Life wouldn’t be quite as sweet without them. I’m talking about pastry chefs and the creations they conjure – and I’ve been known to declare a lack of a sweet tooth.
In Hong Kong, there has been a history of celebrating imported names who bring their fine patisserie and intricate desserts to our shores, from the great Pierre Hermé and his kaleidoscope of macarons, to the cheeky takes on nostalgic treats by New York-based Dominique Ansel.
This past month, exclusive Tsim Sha Tsui social club Carlyle & Co. played the nostalgia card by bringing in cookies from Christina Tosi of Milk Bar fame (if you need a rewind, Tosi was behind cult favourites such as the compost cookie and confetti cookie in the noughties and 2010s; she was also featured in an episode of Netflix’s Chef’s Table: Pastry in 2018).
Judging by the excited social media chatter, there’s still a lot of cachet in the Milk Bar/Tosi name.
Hong Kong social club Carlyle & Co. played the nostalgia card recently by offering Milk Bar cookies to its members.
Yet there are at least a handful of top Hong Kong chefs who deserve more time in the sugar-spun spotlight, something I was reminded of during a preview for a top-tier gala dinner to be hosted by the First Initiative Foundation, an annual charity event that brings together a star-studded line-up of chefs.
After courses by representatives of some of the city’s most decorated restaurants, from Hansik Goo to Whey, a show-stopping display of petits fours by Four Seasons Hong Kong pastry chef Ringo Chan took centre stage.
Ringo Chan at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Inspired by the motifs of the upcoming Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Chan crafted a celestial display featuring a white chocolate rabbit surrounded by mignardises shaped like moons, flowers and clouds and incorporating Hong Kong flavours. A plump white rabbit jelly housing a molten White Rabbit-flavoured centre was a crowd pleaser.
Chan has been with the hotel since 2005, joining as an assistant pastry chef as part of the pre-opening team. His pastry journey began in 1989, when he joined The Regent Hong Kong (before it turned into the InterContinental, and then back to The Regent) and apprenticed in the pastry section.
15 years later, he left for the Mandarin Oriental – before he was tempted by the challenge of opening a hotel.
Ringo Chan’s Mid-Autumn inspired desserts.
Over the past 11 years that I have been in Hong Kong, I’ve observed that Chan – despite his innate talent – is not one to hog the limelight. That’s the thing about hotels sometimes – it’s more likely for head chefs and pastry chefs of the restaurants to receive the marketing push.
Still, if you know, you know. Diehard fans wax lyrical about Chan’s pain au chocolat and pistachio Danish for their textbook buttery shatter. Creations that have since become signatures include the Barbie-pink red velvet cake, and the more recent 20-year dried tangerine peel and red bean mousse mille-feuille.
Keep an eye on the seasonal fruit tarts and cakes; the current season features the glorious Japanese Yamanashi peach, highlighted and complemented by simple, buttery short pastry and hints of almond, or oolong tea and vanilla.
Ringo Chan’s signature 20-year dried tangerine peel and red bean mousse mille-feuille. Photo: Four Seasons Hong Kong
Another pastry chef who cut her teeth at the old InterContinental is Joanna Yuen, whose Zen-like boutique cake shop Otera officially opened in early summer 2023.arlier this summer.
For someone so young, Yuen displays a wealth of wisdom and experience, evidenced in her approach to crafting the perfect dessert.
Her slightly savoury flan cakes are already an unusual proposition in a dining scene that can’t get enough of Instagrammable cookies and doughnuts, but her intriguingly esoteric mooncake series is another left-field offering.
Joanna Yuen of Otera. Photo: Otera
Featuring flaky laminated pastry, the dough is partly inspired by the fine, tight layers of the Cantonese dim sum known as turnip puff.
Of the two fillings, the one combining common rue and mung bean (a typical pairing in Chinese sweet soups) with kombu shows how she is able to draw new connections between French and Chinese traditions.
I may not have much of a sweet tooth, but both Chan and Yuen have proven that some desserts can help change my mind.
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