words victoria wang

There's a saying that gets thrown around amongst my friends a lot, particularly after a big dinner.

We'll be complaining about how full we are, and then someone will say, “Luckily I have a second stomach for dessert.” It's true –there's always room for dessert and now that it's really heating up, Hong Kong's dessert houses are bringing in icy, cool sensations with their novel creations that make use of ordinary ingredients in extraordinary ways. From famous chains to hole in the walls, I've scouted out a range of venues where you can drop in to escape the summer heat and indulge your sweet tooth. Whether it's a creative fruit platter or a classic tofu pudding, there's something to satisfy everyone's cravings –and probably give you some new ones. One thing is for sure –with so much to choose from, the last thing you'll be vying for is a boring ice-cream cone.

Hui Lau Shan
Instantly recognisable by its red and gold sign, this popular desserts chain is ubiquitous and practically a household name in Hong Kong, consistently voted a favourite by locals. With a long history going back to the 1960s, it started off as a herbal tea shop in Yuen Long before pioneering the mango and sago sweet soup that would eventually become the all famous and classic “yeung zhi gum lo” available in almost all Hong Kong dessert houses. The establishment has hence become primary representative of Hong Kong style fruit desserts and drinks and now with over 40 branch stores, continues to excel in its mango-mania. This summer fruit is paired with coconut noodle, crystal jelly, glutinous riceballs –you name it, they use it. The latest mango and agar konjac jelly (jelly made from seaweed) with tofu pudding ($26) is a blend of textures with an icy mango slushie beneath, and the jelly’s herbal flavour and bite is a nice contrast to the sweet mango and smooth tofu. Hui Lau Shan is notable for its general use of fruit that accompanies most dishes, and the mixed fresh fruit platter ($28) is beautifully presented, not to mention healthy.
www.hkhls.com for multiple locations

Honeymoon Dessert
I confess that I have a soft spot for this popular dessert chain because it’s where I was introduced to and fell in love with my favourite dish, “yeung zhi gum lo” or mango pomelo and sago sweet soup ($26). Honeymooon Dessert opened its first store in Sai Kung District in 1995 and now has branches all over Hong Kong and even mainland China. Their home-made styled Chinese desserts range from regular and flavoured cold tofu puddings ($17-$33) and sweet sago soups ($17-$33) to fancier creations such as durian in vanilla sauce with ice-cream ($36), which features the spiky, in-season fruit that’s infamous for its distinct and often polarizing taste and smell. The Thai black glutinous rice with mango and coconut juice ($27) is another personal favourite if you want something to really dig into and chew over as well as being cool and icy.
www.honeymoon-dessert.com for multiple locations

Happy Lemon
You’ve probably passed by this sunny yellow chain store that makes an assortment of Taiwanese cold fruit drinks and bubble teas. Refreshing and reasonably priced, new on the menu are 3 fresh fruit drinks: passion fruit, cranberry, and blueberry ($12 regular, $14 large), all with silky and cool seaweed jelly. The passion fruit one also makes use of Yakult, a quintessential Hong Kong beverage that’s locally made, and the crisp black seeds give an extra snap. Also popular is the mousse spin matcha with adzuki bean ($15 regular, $17 large), latching onto the ever popular trend of all things green tea.
www.happy-lemon.com for multiple locations.

Golden Mall Dessert
What’s tastier than a Malteser chocolate? Malteser chocolate wrapped in glutinous rice. Yup, that’s one of the signature creations of Golden Mall Dessert. For $10, you get six of these little guys. The powdered glutinous layer is surprisingly soft and easily peels of the chocolate inside. Of course, the last thing you want to do is separate the two and miss out on the contrasting textures. The best part is that the mildly sweet glutinous casing doesn’t overpower the crunchy Malteser, and instead acts like a soft cushion that rolls in your mouth. It’s a cute little snack that’s worth trying, but for a real summer showstopper you’d probably want to order the Taiwanese style “chocolate candy floss ice mountain” ($23), which comes looking like an art piece: a delicate mountain of paper-thin, folded ice with a dollop of red beans and chewy glutinous rice balls at the base, peppered with “crystal pearls” –clear beads that deceptively look like sago but have the exact opposite texture, giving off satisfying pops when bitten. The taste of chocolate is rich enough and the flakes of ice so soft that it merits a clichéd slogan: you won’t believe it’s not ice cream.
9 South Wall Road, Kowloon City, Kowloon, 2383 3102
201, G/F, Amoy Plaza, Ngau Tau Kok, Kowloon, 2571 8900

Yee Shun Milk Company
My commiserations if you’re lactose intolerant –if the logo’s image of a cow isn’t enough indication, Yee Shun is all about dairy products when it comes to desserts. Its signature dish is called “steamed milk in two films” ($20), referring to the thin layer of skin that lies on top of the pudding-like cold steamed milk, adding a slight chewiness. The texture is softer than tofu pudding, and the taste of milk is creamy and fresh. The dish also comes with additional flavourings of ginger, red bean, chocolate and coffee, but my server rightfully recommended the original for an untainted experience for the taste buds. Also available are a variety of cold milk drinks using papaya, mango, banana and other fruits ($21-24).
63 Pilkem St, Kowloon, 2730 2799; 513 Nathan Road, Kowloon, 2332 2726; 246-248 Sai Yeung Street, South Kowloon 2393 3301
385-391 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, 2576 1828
506 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, 2591 1837

Ngor Kee Ja Ja
This casual dessert house advertises its signature dish in its name: Ja Ja, or mixed bean soup ($14). It’s traditionally served hot but is just as tasty cold, and don’t underestimate the smallish bowl –I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so full so quickly. Mixing the milk produces a purple-white marble pattern, and underneath this smooth, silky surface is a treasure trove of sago, red beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas and chickpeas. You’re in for a real treat if you’ve only ever had beans in a salad or savoury soup. Poking around, I even discovered a chunk of taro, much to my delight. The soup’s creamy sweetness never gets too rich and each spoonful is so chock full of carby goodness you might as skip lunch. I didn’t have enough room to find out what the “parasitic loranthus and lotus seed tea” was, but the eyebrow-raising name is reason enough to return.
509 Nathan Road, Kowloon, 6223 6271

Tin Hau Desserts
The photos of “snowflake ice mountains” will probably be the first thing to catch your eye in Tin Hau Desserts with their interestingly layered flakes of ice in wave-like shapes. The actual dish doesn’t come quite so impressively sculptured, but unlike regular crushed ice, the texture is much finer and even quite fluffy, melting as soon as it enters your mouth. These come in different flavours and the “ying yang” option makes use of two fruits, mango and strawberry, to colour the folds of ice pink and orange. Unfortunately, although fresh fruit is used to flavour the ice, the taste doesn’t come through very strongly. It’s certainly a unique looking creation but at a rather unreasonable $40, you’re probably better off sticking to the more conventional dishes or heading down a block to Sweet Auntie’s.
83-87 Electric Road, Tin Hau, 2503 2501

Sweet Auntie’s
Sweet Auntie’s has been in business for around four years, and recently moved to its new location –not far from its original one on Electric Road –where loyal fans are sure to follow. The owner’s choice of fruits in the desserts varies according to what’s most in-season. New on the menu when I dropped by was a “long an,” –literally meaning “dragon-eye” –sago sweet soup ($25). Perhaps less prominent than lychee, the dragon-eye fruit has a similar translucent flesh around a black core, but is smaller and encased in a smooth, brown skin. Its distinct sweetness is coupled with pomelo bits and juicy pieces of coconut jelly to make the perfect thirst quencher. There’s also a fruit sorbet series of dishes ($28), again with different ones featured according to the day. Don’t get this mixed up with the Italian sorbet ice-cream –what I got was a mountain of crushed ice made with grapefruit juice and covered with fresh mango fruit, jelly, and a generous dollop of creamy mango ice-cream. It’s crunchy, soft, sweet, and tangy all rolled up into one mouthwatering experience that will leave you smiling just like Sweet Auntie herself.
13 Tsing Fung Street, Tin Hau, 2508 6962

Sugar Dessert House
SUGAR seems to go by the philosophy that if you’re going to have dessert, you’re going to have dessert. No short-cuts or sidling around calories and all that rubbish. So don’t be surprised by the sundaes ($36-$39) stuffed with brownie bits and oreos and drizzled with chocolate, or the chocolate banana ice-cream waffles ($32). It’s sugary, creamy overload all around and probably everything you dreamed of eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as a child. But before these familiar favourites suck you in, try the signature dish “coconut snow queen” ($33). Authentically presented in half a coconut shell, the snowy mountain of crushed ice comes with red beans and glutinous rice balls, making for a real sticky and sweet adventure in an edible version of the Alps.
G2, Basement, 3 Granville Circuit, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2739 9959