[HK] COCO - The Mira
Saturday, December 08, 2012
COCO at The Mira had been acclaimed as the modern 'Willy Wonka' making his gourmet in Hong Kong. Prior to trying, we had read some pretty impressive claims about the patisserie offered, such as artisan chocolate concoctions and even a couture makeover for their humble cupcakes. With great expectations in mind, we made our way there for the much anticipated food test!
Mango Velvet ($34/-)
This is a classic red velvet cake with mango cream and mango jelly cubes. It is a cake with a dark red colour, usually achieved by adding red food flavouring. With buttermilk and cream cheese as the frosting for the cake, the rest of the ingredients included butter, flour, cookie dough and cocoa. Dating back to World War II era where food were rationed, boiled grated beets were found in velvet cake recipes with the purpose of enhancing the colour and moisture of the cakes. It gained popularity during the Great Depression being the first food with red food colour and other flavour extracts with the use of point-of-sale posters and tear off recipe cards.
Like how it was originated, the texture of the red velvet cake was moist and soft. The frosting was light but tasted rich and creamy. The surprising element to the cake struck in the middle with fresh mango chunks. Coupled with the 'chewy' and 'q-like' mango jelly cubes, the overall texture was well-balanced. There was a right amount of sweetness from the ripe mangoes and also the buttermilk frosting.
Mango Velvet ($34/-)
This is a classic red velvet cake with mango cream and mango jelly cubes. It is a cake with a dark red colour, usually achieved by adding red food flavouring. With buttermilk and cream cheese as the frosting for the cake, the rest of the ingredients included butter, flour, cookie dough and cocoa. Dating back to World War II era where food were rationed, boiled grated beets were found in velvet cake recipes with the purpose of enhancing the colour and moisture of the cakes. It gained popularity during the Great Depression being the first food with red food colour and other flavour extracts with the use of point-of-sale posters and tear off recipe cards.
Like how it was originated, the texture of the red velvet cake was moist and soft. The frosting was light but tasted rich and creamy. The surprising element to the cake struck in the middle with fresh mango chunks. Coupled with the 'chewy' and 'q-like' mango jelly cubes, the overall texture was well-balanced. There was a right amount of sweetness from the ripe mangoes and also the buttermilk frosting.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Jivara Berry Delight ($39/-)
This was a milk chocolate mousse with wild berries compote. The milk chocolate mousse was soft and melted upon the first taste. The wild berries compote helped complemented the texture, giving a 'full' and dense feel to supplement the light mousse. It was not too sweet which suited our palate, but on hindsight, it was nothing too impressive to win us over.
Verdict: 7.0/10
Blueberry Chic ($39/-)
This was a creamy New York blueberry cheese cake in Coco's way or rather as claimed. While we enjoyed that the cheesecake was relatively dense like a classic New York cheese cake, there was a complete lack of blueberry taste. The biscuit base was damp and did not offer the crisp complementing texture as desired. This cheese cake was too pedestrian for our liking.
Verdict: 6.0/10
Or Noir ($39/-)
This was a duo chocolate mousse and chocolate sponge cake with cointreau and a supposedly crispy bottom. Expecting an orange flavoured liqueur taste, it was severely lacking, for we were unable to taste any alcohol in the cake. The crispy rice balls at the top of the dome-shaped mousse gave a nice texture to the light and fluffy mousse, but the bottom was dampened. Somehow, the chocolate mousse inside the dome was not as rich as desired and the overall taste was too plain to impress.
Verdict: 6.5/10
Blue Mountain Coffee
The classic French press, cafetiere, is a simple coffee brewing device patented by Italian designer Attilio Calimani back in 1929. The French press requires coffee of a coarser grind than does a drip brew coffee filter, and the coffee is brewed by placing the coffee and hot water together, stirring it and leaving to brew for a few minutes, then pressing the plunger to trap the coffee grounds at the bottom of the beaker. French-pressed coffee can be brewed to any strength by adjusting the amount of ground coffee that is brewed. If the used grounds remain in the drink after brewing, the coffee can become bitter though this effect could be deemed beneficial.
Being a huge fan of Blue Mountain coffee, my judgement would be hugely biased so in this instance, I shall refrain from providing a verdict.
Green Tea Milkshake
This was a complete disaster in our humble opinions. There was barely any green tea taste in the milkshake and if any, it tasted artificial. And at more than $50 for this drink, I would advise against ordering it. This was a classic 'waste your calories'.
Verdict 5.0/10
With just a few tables around the corner, I would consider it a suitable spot for couples, with the appropriate ambiance. Food wise, I believe I would leave it to one's objective view but we would certainly not return.
COCO
The Mira, Lobby level
118 Nathan Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: 2315 5566
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