5 Mins Read
Vegans, rejoice! It’s never been easier to indulge a sweet tooth, with an increasing number of cruelty-free treats available to buy on-the-go. But for that extra-special occasion – be it a birthday blow-out, elegant afternoon tea or just to celebrate the end of another working week – we’ve handpicked five of the best plant-based patisseries in Hong Kong who are leading the way in delicious, ethically-made sweets, cakes and other treats that are almost too pretty to eat.
1. Bake To Basics
Fitness enthusiasts may already be familiar with the name Keikei Yip. As a boxing instructor at Warrior Hong Kong and Lights Out, Keikei leads high-energy fitness classes that work up a sweat while burning off plenty of calories. Happily for the rest of us, her other passion lies in replenishing those calories with her own range of mouth-watering vegan treats. Focusing on classic American-style comfort faves like cookies, brownies, donuts and cinnamon rolls, as well as creative cakes in a range of interesting flavours (Earl Grey tea and yuzu cream, anyone?), Bake To Basics cakes are all egg-, dairy- and refined sugar-free and use wholewheat flour for a lower glycaemic index. Gluten-, soy-, nut- and sugar-free options are also available to pre-order, meaning there’s an indulgent dessert here for everyone.
Order online three days in advance; pick-up in store at Suite 103,1/F Foo Yet Kai Commercial Building, 56 Java Road, North Point
2. Koke Lab
Combining the stripped-back aesthetics of Scandinavia with Japanese-style precision, Koke Lab’s founder began creating vegan pastry “… as a medium to tell stories, please ones’ appetite and touch their soul with minimum damage to the environment.” This mindful approach is evident in the intricate presentation of their beautiful cakes, canelés and petits fours. Inspired by natural elements, the cakes feature complex flavours such as black sesame, matcha and sea salt Hōjicha caramel, with fresher fruit options created using figs, strawberries and aromatic muscat grapes. If you’re feeling indecisive, we’d recommend a scroll through Koke Lab’s Instagram, which is a veritable treasure trove of gorgeously-lit #cakeporn photos to whet your appetite.
Closed Monday and Tuesday. Check the baking schedule before placing your order at least four days in advance via Instagram Direct Message. Collection is within 10 minutes’ walk of Kowloon Bay MTR or contact in advance to arrange delivery service at own cost.
3. MA… And The Seeds Of Life
A pioneer of Hong Kong’s “harm-free dining” scene, Chef Tina Barrat’s delectable raw cakes are now available for collection from her newly-opened Graham Street restaurant, MA… And The Seeds Of Life. Chef Tina – a co-founder of the much-loved Maya Cafe Mediterranean Lifestyle – brings her depth of expertise in raw vegan dining to each and every cake and pastry, teasing exciting ingredients such as spirulina, frankincense, lychees and chia seeds into innovate, nourishing raw desserts sweets. With so many sweets to sample, we’d recommend first booking in for an Afternoon Tea sharing platter before committing to your perfect patisserie partner.
Read: our full review of Ma…And The Seeds Of Life
Order by phone +852 3165 1717 or email info@marestaurant.com.hk for collection at Shop 11, First Floor, H18 CONET, 23 Graham Street, Central.
4. Moono
While Moono are rightly celebrated for their beautifully presented cookies, tarts and petit desserts in Japanese-inspired flavours like perilla cranberry jam, awa rice and sesame-miso, it is their incredible vegan macarons that truly take the cake. Pastel-pretty, the perfectly crisp and lighter-than-air shell gives way to a chewy satisfyingly chewy core that is generously filled with either stone-cold classic macaron flavours like sea-salted dark chocolate, pistachio and Early Grey, or more contemporary Japanese-influenced flavours such as black sesame and yuzu sea salt. We say why choose when you can have them all? Fortunately, Moono have us covered with a six-piece box set option, making this the ideal plant-based gift to share… or not.
Order by phone +852 6848 8375 or email enquiry@moono.hk
Aberdeen collection by appointment only Wednesday-Sunday from 12pm to 6pm (5pm Sundays). Room 1507 Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Concept store open Wednesday-Sunday from 12pm to 7pm. G/F, 186 Tai Nan Street, Sham Shui Po.
5. Bien Caramélisé
As Hong Kong’s first-ever 100% plant-based patisserie, Bien Caramélisé is here to make your wildest French dessert dreams come true – without the beurre and œufs that feature so heavily in traditional recipes. Founder Jessica Chow is a master of pastry, capturing the laminated flakiness of puff pastry in her mille-feuille, the delicacy of a gluten-free choux in her Paris-Brest, and the bite of a crisp pâte sucrée in her lemon-bergamot tart. Using smart substitutions such as the Japanese starch kudzu in place of eggs, and cacao butter or olive oil instead of dairy butter allows Jessica to achieve a broader range of flavours in her creations, which are every bit as pretty as they are tasty. If you fancy yourself as a budding plant-based pâtissier, Bien Caramélisé runs regular workshops, where you can learn the secrets of delectable vegan desserts to create in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Read: our full review of Bien Caramelise
Order via What’s App +852 5239 5198 or email jessica@biencaramelise.com
Collection is by appointment only from Tuesday-Sunday from 12pm to 7.30pm. Shop D, 1/F, Hentiff Building, 160 Prince Edward Road West (Mong Kok Flower Market).
Lead image courtesy of Moono.
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