The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2023 - Issue 34

bitedesserts Yauatcha celebrates the lucky rabbit with paper bunny lan- terns and window decorations, an exclusive Year of the Rabbit menu, cocktails and macaron in their Soho and City restaurants. The pineapple pastries, made with pineapple jam, symbolising fortune and prosperity, are available for na- tionwide delivery. The restaurant also hosts a special one-off Chinese New Year Dim SumMasterclass for those interested in the culinary art of dim sum before enjoying limited dishes from the Year of the Rabbit menu. The restaurant presents authentic Cantonese dishes with a modern influence, including an extensive range of steamed, baked, grilled and fried dim sum such as scallop shui mai, prawn and beancurd cheung fun, and venison puffs, along- side duck, fish and noodle dishes. It serves over 24 types of tea, such as Dragon's Well, High Mountain Oolong, Puer Tuo Cha and Earl Grey, from Taiwan, South Africa, Egypt, India, Japan, Paraguay and China, cocktails inspired by Chi- nese ingredients, and a broad wine and champagne list. A delightful savouring experience is their patisseries that can be enjoyed with the teas, after a meal or taken away at their retail counters in bespoke signature packaging. They serve petits gâteaux (little cake), chocolates, and varied flavoured macarons, creatively blending Eastern and Western influ- ences. The delicious desserts include its signature Raspberry Delice, a Madagascan chocolate and raspberry mousse with lychee panna cotta, crunchy biscuit pearls and a cocoa butter velvet-effect finish. It is said that macarons were introduced in France by Queen Catherine de Medici's Italian chef during the Renaissance. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian macaron is present- ed with a ganache, buttercream or jam filling sandwiched be- tween two cookies, akin to a sandwich cookie. The macarons have a smooth squared top with a ruffled circumference re- ferred to as the ‘crown’ or ‘foot’ (or ‘pied’) and a flat base that is mildly moist and quickly melts in the mouth. An advocate for crucial causes, Hakkasan and Yauatcha from the Tao Group Hospitality showed their unique initiative by introducing a limited-edition cocktail and dessert in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with 10% of profits of each item sold going to Cancer Research UK. They part- nered with Kotos Tequila to create new cocktails to help raise awareness for the charity throughout October, combining innovation and philanthropy. Hakkasan Hanway Place and Hakkasan Mayfair created the modern, refreshing and floral Rosalita cocktail with a hint of bitterness. It featured a blend of Komos Reposado Rosa tequila, cucumber, Doladira aperitif, Cocchi Americano Rosa reduction, lime and Saicho Jasmine Sparkling tea. For dessert, they served their signature favourite, Jivara Bomb, which turned pink for the awareness month, comprising de- licious hazelnut praline and milk chocolate. At Yauatcha Soho and Yauatcha City, the vibrant Xi Wang cocktail combined Komos Reposado Rosa tequila, plum, pineapple, raspberry and bergamot to create an energising fruity yet sour drink full of body with a refreshing finish. For dessert, they presented a special Fig and Hazelnut petits gâ- teaux adorned with the iconic pink ribbon. The hospitality group went a step further by organising a five-mile walk for all the team members to participate wearing specially de- signed Kotos Tequila t-shirts. Yauatcha also has sites in Indian cities Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. https://yauatcha.com/patisserie Images courtesy of AKA Communications via Joe Howard