Holy Crêpe! La Crêperie’s new restaurant opens in Causeway Bay

(I know, but it was that or “Galette me entertain you”, so it really could’ve been worse.) Along with my good friend and fellow slave to the salted caramel Miss J, I am a big fan of La Crêperie – a small regional chain of restaurants that dish up authentic Breton crêpes and galettes, as well as a small selection of traditional French starters and mains (think seafood cassolette, and duck confit pasta). I was a big fan of the original Xuhui branch when I lived in Shanghai (helped to no small degree by the fact that it was opposite our regular watering hole, The Camel), and now we’re back in the ‘Kong, I’m a regular visitor to both the Wan Chai and Sheung Wan branches, the latter being where J and I tend to hang out and indulge in afternoon tea-based gluttony on a semi-regular basis. Sometimes even with our kids. When I heard of a brand new Causeway Bay branch opening, I was keen to check it out to see whether the winning formula would stretch to a third Hong Kong branch, and so I gleefully messaged J to invite her along. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it, so I reverted to Plan B and brought along the family instead. (Joke! It’s a joke!). Situated a little off the beaten track of CWB’s main drag, La Crêperie Causeway Bay is up on the 8th floor of the L Square (yep, me neither), on Lockhart Road. The location gives this branch a distinct advantage over its Sheung Wan sister – an abundance of space, making this a considerably more kid-friendly choice if you’re bringing the whole galette-loving gang. The restaurant welcomes little ones and offers colouring sheets and (new! Unsnapped!) crayons, along with highchairs and ample pram parking for the really teeny guests. The bathroom is both wheelchair and stroller-friendly, but could definitely benefit from a fold-down changing table to really make the most of the available space. We started with a classic fish soup which came served with toasted croutons and molten cheese, along with some roulés de blé noir, or Brittany rolls – galettes rolled around a beef and spinach filling, delicately seasoned with cumin and then sliced almost like a sushi roll. Mister and Master T-T declared the soup delicious, although I found this a tad too fishy for my taste (yeah, I know… it’s soup made from fish), while I found the rolls delicious, with a subtle nod to the French love of Moroccan flavours. Next up was the main event, and while we had toyed with trying some of the other mains (the pastas looked especially good), we caved in and went for the obvious option. First to arrive was a “La Piano” galette – packed full to the brim with delicately smoked salmon, creamy spinach and an oozing baked egg. This was Master T-T’s favourite, and was declared “the yummiest”. Job done. Next up was Mr T-T’s pick of “La Complete Deluxe”, full of Emmenthal cheese, ham, another gloriously gooey egg and just enough black truffle paste to give the galette a deliciously earthy flavour without overpowering the individual flavours of the other fillings. Finally “La Brocéliande”, stuffed with two varieties of unctuous, salty and tangy goat’s cheese and finished with walnuts and a drizzle of honey. This was halfway to being a dessert, and the sheer volume of goat’s cheese within was quite remarkable given the very reasonable $98 price tag. Mains happily scarfed down, it was time to move on to mine and Master T-T’s favourite part of any meal – dessert. As you might expect, the crêpes here are legendary, and while we’d originally planned to share one between the three of us, I couldn’t resist ordering an extra one. For the table, you understand. My beloved “La Krampouz” is a whisper-thin crêpe filled with stewed apple, cinnamon and salted butter caramel. SO delicious, SO Breton and my favourite by far. We also went for “La Poulie”, a pistachio ice cream, honey, almond and mint confection that I would probably never have chosen had I been by myself, but that actually worked really well, with the mint’s freshness cutting through the ice cream’s sweetness and preventing it from becoming overly cloying. Drinks-wise, we decided to keep within the Breton theme, with “Kerne” apple juice for Junior (sweet, but with crisp acidity that was so refreshing on a hot day), and “Val de Rance” dry and sweet ciders for the adults (great apple flavours and just a hint of alcohol, served in traditional painted cider cups). The service here is friendly and attentive and the menu has enough variety that everyone should be happy (and let’s face it, pancakes for dinner will always be a surefire hit with little people). The kid-friendly aspects of the new branch makes La Crêperie a good option if you’re shopping with the little ones in tow and need respite from Causeway Bay’s madness and the prices are reasonable enough – particularly for the quality of ingredients on offer. Overall, our experience was a very positive one; in fact you could even say we had a flipping great time. I’m sorry.