We were informed by the hotel’s organisers prior to our visit that the Lobby Lounge at Intercontinental Hotel HK is now carrying a new Summer Menu, currently serving 7 new types of Gourmet Burgers made from quality USDA Angus Beef! As a bonus, we decided afterwards to treat ourselves to new French Pastry Chef Cyril Dupuis’s creations. His resume is impressive, having worked in famous pastry kitchens in Europe including the world famous Pierre Herme as well as Alain Ducasse’s Michelin 3 Star Restaurant. The Burgers here are slightly on the leaner side but still quite beefy, which will definitely suit its health-conscious hotel patrons! The many varieties of fries were surprisingly good and done perfectly, as we simply couldn’t stop eating these at all. As for their cakes and desserts? Well I’ve heard that the Afternoon Tea sets are not as impressive as ordering the Desserts a la carte style, but since we did the later on this visit I am going to say: it was like going back to Paris and eating Pierre Herme all over again good! Highly recommendable… Not sure about the tea set for now however before I will need to go try them out.
Lobby Lounge, Intercontinental Hotel HK
One of the best Harbour Views during day or night time in Hong Kong..
Caesar Salad -
The grissini like bread sticks were quite cheesy, a good start! The salad dressing on the romaine lettuce however is what I really like, because those who’ve eaten real Caesar’s should know that most local versions are simply so bad, they’re subjects of ridicule! Not here, as I was surprised this tasted like it should with the right balance between mustard, cheese, anchovies, garlic and lemon, etc. But there is another bonus…
~ 8/10
Anchovies..
Not many people bother putting in anchovies or fried versions these days, which is like the make or break for a Caesar for me. This could do with a little bit of Bacon though!
Home Made Lemonade -
The American theme starts with an offering of a very well made house lemonade. Seems like they’re being very serious here with promoting this Summer American Burger scheme… ~ 9/10
Samuel Adams Boston Lager -
Quite orangey-hop like and likable, somewhat reminding me of Belgian Amber Ale ~ 7/10
Wisconsin Butter Burger - With Buttered Brioche Bun, Fried Egg and BBQ Sauce
We agreed this was the best burger for the day. The beef was tender and beefy, even if of the leaner variety. The egg gave it more lubrication and taste. On top of that, who could resist a buttered brioche bun? ~ 8/10
Shoestring Fries -
Fried to the perfect degree and well seasoned. For someone like me who used to work in the kitchen and fried chips everyday non-stop, I am very happy with this standard! ~ 9/10
The Carolina Classic – Chili Beef Burger with Coleslaw, Jack Cheese and Mustard
I liked this different bun too. The coleslaw was good, but I couldn’t taste much Chili or the mustard. Overall this was still satisfactory ~ 7/10
Potato Wedges -
These were again very good! Very floury and fried perfectly to crispy. You might take it for granted, but not many places can fry chips or wedges well to this light floury and crispy state without being oily at all. These are not the very spicy-seasoned versions we’re used to ~ 9/10
Hawaiian Surfer - with Grilled Pineapple, Applewood Smoked Bacon & Teriyaki Sauce
This was probably the 2nd highlight of the Burgers. The fresh pineapple after grilling was well caramelised and sweet. The beef patty in this was cooked better than other burgers too! Bacon also grilled perfectly. Served with a few sauces and gherkins… ~ 8/10
Sweet Potato Fries -
By this stage, I am beginning to understand 1 thing. Whoever is cutting and frying the variety of fries here are doing a SUPERB job. This was very well fried, and for a sweet potato wasn’t overly dry-floury inside, nor coated with any oil whatsoever. Amazing stuff for HK’s standards ~ 10/10
The Minneapolis Juicy Lucy - Burger filled with melted Jack and Fontina Cheese,
Deep Fried Gherkin and Heinz ‘57’ Tomato Sauce -
Truth be told this was the one I most looked forward to trying! The fried gherkin was good. The Heinz 57 sauce is a slightly more spicy ketchup like steak sauce which is also interesting. The problem with this lies with the slightly too dense patty outside, perhaps because they compressed it more to make sure the 2 cheeses inside doesn’t leak out! Also lacking a bit of charred grilling taste! ~ 6/10
Heinz ‘57’ Sauce -
Almost BBQ and Steak Sauce like, but still with a Ketch Up base…
Mariage Freres Tea - Earl Grey
Being a world famous French Tea brand, this was made quite well with a great Bergamot oil and floral fragrance. Lovely ~ 9/10
Chocolate Elysee Cake -
What can I say? This was rich yet smooth, light yet chocolate. Perfectly balanced and with a multiple of layering and some marmalade jam! This is simply the best Chocolate Cake I’ve eaten in Hong Kong by a large margin. Truffle cake at Debauve et Gallais? Paul Lafayet? Not even close by a long shot. This cake was as good as the Pierre Herme cake I had in Paris recently if not better ! ~ 10/10
This is a cake, I’ll remember for the rest of my life….
Crunchy Caramel with Milk Chocolate Cake -
Another absolute stunner, and no exaggeration this is another cake that I ‘ll imprint into my mind and upon which, all future milk chocolate cakes will be measured upon. And this coming from a Hong Kong hotel lounge! There are around 5 layers in this cake, starting from a richer and darker chocolate base to the milkier layer, then to the vanilla infused custardy layer. Near the top is a slightly denser and buttery cake and that drop dead gorgeous Caramel layer. All complimented with the chocolate pearls and the caramelised nuts mixture. Definitely one of the best cakes I’ve ever had in my life ~ 10/10
Lemon Tart -
Another winner. The pastry was just perfect. Light and not too crumbly nor falls apart, buttery. The lemon curd within was also perfectly done, with a just-set centre and very lemony custard. For some, this could be quite sour but for me, that’s the whole point of eating a lemon tart especially in Summer ! 10/10
Mille Feuille -
I’ve previously thought that Mille Feuille wise, the ones in Caprice was the best and closely followed by Paul Lafayet’s version (Mind you, I’ve had way better quality overseas before and in France). I’m happy to report back, this trumps all other versions in HK by a long shot. In fact it is so good, I’ll have trouble distinguishing it with the best of the best I’ve eaten in Paris itself. The pastry layers were crunchy, flaky yet paper thin brik-pastry like all at once, a feat so hard to achieve but without any annoying moisture ruining it. The crème patissier was also good in consistency but could do with a little more eggy custard like taste, despite the good presence of vanilla seeds. Very nearly perfect. 9.5 for pastry and 7 for custard. ~ 9/10
Vanilla Tart -
With some mango fruits and a great shortcrust pastry, and very fragrant Vanilla and cream centre with some crumbly bits. To me, this wasn’t too sweet according to Parisian standards, although local Hong Kongers might find this to be so. I’m totally fine with this but I’m also going to be rather happy if this was toned down in sugary hit too! Nevertheless, another perfect dessert ~ 9/10
Banana Boat -
With 5 types of ice creams, and a lot of bananas, fruits and cream, this 2 foot long Banana Boat can be shared between a family of 4 or more! I didn’t find this to be as amazing as the cakes above, but then again this is a lot of fun to eat too on a summery day! Still comes highly recommendable, but perhaps it’s unfair to compare it to the ultra-high standard cakes above, all of which were absolute stunners and I was quite moved by the end of the meal, as I have finally found a place which does cakes and desserts that are up to France and Japan standards! Especially for a self-professed cake lover ! This? ~ 7/10
Price: $200 – 400 + 10% Per Person
Food: ♕♕♕♕♕
Opening Hours -
Mon – Sun 08:00am – 01:00am
Address: 尖沙咀梳士巴利道18號香港洲際酒店大堂
Lobby level, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Ph: 2721 1211
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