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Not everyone has a sweet tooth, but we think most of you would agree that you have a separate stomach for desserts of all kinds. There are a lot of boxes to tick for a sweet treat to be considered a good dessert: texture, flavour balance, creativity, and—most importantly—visual attraction. Sometimes, dessert makers take their decoration skills to such heights that we’re not sure if we would call their creations desserts or art! Feast your eyes on these aesthetically-pleasing and confusing desserts that put regular cakes and sweet treats to shame.
Nowadays, there are many versions of durian cakes to be found in Hong Kong, but did you know that they all originated from a certain cakeshop in Malaysia? That’s right; the artisans at Matthew’s Cakes brought their skills to Hong Kong to craft the most life-like fruit cakes. And they’re hard to beat! Taking almost two hours for the assembly of the signature Durian Cake ($1,500), the dessert uses bits of A-grade Musang King durian mixed with cream and folded between soft sponge layers. Cream infused with durian flavour is then used to make the spikes that surround the whole cake. The masterpiece is finished off with a chocolate stem, weighing in at a total of 1kg! There are also mango, strawberry, pineapple, and coconut cakes available for pre-order, so get ready to prank your friends!
Matthew’s Cakes, G/F, 101 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai | (+852) 5710 2722
A hidden gem in Kwun Tong, BYJ.HK specialises in mirror cakes that look like ink landscapes. To achieve this incredible, painterly result, tempered chocolate and a delicate balance of gelatine are required. Owner and patisserie chef Jay goes through an average of 50 glazings for each cake painting to bring out the right distribution of colours before she is fully satisfied with the results. Her signature is a 3D ink painting cake called Mountain Beyond The World ($1,288), mimicking Chinese mountains with shades of dark green, coffee, marble green, and jade to create the undulating slopes. Rock pebble chocolates are also strewn at the bottom of the cake to bring the sugary scenery to the next level.
BYJ.HK, Room 922, 9/F Sing Win Factory Building, 15 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong | (+852) 5566 8595
BYJ.HK’s cakes are so stunning, we had to include another one on this list! Arts lovers should have no problem recognising the replica of one of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings, The Starry Night. If you look closely, you can make out every brushstroke that patisserie chef Jay painstakingly painted on the surface of the cake, and feel the effort that is put in to make the colouring just right. Since the coating is made from chocolate, the sweetness of the chiffon cake is intentionally subtle to create a balanced flavour experience. For your order, you can choose from either vanilla cream cheese, Bailey’s, Earl Grey, or other tea flavours for your cake base.
BYJ.HK, Room 922, 9/F Sing Win Factory Building, 15 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong | (+852) 5566 8595
Zuc.cch.ero has got to be the coolest dessert bar in Hong Kong. Their truly edible art is put together live in front of eager diners for a theatrical meal, and the signature Mount Fuji ($268) is served only 10 times a day. The blue base of the mountain is made of Japanese soda-flavoured mousses, with frozen yoghurt parfait as the snow-capped mountain top. At the bottom of the mountain, you’ll discover green orange cake crumbs to act as a meadow, as well as edible flower petals to bring the landscape to life. Finally, they pour liquid nitrogen into the mouth of the mountain and smoke will spew forth to complete the artistic imagery of Mount Fuji on your table.
Zuc.cch.ero, 1802–3 Bartlock Centre, 3 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay | (+852) 3427 9828
For those not familiar with Ming Bistro, you’re about to be bedazzled by their alluring dim sum selection. Applying a modern twist to classic recipes, their dishes taste as good as they look. A must-try dessert at Ming Bistro is the Thirteen Orphans ($128), which is actually coconut milk pudding moulded into the shape of mah-jong tiles. Engraved on top are the different suits of mah-jong that form the rare winning combination of Thirteen Orphans, highly coveted as a mah-jong hand. The tiles are served on a wooden board on top of edible paper money. Dollar, dollar bills, y’all!
Ming Bistro, 1/F, Lyndhurst Tower, 1–7 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central | (+852) 2180 0768
Ookie Cookie takes crazy desserts to an unreal level, as they work their magic with fondant sugar and cake. They can frankly replicate any design you give them and their replicas are so life-like you really doubt whether it's a cake or not! For us, the most astonishing achievement they had was this Beef Brisket Noodles with Fishcake, completed with a set of chopsticks and strands of noodle midair. They really outdid themselves with the attention to details, such as the tender lines on the beef as well as the pieces of fat that usually sticks to it, not sure if we should be slicing this cake or slurping it up!
Ookie Cookie, Shop 302, Lee Garden Two, Causeway Bay | (+852) 9220 9622
At Saraton Patisserie, what you see is not quite what you get. These stunning, life-like fruits turn out to be mousse cakes with a runny centre! Using Voire white chocolate and colouring imported from France, owner and patisserie chef Sarah has high standards for the products that come out of her bakery. Priced at $88 each, the summer fruit collection includes realistic-looking passion fruits, lemons, and oranges. The shells are typically made of white chocolate, and the fruit purée is sous-vided for four hours to bring out the rich essence of the citrus fruits. The tangy acidity of the runny cores is a perfect complement for the sweet chocolate encasing.
Saraton Patisserie, Room 611, 6/F, Shing Yip Industrial Building, 19 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong | (+852) 9475 3994
Sick and tired of traditional cakes? Well, this one’s about to blow your mind: welcome to the world of sashimi cakes! We’re talking customisable sashimi assemblages with a Japanese rice base and layers upon layers of different kinds of seafood for a one-of-a-kind cake. Want to build your own? Choose from uni, salmon, shrimp, scallops, and more, and add on things like avocado or cucumber slices for a splash of colour, as well as gold flakes and fish roe to level up on texture and presentation. The sashimi cakes from Uniya are available starting from $1,280 per cake, so this one’s truly for a special occasion.
Uniya, 28–34 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan | (+852) 2409 2409
Having lived in Hong Kong, Beijing, and London sure is a fun fact whenever people try to guess Ching’s accent. She loves switching between all these language channels and her “mother tongue” is just determined by how many drinks she’s had for the night! She loves movies, travelling, and exploring cities, from hidden alleys to gourmet dining, so feel free to hit her up if you need any suggestions for dinner!
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