ATUM Desserant | Hong Kong

Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

ATUM Desserant is an awesome dessert lounge on 16/F in the new L Square building in Causeway Bay! I found out about this new shop from friends and pictures online so I decided to come check it out for myself. As I had arrived just as they open at 1pm, I had the whole place to myself. The majority of the space was taken up by a U shape marble counter where customers can sit and observe their desserts being made. Several lounge sofas were available on the side for big groups to sit together, but the view was what caught my eye as the floor-to-ceiling windows let in a vast amount of natural light. The patio is probably is bit narrow to place tables outside but people can go out and enjoy the view when the weather is cooler. The decor was very simple and chic with abstract paintings hanging on the wall which would allude to the style of desserts being served here. 

  

There was a big display case with many colorful macarons just as I stepped out of the elevator!

I started chatting with the chef who told me that he wanted to start a dessert lounge for people to relax and enjoy desserts. He felt that a lot of places out there tend to make the experience too rush where you have to line up for an hour and finish eating in like 20 minutes before they kick you out. There are currently 9 desserts offered on the menu with prices ranging from $108 to $138 while there is also the famous Improvisation dessert for 2 at $328. I couldn't decide what to get at first because they all sounded so interesting so I asked the chef for recommendations. He recommended the Bamboo Charcoal as the theme is chocolate which was perfect for me!

Each dessert comes with some appetizers to cleanse our palate. The test tube contained watermelon juice with sea salt which was very refreshing to drink in the summer heat. The salt brought out the sweetness of the watermelon while working as a balancing agent so the juice would not be too sweet. I was told that the drink/soup changes frequently depending on what would be suitable at the moment. 

I really enjoyed the homemade quinoa cracker as it was thin, crispy and very flavorful. 

Bamboo Charcoal ($138) - I got to watch the chef as he prepared my dessert at the counter and I was getting more and more excited to taste his artful presentation as it came to life! It literally looked like a piece of abstract art painting. This was a chocolate theme dessert with bamboo charcoal ice cream, chocolate ice marshmallow, chocolate caviar and raspberry sorbet. I didn't know what charcoal ice cream would taste like but it was actually chocolate mixed with a bit of charcoal. The chocolate flavor was rich but not too sweet while the raspberry sorbet was delightfully tart and tangy. My surprise favorite was the microwave sponge cake that the chef added at the last minute. He told me that this is a new method of making sponge cake in the microwave that results in very fluffy texture which would be hard to achieve in a traditional oven due to temperature constraint and timing. It was very light and fluffy while still full of flavor!

    

The dessert also came with a choice of coffee or tea so I opted for the Lime Flower & Lavender Tea at their recommendation as well. My tea was brought out with teapot and a small hourglass timer where I am supposed to wait 3 minutes before I should pour the tea. The smell was wondrous from the lavender while the flavor was almost mint-like and refreshing to drink. They also offered me some honey to add into my tea when I thought it wasn't flavorful enough at first. 

Verdict - I was very impressed with the desserts at ATUM Desserant as they were delightful for both the eyes and the mouth! It would be perfect if they served alcohol as well and they told me that they are in talks with the building management to do so. The price wasn't cheap for dessert but if you take into the entire experience and compare to what you pay for drinks at a bar or lounge, it's pretty comparable actually. They also told me that they plan on introducing a new tea set menu during the day so stay tune! I can't wait to go back and try all of their dessert flavors! 

ATUM Desserant

16/F, The L. Square, No. 459-461 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay

2965 1411 

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