Brand new dessert spot in Causeway Bay. While not my cup of tea, I can see how the concept will work in the Hong Kong market.
Props to the three friendly and dynamic young owners on this start up and trying their hands at creative desserts. So, what’s on the menu? A mish mash of all sorts of things copied from famous chefs and restaurants around the world that have been doing it for years. No idea is original in this world, and while I don’t have huge issues about copying entirely, it has to taste good and be worth the calories. Because food, unlike art, furniture, clothes or brilliant advertising campaigns needs to address the olfactory sense in addition to visuals. The odd marriage of flavours just doesn’t reflect that taste was a priority in this endeavour.
It’s a commendable effort – everything from branding and styling had a hip factor going, but we really sealed its fate was the Improvisation dish. Every single item on the menu was put into this pollock-esque dessert painting – the flavours don’t go together, neither do the textures, it’s just a lump everything together dish and for $328, that’s pretty pricey and we wish we’d known so we wouldn’t have order so many of all the other dishes on the menu. The menu has 9 items in total which includes a “surprise” dish for the day.
I’d say it’s worth a try to have a look at how the Hong Kong scene is shaping up and exactly what the market needs, but I have to be honest that this is not worth the calories.
I personally didn’t enjoy Lab Made nitrogen ice cream, but it’s enjoying huge success in Hong Kong expanding into new shops, so if that’s your thing, Atum is probably also your thing.
Steak ice cream was done years ago by a good friend of mine, Thai ice cream designer extraordinaire. The brownie icecream masquerading as steak here was so hard, it was pretty much inedible.
The “peanut” dish with caramel and meringue, was probably my favourite of the lot.
Lime mousse and white chocolate with strange jellied desserts inspired by cantonese jelly desserts??
The “bamboo charcoal”
Atum Dessert
16/F, The L. Square, No. 459-461 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay
銅鑼灣駱克道459-461號The L. Square 16樓
