of egg tarts & bubble tea!

this post will conclude the series on my recent escape to hongkong i promise! those of you reading out there must be wondering when the one about the awesome tan tart and bubble tea is going to appear...and i apologise for the three-post long wait, but i guess i kept what i felt was the  best experiences for the last!

tai cheong bakery's egg tarts have been known the world over to be the best in hongkong. i've never been a huge fan of this chinese custard dessert...i mean i don't mind it but i won't go into depression if i don't get my fix. but there is something magical about tai cheong's egg tarts....i don't remember having it the last time i was here, but i definitely now have an impeccable memory of how beautiful this egg tart tasted. i regret not being able to take a pic of the old establishment as pak law did a takeaway of the tarts for us. i actually ate it a day later, and despite sitting in the fridge for twenty four hours, the egg tart was still exquisite. think smooth custard, perfect balance of egg to custard encased in a yummy part flaky part doughy pastry shell. i could easily have eaten two of this beauties if not for the fact that dad didn't buy more than seven! but next time, i'll be sure to stand in line myself to not only capture some pics of the bakery but also to make sure that i have at least two egg tarts with my name on it!

tai cheong bakery

35 lydhurst terrace

central, hong kong

(852) 2544 3475

 

as for the bubble tea....let's just say the adventure here didn't exactly start on the right foot. my very first cup was from tai shi and it was slightly lack lustre and well comparable with the each a cup types we get at home. but given that my sis and i were thirsty and had half of the ladies market left to conquer, we settled for this joint in the first instance. it was a bit of a waste of calories but it served to quench our thirst so i didn't complain and made a mental note to look out for the gong cha outlet a friend raved to me about.

turned out that i didn't have to look that much further as one gong cha joint revealed itself at the end of the ladies market street (much to my excitement!) and we were tired and yes thirsty again after covering 4 blocks, that we indulged in another cup of tea..this time upsized. we didn't have the pearls though as we were quite full but the kamquat tea was really nice and refreshing. 

i had tea again from gong cha post second adventure to mong kok and this time thoroughly enjoyed the passion fruit green tea. i was slightly disappointed that mom did not order the pearls for me but it was all good as i stood very patiently in line for kor kor's chocolate with pearl tea at the facepearl outlet one stall away from gong cha. it turned out that the face joint was more popular with the locals as i had to wait a good 30 minutes from  the time of order to getting my drink.... that was alike a good twenty orders ahead of me! i had a taste and while it wasn't the usual tea variants, the chocolate ice blend with the pearls was quite yummy. kor kor thoroughly enjoyed it so that's make at least for one happy boy and aunty!

my final bubble tea experience was at east sunrise in causeway bay. i had the passionfruit green tea again, but this time with pearls and it was good. i personally can't tell the difference between the facepearl, east sunrise and gong cha teas, so to me, i think they were all pretty yummy. they all were refreshing and not too sweet, unlike those you get in singapore sometimes with tea overly flavored with artificial essence. the sago pearls were also cooked al dente so none of those mushy textures nor achy jaws from chewing on partially cooked pearls! 

so there you go...five days, four lunches and dinners (and snacks!) in hongkong reported!

gong cha

shop 43e

dundas street

mong kok

facepearl

shop 43g

dundas street

mong kok

east sunrise

along jaffe road

down from the macau restaurant