Halal Cake Hunting in Kowloon Hong Kong, What's It Like?

Dream - Culinary in Hong Kong is incomplete without hunting for Chinese cakes. One of them is Imperial Patisserie located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. 

In recent years, Imperial Patisserie has become one of the must-buy souvenir brands for travelers to Hong Kong. Especially for Muslim tourists because it is halal certified issued by The Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund.

The Dream team had the opportunity to visit the place during the Media FAM Trip event with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Cathay Pacific.

When entering the store, we were presented with colorful and exclusive packaging of cakes. Visitors can also taste the cakes with the available testers.

This Imperial Patisserie Hong Kong has been open since 2019 and has more than 31 branch stores throughout Hong Kong. With various product themes presented, such as Moon Cake made because many Chinese people come to Hong Kong. There is also the Hong Kong Story series, with packaging themed on Hong Kong landscapes.

Imperial Patisserie has also won various awards in the 2022 Monde Selection World Food Quality Evaluation. Among them, Lava Mooncake won the "Grand Gold Award".

The staff of Imperial Patisserie said that one of the cake ingredients used is a combination of selected flour and butter. This makes the cake more fragrant, more than ordinary palmiers. 

The cakes at Imperial Patisserie are made by two master pastry chefs, Yip Wing Wah and Master Lai Wing Kuen. There are 9 flavors served, namely Original flavor, Earl Grey, Hazelnut, Almond, Sesame, Five-grains, Coconut, Chilli, and Sea Salt.

In its promotion, Imperial Patisserie collaborates with artist Louis Koo and will open its store at Hong Kong International Airport in July.

The prices vary, for the Hong Kong Story Series edition sold starting from 108 HKD (Rp203 thousand) with 12 pcs, up to 298 HKD (Rp567 thousand) with 32 pcs.

There is also The Eight Flavors Assorted Palmiers Gift Box sold for 308 HKD per 32 pcs. And the cheaper Chilli Palmiers Delight Gift Set is priced at 138 HKD per 16 pcs, and many other products.

Here are some product reviews received by Dream from the staff.

Original Palmiers, made from French butter, combined with Palmiers cake. Made by folding and kneading the dough repeatedly. Through several baking controls, it produces crispy real butter and rich Palmiers flavor with a buttery aroma and crispy texture.

Earl Grey Palmiers, one of the materials is top-grade Earl Grey tea leaves. In the process, there are several soaking and grinding used to extract the essence of Earl Grey tea and blend it into the cake. 

A thin layer of tea leaves is added to the surface of Palmiers to enhance the taste and aroma of tea and butter. The fresh and fragrant Earl Grey tea is said to be very suitable with the soft butter cake, making it refreshing and light.

There is also a flavor made from coconut palmiers, which utilizes fresh coconut flesh shaved and added to palmiers cake and baked together. 

A different flavor can also be seen from the Chilli Palmiers product, which has a strong spicy taste, perfect for spicy lovers.

During the preparation process, skilled chefs combine five types of chili, such as chili and Sichuan pepper. Then grind it into powder, and bake it with the cake. With precise baking temperature control, spicy, fragrant, crispy, and layered Palmiers are created.

Another interesting product comes from the palmiers sea salt flavor. Sea salt is crystallized from seawater naturally, and no anti-caking agents are added during the production process.