Former model's Petite Amanda patisserie pulls the crowds

Petite Amanda is a new patisserie in IFC owned by former Hong Kong model Amanda Strang. 

The celebrity's name alone is enough to draw a queue of patient customers at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day -- the delivery times for the pastries. 

Strang quit her modelling career to enroll at Le Cordon Bleu and she has interned at Caprice and Ladurée as well as with Jacques Genin. She's paid her dues and there's no doubt that she can put together a classic French pastry the way you're meant to. But that doesn't mean the pastries are out-of-this-world. 

There's nothing wrong with the desserts, but don't expect a culinary fireworks display. These sweet treats are simple and inoffensive, so much so that they lack unique personality traits.

On our visit, it was a typically hot and humid Hong Kong afternoon and we were drawn towards the refreshing citrus colors of the Delice Aux Abricots and the shop's signature Amanda's Verrine.

The Amanda's Verrine is a light sabayon without a hint of alcohol and a very thin, juicy orange jelly. It comes with a generous pack of homemade biscuit crumbs that were quite buttery and sweet. A spoonful of the Verrine is a combination of milky, orangey, cookie-ish goodness. 

We enjoyed the almost rustic simplicity of the dessert, but it wasn't food-gasmic. The whole thing cost HK$70 because it includes the price of the exclusive Le Creuset ramekin it's served in.

The Delice Aux Abricots is a cute-as-a-button dome of white chocolate mousse with an apricot compote filling and a crushed biscuit bottom. The bright color of the dessert is misleading. Instead of the zesty, pick-me-up we were hoping for, we got dainty flavors; we were imagining a gold lamé jumpsuit of a dessert but ended up with white lace.

Petite Amanda also bakes French breads, praised by celebrity gastronome Chua Lam as "outstanding ... exactly the same as what you would eat in France."

Openrice user 辣子 had this insight to offer: "My croissant looked nice, but wasn't smelling too strongly of butter. The texture was on the dry side and lacked that little moist/buttery touch. And it could have been flakier. With the price I paid I could have got a much better one at Robuchon's nearby, but hey, how can you compare it with the Master's creations with decades of experience under his belt?"

Have you been to Petite Amanda? What's your verdict? Let us know in the comments box below.

Petite Amanda. Open Monday - Friday 8 a.m. 8 p.m.; Saturday - Sunday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Shop 2096, International Finance Centre Mall 2, Central, +852 2234 7222