HONG KONG : Best croissants at Urban Bakery, Hysan Place

Was Le Bread Days the first to offer the salted egg yolk (liusha) croissants?
In Malaysia yes perhaps, but certainly not in the world.

Urban Bakery in Hong Kong might very well be the first in the world to pipe luscious, salted egg yolk custard into a french made croissant.
Using A.O.C. graded ingredients, Urban Bakery imports the ingredients/croissant/bread from France and then freshly baked at shop all day long.

* Image credit: Urban Bakery FB page. 

So how does that work?
Well, I haven’t been able to speak to anyone from Urban Bakery so I’m going to make a guess here.
Have you heard of “par-baked” or “par-baking“?

Parbaking is a cooking technique in which a bread or dough product is partially baked and then rapidly frozen for storage.
That means the raw dough is baked normally, but halted at about 80% of the normal cooking time, and then it is rapidly cooled and frozen.
The partial cooking kills the yeast in the bread mixture, and sets the internal structure of the proteins and starches (including the spongy texture of the bread), so that the inside is sterile and stable.

A parbaked loaf of semi-cooked bread is in a form that is relatively stable against aging. It can be transported easily, and stored until needed.
A parbaked loaf appears as a risen loaf of bread, with much of the firmness of a finished loaf, but without a browned or golden crust. It does not age or become stale like a fully baked loaf of bread.

When the final bread product is desired, a parbaked loaf is “finished” by baking it at normal temperatures for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

The final bread is often indistinguishable from freshly baked bread.

With the above explanation, I’m guessing that the dough and the preparation of croissant/breads at Urban Bakery could have been mixed, kneaded and par-baked in France before it is flown to Hong Kong.

For the consumers, that means “real French taste/product“, minus the trip to France.

My friend Elaine swore by their croissants. She bought me here and we shared a Molten Yolk Croissant and a Cheese croissant.
IF you’ve had Le Bread or Bake Plan Bakery at SS2 salted egg yolk croissants, I’ll assure you that Urban Bakery’s version is a class above both.
After all, the croissant is directly from FRANCE, and Hong Kong probably has the advantage of the supply of quality salted eggs compared to Malaysia.
For HKD22 (RM13) it is really good value for the quality (let me remind you again that the croissants are IMPORTED from France).
Salted egg yolk croissant may seem like a modern gimmick, but bite into one and you will understand why this particular “fusion invention” is perfect.

Just imagine each bite in your mouth; buttery, flaky, delicate layered croissant coupled with rich, sweet, yet grainy on the tongue salty savoury salted egg custard.
The play of textures and flavours is almost euphoric.

In contrast, the steamed buns variety we were accustomed to is soft and doesn’t provide as sharp a contrast to the mouthfeel as a croissant.

Below: Urban Bakery is generous with the amount of salted egg yolk filling!

Urban Bakery at Hysan Place, Causeway Bay only caters to takeaways but if you are at any of their sit-down bakeries, do request for the croissants to be warmed up before serving.
It does heighten the enjoyment of the pastry.

Another croissant worth trying is the pineapple butter croissant, which was basically the classic HK pineapple butter bun, but instead of a bun it is in the form of a croissant.

If your wallet allows, try their Langoutine Croissandwich with Curry Emulsion, and the double ham and brie crois-sandwich.
When I was in Hong Kong in November, there was a Hairy Crab with Caviar Croissandwich which cost HKD130 (RM67).

I’ll be heading to Hong Kong again soon and my aim is to visit the dine-in outlets of Urban Bakery. I’ll definitely want to try their other baked products (the chantilly puffs look positively delectable) as well as the Croissandwich.

Their signature cream chantilly puff and croissants came in mini sizes in variety sets as well which would be a good idea for parties and as gifts.

ADDRESSES:
URBAN Cafe Commune
Shop 121-181, Level 1, Grand Century Plaza,
193 Prince Edward West
Mongkok, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2346 5828

URBAN BAKERY WORKS
Room 322, 3/F, The Landmark, 12-16 Des Voeux Road Central, Central
Tel: (852) 3565 4320

URBAN BAKERY (Hysan)
Jasons‧Food & Living, B2/F, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
Tel: (852) 2795 3168

URBAN BAKERY (Prince’s Building)
Oliver’s, 2/F Prince’s Building, 10 Chater Road, Central
Tel: (852) 2537 7726

URBAN BAKERY (Langham)
Market Place by Jasons, Shop 8, B2/F, Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street, Mong Kok
Tel: (852) 3580 8954

URBAN bake n take (Telford)
Market Place by Jasons, P27, Podium, Telford Plaza, 33 Wai Yip Street, Kowloon Bay
Tel: (852) 2117 4152

URBAN bake n take (Popcorn)
Shop Unit G51, G/F, Popcorn, 9 Tong Chun St, Tseung Kwan O
Tel: (852) 2752 1185