Starbucks @ Duddell Street, Hong Kong

Introducing my favorite Starbucks store of all time - Starbucks @ Duddell Street, Central in Hong Kong. This particular store features mainly the classic Hong Kong tea restaurant or known as 茶餐厅 (cha chaan teng) interior which serves famous classic milk tea and cakes during the good old days. On the other part of the outlet is the standard Starbucks interior. You get to experience the best of both world right here. 

The Classic Hong Kong

The modern Starbucks

The service here is really good. The baristas are friendly and very accommodating to enjoy that customers get what they want. There is a wide range of merchandise to be purchased (which I am extremely thrilled about). In Starbucks Hong Kong, you get to try coffee egg tart which you can't get in other countries. I've tasted it and sadly to say there is nothing to shout about. But since Hong Kong is famous for its egg tart, just give it a tried. Up to this day, I have yet to find a Starbucks outlet as unique as this that carries the culture of its own country.

So if you are in Hong Kong, please remember to pay this Starbucks a visit. 

Le Pain Quotidien @ Amsterdam

On my trip to Amsterdam for the second time to meet up with a friend that I've met in Malaysia last year, we stop by at Le Pain Quotidien, a little organic bakery cafe for coffee and lunch. Not knowing what to expect as the menu was in Dutch (well, my friend knows what we were gonna eat) and we were pretty hungry so we decided to give this cafe a try. 

Le pain Quotidien's philosophy is to source out fresh and high quality organic ingredients for their food and through that they can build partnerships and friendship with the organic farmers. Reclaimed wood, recycled mineral, energy efficient lamps, environmentally friendly cleaning supplies and packaging are used by this cafe. Each bread are kneaded, shaped and made under the supervision of their artisan bakers using stone-ground flour, salt and water. They are specially crafted so that customers would get to experience the finest bread. 

Both of us tried their Tartine. Tart what?! 

Tartine is...

- a French open-faced sandwich with a rich or fancy spread. 

My friend had a very simple Tartine. It was ham with cheese because he can't take fish nor peanuts due to allergies. He seem please with it since he finish everything!!!
 

I, on the other hand had the "Caesar salad" Tartine that came with chicken ham, Parmesan cheese topped with pesto and some tomato salsa together with a side salad and sweet melon. It was delicious especially the bread. One of the major points that I love about sandwiches in the Western or European countries is their fresh ingredients that brings out the real flavor of the whole thing. 

Coffee on the other hand was rather strange. First of all, it was served in a soup bowl (I kid you not). Secondly, it wasn't warm enough. Unlike the fancy coffee art that we get in KL, there are no such thing here (so far). There was too much milk in my latte that overpowers the coffee. All in all, I feel like I'm drinking a bowl of warm milk with a teeny weeny bit of coffee flavor. 

For good and tasty Tartine, this would be the place but definitely NOT coffee.

Le Pain Quotidien

Beethovenstraat 56

1077 JK Amsterdam