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Header images courtesy of The Vege Lab and Moono (via Instagram)
Vegan desserts are a great way to ease yourself into a plant-based diet. There are heaps of healthy substitutions that can be made to regular dessert ingredients, while still keeping your sweet tooth satisfied. Even if you’re not vegan or vegetarian, these treats are a delight to those who have dietary restrictions or allergies. We have rounded up the best homegrown vegan bakeries in Hong Kong where you can order all your favourite confectionary masterpieces online—they’re so good, you’ll want to skip dinner.
The vegan desserts from Raw Bean are so sinfully indulgent, we almost forget that they’re free of egg, dairy, and refined sugar! Xaviera only launched her bakery in February of last year, but her delicious treats are already all the rage in the city. Raw Bean Bites creates small treats, cakes, and cookies, but their speciality is definitely doughnut—available in a multitude of flavours and sizes, and prepared raw, baked, or deep-fried. We got to try some of her best-sellers, including Oreo, lemon and poppyseed, and coconut caramel. It certainly satisfied our doughnut cravings, and we were pleasantly surprised by how similar the texture and taste was to a regular doughnut. Coconut caramel was a stand-out, a caramel-glazed ring keeping us afloat in a sea of the city’s disappointing doughnuts.
Xaviera recommends the mixed box of a dozen raw, baked, and fried doughnuts ($300) for first-time customers, as it is the best way to sample everything, and she’s open to flavour customisations, too! The treats can be made to cater to gluten and nut intolerances, and are made fresh daily with organic ingredients and no artificial colouring or flavours, and delivered in upcycled packaging, making Raw Bean a truly green and guilt-free bakery. Order through a DM on their Instagram.
The Vege Lab founder Yuki first developed an interest in plant-based baking when she went on an academic exchange to Sydney, Australia, in 2017. She had already been following a vegetarian diet and decided to teach herself how to bake. The Vege Lab is the fruit of her labours, and she now sells about 15 different types of sweet vegan treats on her site in addition to supplying local coffee shops with desserts. We got to try one of The Vege Lab’s most whimsical creations, The Lawn, a five-layer cake made to look like a meadow on a spring day. The base was a solid dark chocolate cookie crust, followed by a vegan frangipane (almond cream filling), a refreshing jam of chia seed and mixed berries, a divinely smooth dark chocolate tofu mousse, and finally topped with matcha pistachio crumble to replicate grass and locally-grown edible flowers.
The Lawn definitely had the “wow” factor, perfect for your foodie friends whose cameras eat first. We also got to sample their vegan madeleines and butter cookies—the Earl Grey cookie pairs especially well with, you guessed it, a cup of Earl Grey. We love how much care The Vege Lab team puts in developing their desserts; butter seemed irreplaceable, but Yuki and her team developed a homemade vegan butter made of rice oil, organic coconut oil, and organic soy milk for The Vege Lab’s goodies. The team is also hard at work creating vegan croissants, a challenging enough pastry when made regularly. Order directly via their website. Be sure to check the site for monthly updates before you make an order as available menu items and pick-up or delivery times may change.
Kei Kei started Bake to Basics after repeated requests from friends and family. Plant-based living was already a big part of Kei Kei’s life as a fitness trainer, and everything she bakes for Bake to Basic comes with not only her personal touch but also a seal of approval from her fellow #fitfam. Specialising in cakes, brownies, and banana bread, she takes inspiration from her family, and her pandan and taro cakes are strong crowd pleasers—moist and fluffy, indistinguishable from a regular cake.
Her most recent creation, a sensational bubble tea cake complete with tapioca pearls dripping down the side, is a vegan #foodporn dream come true. All of her goodies are vegan, honey- and refined sugar-free, and low in glycemic index values. Whole wheat flour is used in place of white flour to ensure wholesome results, but everything on the menu can be made gluten-free as well. Kei Kei aims to keep her quality high and prices low in the hopes of welcoming more people in Hong Kong into the plant-based lifestyle. Fill in the order form on the Bake to Basics website or contact Kei Kei via Instagram or Facebook if you have any further inquiries
Moono’s founder Tina has a keen eye for aesthetics, having previously worked in art direction and creative media. Moono is the love child of her artistic vision and her sweet tooth—traditional French pâtisserie creations presented with a clean, minimalistic Japanese flair. Tina is a mostly self-taught pâtissier, only getting a basic introduction to baking techniques from a pastry chef in Thailand. She spent months perfecting her recipes before starting Moono, then built a name for her nouveau desserts by catering her friends’ weddings and birthday parties.
Moono’s current menu focuses on their signature creations: macarons and cookies. Each batch is made to order with 100 percent organic ingredients. We’re amazed at how closely the texture of their vegan macarons resembles regular macarons, as the crispiness of macarons come from the air bubbles created while whipping egg whites. The Moono team spent months refining their recipes as they hoped to create the most authentic macarons possible for plant-based dessert enthusiasts to enjoy. Macarons come in five signature flavours on the menu. Cookies can be ordered in two-piece packs or 60-gram packs, with both sweet and savoury offerings. Moono’s delicate desserts are all meticulously made and come with only one simple wish: to bake people happy. To place your order, send a DM to Moono on Instagram or contact them via their website.
Just like their name, the baked goods will give you a sense of unique peace. The Unique Peace offers handmade vegan desserts and baked foods with creative twists, as well as running vegan cake baking workshops, in order to raise awareness for veganism and environmental protection. The Unique Peace goes above and beyond, creating savoury goodies in addition to their vast cake selection, thoughtfully omitting garlic and onion as well for those who follow a Jain diet. For Chinese New Year, they released a gift set of traditional festive goodies made vegan, featuring a sweet purple potato shortbread with mushroom taro filling that we wish they had included on their year-round menu. To order, send a message to the Unique Peace on Facebook.
Currently based in Hong Kong by way of Calgary, Inés has always had a passion for writing and her creative work can be found in obscure literary zines. When she’s not busy scouring the city for the best gin-based cocktail, she can be found curled up with her journal and fur-ever friend Peanut. Don’t be surprised if you cross paths with her and she already knows all your mates.
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