As pretty as it still is, after a year the leather has become dry and the color is starting to fade away. I'm still deeply in love with it and is my top choice among all of my bags, but I'm starting to think whether it's time for a new Miu Miu... I'm considering owning the big-sized bow satchel in another color, should I go for it or try other styles/brands instead?

Ammo at the Asia Society Hong Kong

Ammo is the venue J and I chose to pre-celebrate our upcoming 2-year anniversary, which is on October the 6th. Ammo opened in April this year and will surely become one of the trendiest spots in town. As for me, it was love at first sight as soon as I saw the restaurant from the outside. Once we were seated and got to appreciate the stunning metallic-themed interior decor, I was practically in heaven.

We went for the Set Lunch Menu at HK$228 + 10% service charge. I was taken aback to discover that Ammo has raised the prices that much. Last time I checked the Lunch Menu was HK$180! I got the feeling they had gone a bit too far on their pricing policy, specially taking into account that the restaurant only opened in April this year. 

There were three choices for starters and three for the main dishes. We shared all the ones we ordered so that we could get to try as much as possible. For starters we had the Slow Cooked Egg with Buffalo Mozzarela Foam and Tomato Coulis, and the Rib Eye with Parsley Puree and Pickle. I loved the first one, it was the best dish of the meal for me. I didn't fancy the rib eye, I thought it was dry and hard to chew, but then I've never been a huge meat fan. J said he liked it. For our main dish we chose two pastas, one was Tagliolini with Fennel, Razor Clams and Zucchini Pesto, and the other one Ravioli with Italian sausage, Onion and Nduja, whatever the latter is. Both of them were good but not first-class. The ravioli were a bit spicy, because of the sausage filling. 

There were two desserts to choose from so once again we chose both and shared. The Mango Pudding with Mango Sorbet was good quality, nothing you can't find in a dessert store. The White Chocolate Crème Brulée with Chocolate Ice-Cream was way better, and J really enjoyed it.

Overall, it was a very nice experience. But then, been there done that, I probably wouldn't go back again. The restaurant's decor is one of the best I've seen in Hong Kong (and there's lots of fancy restaurants in Hong Kong!), but I guess the food was not that up to it, or maybe I'm just too demanding!

Visited on: 30 September, 2012

Price: Lunch Set: HK$228 + 10% per head

Overall Quality: 4*

Price/Quality relationship: 4*

Would I recommend it? It's worth to try at least once to delight on its beauty. Then it's up to you to judge whether the food is good enough to give it a second chance!

Nam Sang Wai (南生圍)

Yesterday I went to Nam Sang Wai for the first time. Along with Sam Ka Tsuen (三家村) in Yau Tong, and the High Island Reservoir in Sai Kung, it's one of the best spots for picture taking in Hong Kong. Nam Sang Wai is located in Yuen Long, in the western New Territories. To get there you just need to take the West Rail Line and get off at Yuen Long. Once there and after walking for about ten minutes, you will need to take the boat on the picture below ($5 per person) to cross the river and get to Nam Sang Wai. I truly loved the place, a perfect spot for countryside pics and a part of Hong Kong we don't get to see often!

I was wearing: T-shirt: b+ab; Skirt: asos, similar here; Bag: Balenciaga; Shoes: Zara

L'Oréal Hydrafresh Review

I have been using L'Oréal Hydrafresh range for over a year now as my daily moisturizer. Hydrafresh comes in two versions: Hydrafresh for Normal and Combination Skin (green one), or Hydrafresh for Dry and Sensitive Skin (pink one). I have a normal to combination skin, which is why the one I always use is the green version. Once in Spain though, I run out of daily moisturizer and could only find the pink one, so I decided to give it a try. I'd say both of these moisturizers are great value for money. This is specially true in Europe where they cost around 7 euros. The price here in Asia is about doubled, as with most of the products imported from Europe.

Hydrafresh Aqua-Essence (green one) is a really good product. Thanks to it being a gel, it feels extremely light and it provides a soothing feeling immediately after application. I love to use it under my BB cream (I almost never use foundation, but let me tell you more about that in another post). BB Cream is like a tinted moisturizer, so you don't really need to use a base before applying it, but my skin has always felt much better with some sort of protection from it. I've been reading some people's reviews on the Hydrafresh for Normal and Combination skin, and a lot of them seem to complain about this product not being hydrating enough. I'd like to point out that this is a gel moisturizer specially designed for combination skin. The words gel + combination combined, should already make you notice that this is going to be a very light moisturizer. It is definitely not recommended for people with dry skin, or even for people with combination skin during cold winters.

The pink version, for Dry and Sensitive Skin, it's a cream rather than a gel, and it's a bit too oily for me. I guess it will be better in winter, but as for now I don't really use it. This is in fact my 3rd bottle of the green version, but I wouldn't repurchase the pink one. I guess it's my fault for buying a product that is not for my skin type!

Overall Quality: 4.5*

Price: HK$125-$139

Value for Money: 4.5*

Would I recommend it? Yes, I've repurchased the green moisturiser about three times. It's a very good option for an affordable daily moisturiser. If your skin is dry, go for the pink one!