I have developed quite a fondness for HK style milk tea. I’ve had it from several places in town: extremely strong black tea and either evaporated milk or cream and brown sugar or some sort of sweetener. Apparently, some places use egg shells in the steeping or simmering of the tea.
Anyway, whatever the secret is, it is a feisty cup. That perfect balance of flavours—that’s key.
So I found myself again not too far away from Chinatown, or rather one of our Chinatowns, and decided to pay a visit to the HK style bakery where I had an amazing HK style milk tea a couple of weeks ago.
The ambiance is typical Chinatown bakery. Bright fluorescent lights flooding both the seating area and the glass covered sliding shelves with baked and steamed buns— savoury or sweet, spongey, flaky or slightly chewy. You take your tray and yellow plastic tongs and help yourself to the pastries, go to the counter and pay. While there, you can order steamed or fried dim sum or various rice bowls. Or an egg bacon sausage plate with toast. And your HK style milk tea.
I was there around noon, so I joined the retirees at the seating area. Every table was occupied: some with a gaggle of elderly men animatedly engaging with each other, some with elderly couples putting up with each other, and some with lone individuals, like me. Young people flitted in from work to get their lunch.
I sat with my tea and soaked up the moment. My tea was hot, milky, sweet. Strong. Borderline harsh. But delicious.
And me, I’m going to be up till Tuesday.
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That sounds like such a fun outing! All of it—the tea, the treats, and the people-watching!
It was, it really was. I love Chinatown here. It is constantly evolving. The base and beginnings of it are Cantonese-speakers from southern China and HK who have been here for many many decades. Mainland Chinese have arrived more recently and added to the mix. Still, in my view, it is the Cantonese-speakers who are the core, and the identity of this Chinatown is theirs.
One of my favourite things is going for dim sum brunch in one of the places where teams of women manoeuvre trolleys of various delights around the tables. You get to peek in pots and steamer trays and select the things that tempt you. COVId has made this difficult because tables are now surrounded with plastic and plexiglass stretched on wooden frames. And I don’t know what the trolley situation is in these troubled times.
That sounds like such a fun outing! All of it—the tea, the treats, and the people-watching!
It was, it really was. I love Chinatown here. It is constantly evolving. The base and beginnings of it are Cantonese-speakers from southern China and HK who have been here for many many decades. Mainland Chinese have arrived more recently and added to the mix. Still, in my view, it is the Cantonese-speakers who are the core, and the identity of this Chinatown is theirs.
One of my favourite things is going for dim sum brunch in one of the places where teams of women manoeuvre trolleys of various delights around the tables. You get to peek in pots and steamer trays and select the things that tempt you. COVId has made this difficult because tables are now surrounded with plastic and plexiglass stretched on wooden frames. And I don’t know what the trolley situation is in these troubled times.