Dominique Ansel, renowned for creating the cronut, extends his culinary prowess to Hong Kong through Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel. ‘Dang Wen Li’ pays homage to ‘Dominique’ in Mandarin, embodying his commitment to crafting a unique bakery experience for Hong Kong. Here, his distinctive whimsical style and creativity shine, featuring pastries exclusively curated for the city.

The cakes on offer drew inspiration from the quintessential Hong Kong experience, including Lemon Juice Box (Earl Grey Bergamot Cake), Pineapple Bun (Coconut Pineapple Passionfruit Cake), Cup Noodles (Caramel Coffee & Milk Tea Cake), Bear Cookie (Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake), Haw Flakes (Hawthorn Souffle Cheesecake), Mt Strawberry (Strawberry Sponge Cake), Muscat Grape Jelly (Grape, Coconut & Pandan Sponge Cake), Hong Kong Milk Tea Cookie Shot.

There was an impressive selection of laminated pastries, such as the longan & lime danish, a mango-shaped mango mochi bun, and a coconut-shaped coconut chocolate mochi bun. Despite visiting both the Central and Tsim Sha Tsui stores, we were too full from previous meals for a substantial sweet pastry or cake. But not wanting to leave without trying anything, we opted a smaller option at their Tsim Sha Tsui location—

Chestnut Madeleines (58 HKD/11.6 AUD, 8 pieces). No menu would be complete without an ode to the egg waffle, and their version consisted of madeleines filled with a whiskey chestnut cream.

Baked to order, the madeleines required approximately 10 minutes from the moment of ordering until they arrived warm. With a golden brown exterior, a fluffy interior featuring a moist and loose crumb, these madeleines had a pronounced sweetness reminiscent of eggs and sugar. The addition of a molten center filled with whiskey chestnut cream introduced an extra layer of sweetness, with the malty vanilla notes from the whiskey almost entirely masking the earthy nuttiness of the chestnut. The level of sweetness surprised us, particularly in Hong Kong, a culture that values desserts with a less pronounced sweetness.

While the madeleines didn’t quite meet our expectations, we would be keen to return for another visit to try the pastries and cakes.

Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel is located at Shop OT G63A, Ground Floor, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 3-27 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.