For a limited time until the end of November, Hong Kong is getting a taste of Ecuador through the inventive desserts of Spanish pastry chef Javier Guillén. Trained under culinary luminaries such as Ferran Adrià at El Bulli, Oriol Balaguer, and the celebrated Parisian pastry chef Pierre Hermé, Guillén brings a refined, modern approach to classic flavors. His creations are being served at Café 103 inside The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, where a special afternoon tea menu is offered daily from 3:30–5:30 p.m. through Nov. 30.
The menu balances elegant savory bites with imaginative sweets. Savory highlights include a truffle cream chicken rosette vol-au-vent, a savory salmon caviar and mozzarella cake, and crab rillettes paired with yuzu cream in squid-ink mini burgers. These small plates serve to prime the palate for the dessert-focused finale.
The pastry selection showcases bold Latin American ingredients and artistic presentation. Signature sweets include a coconut Azteca; a Panama hat-inspired tart combining passion fruit, banana, chocolate and almond; a Guanabana dessert featuring peanut paste, chocolate mousse and guanabana jelly; and Fève Cacao, which layers caramel milk chocolate with a hazelnut milk ganache. Guillén highlights cacao sourced from Latin America, milk from the Andes and sugarcane harvested on coastal plains, with chocolate percentages ranging from 31 to 70 percent. Each confection is thoughtfully shaped to evoke a distinct Latin American symbol, marrying visual storytelling with regional flavors.
This afternoon tea is an opportunity to experience Guillén’s technical training and creative vision through a curated progression of savory and sweet items. The combination of high-quality, regionally inspired ingredients and meticulous pastry technique reflects his years of apprenticeship under world-class chefs, making Café 103 a destination for dessert enthusiasts during this limited engagement.