What Does 1,000 Kuai of Dessert Look Like?
Sitting behind an unassuming whitewashed wall in Baiziyuan decorated with large metal gears sits what might just be Beijing's most luxurious café, Now Mansion.
You could never guess what's inside
Claiming to serve the best coffee and confectionaries in the city, you can imagine the chatter when Now Mansion released details of its shockingly expensive RMB 1,080 dessert set menu. Continuing to whip up a frenzy on social media, we had to see for ourselves if co-founder Han Zhenyang had succeeded in his aim to provide the city with the ultimate dessert experience.
Upon entering, we were reminded of scenes from Feeding The Super-Rich; dimly lit private rooms, silent and efficient waiting staff, and heavy leather chairs. The antiques that fill the space, all handpicked in Europe by Han, project an atmosphere of old money to what will likely be a new-money crowd.
Started with a choice of drink in Meissen cup
The tasting menu includes a combination of sweets, sorbet, more sweets, and more sorbet, before finally finished with pour-over coffee and petit fours – a significant amount of sweets for one sitting. A year in development, the selection will be revamped monthly and is designed by pastry chef Stella Chen, who has been working in France for the past seven years after graduating from the esteemed Parisian culinary school Cordon Bleu.
L’amande Fleurissent
The tasting began with a light, subdued, and crunchy L’amande Fleurissent, literally almond flower, a name which informs its arrangement of a soft nougat filling beneath a shell of roasted almond slices, creamy bites of Kyoto matcha mousse, and a sliver of silver foil.
Saint-Malo
The main sweet, the Saint-Malo, is a world-trotting dessert, featuring a brownie base made from French Valrhona chocolate and ganache made from Tahitian vanilla, all wrapped in a gold-powder-coated sea salt crémeux exterior, and accompanied with a single sugared raspberry. An undoubtedly complicated creation, the multiple layers and flavors combine for a smooth sweetness and an unforgettable mixture of textures. Despite how delicious the Saint-Malo proved, our favorite of the bunch was the tropical sorbet (pictured in cover), which was full of tart fruit notes emboldened by slices of green apple and sat on a bed of crumble.
Pour-over coffee with Geisha beans
After dessert, the barista walked us through a much-needed cup of pour-over coffee using Geisha beans from Honduras. The barista weighed and ground the beans with precise professionalism, boiling the water to 92 degrees exactly and displaying a well-rounded knowledge of coffee and the exact region that the beans had been produced. The resulting coffee was mild and nutty and served with a selection of petit four, including a light-as-a-feather macaroon with subtle berry flavors, and coconut and pineapple tarts.
In case the quality of Now Mansion's offerings were ever in doubt, the tea and confectionaries are served in luxury Meissen porcelain from Germany, and our glittering sculpted crystal Baccarat glasses were never lacking in bottled Châteldon sparkling mineral water – this certainly isn’t a place for the clumsy.
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Why provide such luxury? Han explains that in their aspiration to seek out and showcase the very best of the best, they would like to secure a Michelin star, an accolade so far elusive to Beijing. Only taking three tables a day, Now Mansion wants to go to extremes to perfect the dessert experience. So far, since opening last October, Now Mansion has catered to only 400 people, less than some Beijing restaurants serve in a night. As China's ultra-rich grow in numbers, so do the businesses that look to cater to their needs and if it's money you want to show off, there are few better places to do so than Now Mansion.
Now Mansion 闹公馆
Daily 10am-1pm, 2-6pm, 7pm-late 4B-102, Baiziyuan, 16 Baiziwan Lu, Chaoyang District (reservation only: 139 1197 0695)
朝阳区百子湾路16号百子园4B-102朝北底商
Photos: Tracy Wang
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