mochi sweets || nom nom nom mochi

FEATURED FOOD OF THE MONTH!

http://mochisweets.com.hk/eng_index.html

Shop 38, B2, Langham Place, Mong Kok, Hong Kong

 

*Photos taken with an iPhone 4. Excuse the picture quality! Sorry!*

[top left] black chocolate
[top middle] red bean
[top right] green tea
[bottom left] chocolate mousse
[bottom middle] chestnut
[bottom right] strawberry


Oh my gosh, it's so fluffy!!! I love everything Japanese. I love Japanese culture, I love Japanese boys and I love Japanese food! =D Whenever I drop by J-Town in Toronto, I always buy tons of mochi to eat.

Mochi is a traditional Japanese dessert, the most traditional flavors I know inside mochi are red bean paste and green tea filling. Mochi is a Japanese rice cake with paste/fillings inside, when you eat it, it gives you that chewy texture because it is made from glutinous rice. The ones I always eat from J-town are always sweet but I know other places like Hong Kong/Taiwan may serve mochi with shredded dried pork which is also very delicious!!!

When I went to Hong Kong, Mochi Sweets was one of my top places to go to. I have seen some of my friends took pictures of mochi sweets on facebook and seeing how Mochi Sweets placed their products on the display instantly attracted me to go there. Hey, what girl isn't attracted to colourful things? lol.

What is special about Mochi Sweets is that they offer varieties of flavours, not just only the traditional green tea or red bean paste/filling. Flavours like purple potato (aka sweet yam), chestnut cream and sakura are very creative and unique flavors. Why am I not surprised that I can only find these kind of stores in Hong Kong? Because Hong Kong is well known to get creative with their food - by giving you a whole list of different flavours to experiment with.

FYI: Most mochi range from $1.25 CAD to $1.50 CAD. (prices may change from time to time). It may be more cost efficient if you buy them in a half dozen (6 in a box) or a dozen (12 in a box).

TIP: It is best to consume the mochi when its skin is soft. Do not refreeze it after thawing.

Critique: I tried the black chocolate one and it tastes like the 70% Lindt dark chocolate candy bar. I like this flavour the most because it does not taste artificial compared to the fruity-flavored mochi strawberry. The outside of the black chocolate mochi is a layer of dark chocolate flour which is bitter but once you eat the inside, which is a filling of sweet creamy milk chocolate, the bitter/sweet flavours just clashes together and you can taste heaven. LOL.

Check it out and give them a try! :)

-Anna

the chocolate library @ ritz carlton || so you fancy, huh?

1 Austin Rd West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/HongKong/Information/Default.htm%20


The Chocolate Library

As promised, I would blog (and possibly, there will be a bit of bragging involved haha, just joking!) about my trip to Asia. First off, I would be blogging about a five-star & a world class hotel's high tea restaurant! I gave it a five star rating for it's five star service & food & the price (surprisingly).  

Courtesy of Ritz Carlton Hong Kong

Do you see this amazing view?! I was at the 103rd floor! Sorry I didn't get closer, I am afraid of heights. Apparently, Ritz Carlton is the tallest building in Hong Kong at the moment! I definitely enjoyed the view, too bad I went during a foggy day...

the concept of Chocolate Library

hungry, anyone?

Why is it called the Chocolate Library?

I think their concept is pretty cool. The way CL presents their desserts is unique. the desserts are placed on a "shelf-like" box. I would say, it looks exactly like the shelves that I see at my local library. Sometimes it's not the food that attracts to go to the restaurant, it is also their concept that amuses me!! 

This is where the desserts are placed in, in one big box! I remember when the waitress brought it over to my table, all my friends were so excited. Once she opened it, we all went "WOWWWWWWWWWWWW". A moment worth to cherish hehe.

I highly recommend this place for young adults, especially for girls because I know us girls JUST LOVE desserts (way more than guys). I went with my couple of girlfriends and we stayed there for literally 4 hours just talking and having a good time =).

the WOW factor

Look at the intricate details of their desserts/high tea goodies! Everything is made to perfection!

service || great! they didn't seem to care that we stayed for such a long time and occasionally, the servers would come to refill my teapot without me having the need to ask.

food || *chocolate afternoon tea starts from 2pm-6pm*, the chocolate cake that is shown above is part of the tea set. I LOVED IT! It's probably my favorite one out of them all because it tastes like ferrero rocher~ the cake is sweet to my tasting. One box of CL is probably enough for two people, don't order too much or else you'll have to take them home! Also, the smoked salmon pastry was good too, the bread part was soft and you know, when bread is soft and easy to chew on, you know it's fresh out of the oven ;)

price || one set is around $250HKD, two set is around $440HKD PLUS service charge (~$20CAD to $30CAD per head). High tea-ing in 5-star hotels like the ones in Toronto are SUPER EXPENSIVE. Usually around $40 to $50 person (add taxes/tips on top of that). So in my opinion, high tea-ing at Ritz Carlton was affordable. 

decor || warm tones like the food chocolate itself! The sofas are very comfy and the tables are huge! The view is also one of things worth going to this restaurant for. If you want to see a higher/better view without eating any of the food, you have to pay $150HKD just to go few levels up, definitely not worth spending that money!

what I ordered || two sets/boxes of chocolate afternoon tea, for every box of pastries ordered, two drinks are included. I ordered a tea that tasted similar to jasmine tea. TIP: if you want to make your money's worth, my suggestion would be to order tea because they give you a huge teapot and refill it every time it's empty. :D If you order drinks like latte or cappuccinos, they will not refill it.