Chocolate Library Review— To conclude the Hong Kong, Macau and Australia Trip

This is the last part of our trip to Hong Kong, Macau and Australia.  To see the previous posts of the trip, please click here, here, and here.
Before we travel back to Hong Kong, we knew that The Ritz-Carlton—Hong Kong, located in the International Commerce Centre(ICC), was going to open for business right before our arrival.  Of course, Ritz is a fine hotel, but what attracted me the most was one of the restaurants inside the hotel—The Chocolate Library, located on the 103rd floor of the ICC!  As a chocolate lover, how can I not visit them to try their chocolate afternoon tea?  So, are you ready to see the details?  Here we go…

 


The afternoon tea opened between 2:30pm to 6pm, we arrived early and there was already a short line in front of us waiting to be seated.  These empty seats (see above picture) next to our table were filled up in no time. 


  

This was the menu for the Afternoon Tea Set.  We looked at the a la carte menu but there were not as many choices compared to the Afternoon Tea Set.  So, my husband and I both ordered the Afternoon Tea Set.




While we were waiting for the food, we enjoy the beautiful decor around us.  With the soft background music playing along with the simple and elegant decor, the atmosphere was quite relaxing.  Being on the 103rd floor, the best thing to enjoy (besides the chocolate) was the magnificent harbor view.   Unfortunately, the day we were there was a bit foggy and the view didn’t show up clearing on the pictures that I’ve taken.  The fog got even stronger as we waited.  So, I didn’t have another chance to show you the views.  If you’re interested, click here to the Ritz-Carlton’s site and they have quite a few awesome pictures of the harbor view.


 

First food item arrived was the Hot Chocolate made with Valrhona Chocolate.  Boy oh boy, if you are familiar with Paula Deen’s cooking show, you know how she loves to roll her eyes to the back, lean forward to the counter and tell you how delicious something was that she just tasted.  After just one sip of this hot chocolate, I had my eyes probably at the back of my head!  LOL  It was rich, smooth, creamy, decadent, and irresistible.  Yes, very chocolaty!  I can definitely sip this all afternoon long. 

 

Hot Chocolate made with Valrhona Chocolate

Yes, that was me enjoying the Hot Chocolate and the view.

Here comes the Afternoon Tea set.  The serving vessel was so cool and looked just like an encyclopedia.  I was excited and eager to see what’s inside.

 

Ta dah….lovely, isn’t it?

Here are the close ups of each item.

  

Smoked barbarie duck, cantaloupe melon confit on walnut bread

First savory item, Smoked BBQ Duck, cantaloupe melon confit on walnut bread.  Honestly, there was just a tiny little bit of duck in there.  It would be perfect if the portion of the duck was at least doubled.

 

Cocoa nib chocolate bread, duck fois gras terrine

Second savory item, Cocoa nib chocolate bread, duck fois gras terrine.  I loved the rich and creamy fois gras in this dish.  Perfectly matched with the cocoa nib chocolate bread.  Nicely done.

White chocolate berries shot (Ivory white chocolate 35% cocoa)

The White chocolate berries shot was divine.  My husband didn’t like berries at all and he finished the whole thing in no time.  The tartness from the berries balanced perfectly with the sweetness from the white chocolate mousse.  A lovely dessert.  Maybe I’ll try to replicate this in the future.

 

Milk Chocolate apricot (Jivara milk chcolate 40% cocoa)

Not a fan of apricot myself.  This milk chocolate apricot was not bad.  The milk chocolate mousse on top was silky, light and perfectly sweet.  I didn’t care for the cakey bottom though.  A bit too soggy for my liking.

Chocolate framboise tart

Loved this chocolate framboise tart.  Very chocolaty and decadent with a hint of raspberry scent from the framboise. A perfect chocolate tart.

 

Berries cocoa tart, guimauve (Manjari chocolate 64% cocoa)

Another classic dessert with the combination of berries and chocolate.  This berries cocoa tart, guimauve (marshmallow in French) was unique.  I love the little pink marshmallow on top. 

  Chocolate mille-feuille (Caraibe chocolate 66% cocoa)

Up to this point, I was really stuffed.  LOL.  Normally, I could take a lot more sweets.  Maybe because the cup of hot chocolate was really rich, I almost couldn’t continue…almost.  But how could I say no to chocolate?  So, I tried a bit of this chocolate mille-feuille.  It was rich and dense.  I was expecting something flaky and light, like how a typical mille-feuille should be.  Personally, I didn’t like the fudge bottom of this dessert.

Chocolate orange confit macaron (Guanaja chocolate 70% cocoa)

A perfect chocolate macaron, except, I couldn’t taste the orange confit at all!  Did the chef forgot to put it in there? hm….

Marble cheese cake (Coeur de guanaja 80% cocoa)

This was a wonderful cheese cake to end the meal. Again, couldn’t find the marble!  But just think of it as a regular cheese cake.  It was rich and creamy with the perfect amount of sweetness.

The price?  $398 HKD (around $50 USD) for two.  It was a nice experience and a wonderful way to spend the afternoon, especially when the kids were not around.  Special thanks to my in-laws and cousins who baby-sat the kids for us so my hubby and I could have a date together.  I believe it was the very first time we went out on a “date” alone without the kids, ever since we became parents!  It meant a lot to us.  So, thank you!

Now that you've read my review.  I would like to know what you think of this place.  Please cast your vote.  (It's just for fun, no sign up required.)

*Disclaimer

This post is linked to:
I’m loving it
Foodie Friday
Sweets for Saturday
Party Mindie Style