South China Morning Post

Chef showcases the quiet power of unsung ingredient­s

A new dessert tasting experience at the Zen-like Otera in North Point is a masterclas­s in creativity

- Charmaine Mok charmaine.mok@scmp.com

I have long felt the TikTokific­ation of food has created a space for excess and indulgence on another level, and it is not one that I wish to spend too long in.

Food and travel vloggers constantly post “must try” this and that, saturating our feeds with the same Instagramm­able cakes and pastries from Seoul to New York.

And while I love the over-thetop, fast-paced Instagram reels of insanely talented pastry chefs like Cedric Grolet and chocolatie­rs like Amaury Guichon creating impossible architectu­ral feats out of sugar and spice, I honestly feel that they cannot taste all that nice.

So when I received a message from Otera – a boutique cake shop I had bought from before – spotlighti­ng its new dessert tasting experience at their North Point premises, I was struck by the simplicity of the name: Unsung.

Otera is the creation of award-winning pastry chef Joanna Yuen, who previously worked at Nobu – at what was previously The InterConti­nental Hong Kong – and one-Michelinst­ar restaurant Ando in Central.

Yuen opened Otera in summer 2023, with her unique flan cakes as a flagship item, before expanding offerings to include cookies, brioche and even mooncakes.

Now Yuen is planning to invite customers deeper into her world. The two-hour tasting session seats up to six guests in a small but elegant space, which feels a bit like being inside a Muji catalogue.

The courses are enigmatic, highlighti­ng each “unsung” ingredient by name only: among them are herb of grace (also known as common rue), fungus, cocoa, ume plum and jyounamaga­shi –a traditiona­l Japanese “petit four”.

Herb of grace is an overlooked flavour that often gives mung bean sweet soup its complexity. She chose to pair it with citrus, specifical­ly hyuganatsu, a hybrid fruit from Japan that has a delicate perfume and an edible, sweet rind, and created a delicate mochi that gently unfurls on the palate.

Yuen’s dark chocolate sourdough served with a miso crumble and garlic butter seems an improbable pairing at first.

Eighty-five per cent dark chocolate is peppered throughout the loaf, which is baked in a kind of double oven – the dough goes into a classic Cantonese vessel normally used for claypot rice, then covered with a steel bowl and placed into a convention­al oven. It is a solid beginning, and by showcasing the quiet power of unsung ingredient­s, Otera is actually speaking volumes.

Otera, Unit 03, 21/F, Technology Plaza, 651 King’s Rd, North Point

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 ?? Photo: Otera ?? Maple pancetta flan cake; Otera’s home-made mochi; candied bacon is topped with egg custard in the maple pancetta flan cake.
Photo: Otera Maple pancetta flan cake; Otera’s home-made mochi; candied bacon is topped with egg custard in the maple pancetta flan cake.
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