best creme brulée ever

I'd been wanting to try the Creme Brulée at Paul Lafayet Patisserie Française since last year, but somehow I couldn't fit it into my eating itinerary. This trip, I just couldn't NOT have it!

When I got to Paul Lafayet at K11 Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, the prettiful macarons were calling my name.

A box of 12 French macarons for HK$180 (US$23).

But I didn't forget my mission and got my Creme Brulée. Freshly blowtorched and meant to be eaten within 40 minutes. Good thing our hotel Holiday Inn Golden Mile was right next door to K11.

Had to hurry back to the hotel room to take a picture before digging in.

A taste of heaven for HK$40 (US$5).

Brought home Paul Lafayet's signature ramekin. I'm still not sure what to do with it.

After devouring the Creme Brulée and licking the ramekin clean, I ate a couple of the macarons. The rest I shared with mother. For posterity, I tried to take a photo of each one, but sadly the dim lighting in the room could not be overcome by my Lumix LX3's powers.

Cappuccino

Pistachio

Raspberry

Vanilla

Passion Fruit

My favorites were the Earl Grey and Jasmine because of the strong tea flavors, but the Matcha was boring. I did enjoy the Rose which smelled so danged good. I was not a fan of the Passion Fruit (too sour) and the Bailey's (not enough Bailey's). Next time I want to try the Ginger and Oolong macarons, although overall I'd say that Paul Lafayet's macarons are not really super outstanding. And expensive at over 80 pesos apiece.

However, the Creme Brulée. Wow. The smoothest, silkiest otherworldly custard dotted with intoxicatingly aromatic vanilla beans and topped by a crispy layer of sugar that broke into glass-like shards at a light tap of a spoon. It was utter perfection. Right now I'm just thanking my lucky stars that Paul Lafayet is in Hong Kong, otherwise I'd probably gain 20 kg every week and go bankrupt (210 pesos a pop!) in a month. Eventually I'd keel over from clogged arteries and drift into a diabetic coma. This is not a dessert I can resist.

Perhaps on my next visit I should go for the Vanilla Mille-feuilles or the Lemon Meringue Tart, but I seriously doubt that anything will be as good as the Creme Brulée.

Paul Lafayet's website