root cafe — Restaurant in Hong Kong

Lets put all the fame aside and talk business here. The root cafe is not opened to the public yet and I got a chance to try it once before launching. Dirty & Espresso tonic: I ordered the a "Dirty" as my pre-meal drink, and a "Espresso tonic" in the end to complete my meal here. Overall, the drinks are good, especially the tonic. The mix of coffee and tonic, topped with a slice of dried orange is refreshing and suitable for everyone to enjoy during these warm and humid days.

Smoked Salmon Avocado Egg Salad with Yuzu Ponzu: The ingredients are fresh. But there is not much to talk about as it is a salad.

Kokedama (dessert): The presentation is lovely, I like the dessert plate that goes with it, but if I have to be picky, I would prefer to have a dessert fork. It is in chocolate flavour and not to sweet, but it would be great if it has more texture. Others: Precious but not Practical

The utensils and tablewares are specially picked, I like that they use artist-made ceramic artworks (if you look at the foot ring, you will see the artist's stamp) to present their foods.

It is not the most comfortable cafe, because almost half of the tables are a bit small.

Also, I would prefer to have my coffee inside instead of sitting outside, because the cafe is facing a construction site and there is noisy.

The bar top are handmade with resin, it is shiny and added a bit of crafty touch into the cafe.

In the end, I was advised by a gentleman in the suit to tell me not to take photos on the resin bar top because: It would leave scratches; "He" may not like it.

If I am a walk-in customer, I may have no cue who he is referring to. To avoid confusing and misunderstanding, I would suggest to add signages to indicate what not-to-do...

This is an Instagram trap with air-conditioning.

Food and Drink = 2 stars. We ordered deserts , pricey but your paying for the look. They were delicious but the drinks were not great. Had a Dirty ”coffee” which cost the same as a start bucks coffee but in a much smaller cup. The other drink ordered was a midnight matcha. It tasted like a matcha coffee mixture and looked great for a photo but the drink it self was sub par. The drink also coated my mouth with something chewy. Not sure what it was but it was strange.

Service = 3 stars service was average, staff were friendly enough but patrons had to gather side plates and utensils. Food, from our own experience, is served to you by the staff.

Atmosphere: 4 stars Go early if you are going for lunch or just an early desert. There are a few big tables for 4 people inside and a few tables around a tree. These tables can fill up rather quickly. We sat outside and it was a hot day. Being able to sit inside under the air-conditioning would have been great. Get a seat near the tree if you can.

While we sat a line formed and it grew pretty quickly. The place is popular but there isn't something super special about it.

Advice: Do...

I was having a light lunch with 2 kids, ordered Tsukune Chicken Skewer, Cold brew Rose, Karesansui and a French Toast with ice cream.

Overall, the taste of food is delicious. Tsukune Chicken Skewer is the best chicken skewers I have tried and my kids who very picky on food love this dish. Is my first time to try out cold brew rose and I never expected the taste is blended well. The outlook of Karesansui is very unique and look like a bonsai and it is not too sweet, which I like the taste.

It is a bit pricy especially the Tsukune Chicken Skewer.

For atmosphere, it is a small and cosy cafe recommended for a small group of friends (below 6 pax) gathering.

A little bit not kids friendly as there is no kids cutlery available in the cafe. It is a bit heavy for my 5 years old boy to hold the solid stainless steel utensils.

I went there in a weekdays afternoon, not required to wait for seat. However, the navigation of Google Map is bad, it pointed me to turn in to a different street and I only managed to find Root Cafe after I checked with the postman on duty.

I will come again when I travel to Hong Kong...