A Kafkaesque afternoon

We were feeling very full after our wonderful lunch, and left the Grand Lisboa on a mission.  Lemon Tea wanted to check out this dessert place on Taipa, so the group of us went on a little adventure.  I rode a Macanese bus for the first time, got off at the closest stop, and strolled down Avenida de Kwong Tung towards our destination.

I had never heard of KAFKA Sweets & Gourmandises - the shop, that is.  Then again, I'm not very up to date on my Macanese destinations.  I found it curious that the owners of this joint - pretty much in the middle-of-nowhere as far as Macau is concerned - would name it after a literary giant.  OK, so it's located on a street whose Chinese name is 布拉格街, which is the same translation as Prague (Kafka's home town), but the "Braga" in Rua da Braga refers to the Portuguese city of Braga, not Prague (which is actually "Praga" in Portuguese)…  Well, whatever…

The place was fully packed, and we had to wait outside for a little while.  I'm not in the habit of waiting in line for food, but we're on a group activity here so I kept my opinions to myself.  It looked like a stereotypical joint that perhaps gained its popularity through the combination of having pretty-looking and colorful products, a decent interior design, and some clever marketing to the right target audience.  In short, it looks like a place I'd normally steer clear of.  But hey, I've got a couple of hours to kill, and I'm in the hands of experts, so just go with the flow…

The 5 of us were shown to a table at the corner of the room for four, and met with immediate objections from the next table.  After some discussions between the staff and the other customers, we picked ourselves up and moved to a table for four at the other side of the room.  It was a little tight, but we made do.

Calls had been made in advance to make sure we had enough things to try out, as this place apparently sells out early due to its popularity.  I was pretty full, so I only took 1/8 of each piece - just enough to get a taste.

Tsujiri - apparently this was named after a chain of Japanese tea shops serving dessert, which originated in the Gion (祇園) district of Kyoto.  Naturally the green tea would be sourced from nearby Uji (宇治), lying just south of Kyoto and famous nationwide for their macha (抹茶).  This was pretty decent, as the macha left a strong aftertaste in my mouth even with my little piece.

Taj Mahal - made with caramel and Darjeeling tea.  Pretty good.

In the mood of Montmartre - a combination of hazelnut exterior and crème brûlée center.  I could kinda get the center, but I had to focus pretty hard to get the slightest hint of hazelnuts.  I joked that we'd probably been eating too much Ferrero Rocher…

Sweet Dating - strawberries, strawberry jelly center and Valrhona chocolate bottom.  This was OK, and at least I could taste the strawberries…

I'm not sure what this item is called, but after just one look at it, I knew I didn't want to go anywhere near that pile of cream in the middle.  But of course the puffs had custard cream inside…

Wanting something refreshing without overpowering, I ordered a pot of Boléro from the selection of teas from Mariage Frères.  The fruity flavors made me a little happier.  I was a little puzzled, though, that my pot contained neither tea bags nor loose tea leaves…

With our mission accomplished, we strolled a little further in search of transportation out of this alien neighborhood.  We've got a couple of hours till dinner, and I kept wondering whether participating in this group activity today was worth the calories or my precious stomach space...