MoMo & Coco

HK’s Best High Tea Series: Cha Chaan Teng and Yum Cha Afternoon Tea

Nibbling through nostalgic bites.

 

Our experience

Whereas high tea is not a strong point in NYC, it most certainly is in many parts of Asia.  As part of our “Best High Tea in Hong Kong” series, long time readers of this dessert travel blog may recall our old reviews of traditional Hong Kong-style afternoon teas at the Intercontinental Hotel and Above & Beyond. Fast forward almost a decade later, we recently checked out two spots — the first being a high tea hotel spot that recently offered a nostalgic rendition of traditional Hong Kong cha chaan teng and dim sum bites,  and the other a yum cha restaurant that you could use for a similar purpose 😛 

 

Cha Chaan Teng Afternoon Tea

  • ☑ Dessert destination:  New World Millenium Hotel, 72 Mody Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hon.
  • ☑ Budget: $$$ (HKD $238 pp + tax/service; approx USD $40 pp, available as solo set).
  • ☑ Local flavours featured: Yes.
  • ☑ Best for:  Nostalgic trompe-l’oeil mini desserts.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Cha chaan tengs — those curious relics of the British colonialist era that are cafe, restaurant and diner all mashed up together into one — were never our cup of tea. So many years later, they continue to diminish in number. Regardless of whether the characteristic rough-and-tumble ambience of a cha chaan teng is to our liking, one cannot overlook their influence on churning out several of Hong Kong’s most iconic desserts. A recent visit to the New World Millenium Hotel saw typical cha chaan teng dishes reimagined as an afternoon tea, presented on a gilded half-bird cage by way of five savoury bites and five sweet nibbles. The savouries included nods to both Guangdong culinary fare (e.g. abalone tart and transculent dumpling) as well as British morsels (e.g. chicken pie, egg sandwich). There was also a small bowl of pork skin and squid curry into which we dipped some chunky sweet potato scones. More memorable were the desserts, the majority of which were crafted in a creative trompe l’oeil style. For example, a puff pastry was bisected with pineapple passionfruit fruit cream and a slab of butter to resemble HK’s iconic pineapple bun, while a miniature skewer of curry fishballs was actually a yuzu mousse cake, and a miniature milkshake was in fact a parfait of red bean layered with coconut jelly.  Additionally, whereas a pound cake was slathered on with a curious orange-brown icing to take on the appearance of French Toast, the last dessert of the afternoon tea was not only perhaps the most memorable in terms of taste, but also the most simple in conception and presentation — being, a roll cake wrapped in soft Hong Kong milk tea tones. Equally memorable were the evocative beverages – instead of tea, we chose a tall glass of pineapple yakult soda in which an ice bear floated. There was also traditional Hong Kong milk tea on offer, as well as a coffee swirled with peanut butter and condensed milk. 

Yum Cha Afternoon Tea at Yum Cha

  • ☑ Dessert destination:  Yum Cha, 2/F, Nan Fung Place Nan Fung Tower, 173 Des Voeux Rd Central, Hong Kong Island.
  • ☑ Budget: $$-$$$.
  • ☑ Local flavours featured: Yes.
  • ☑ Best for: Traditional HK dim sum done cute. 
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Situated at the border of Central and Sheung Wan district, and two floors above street level, the aptly-named Yum Cha restaurant is one of those places that you would need to be in the know in order to even realize it exists in the first place.  Yum Cha is neither one of those tiny dilapidated hole-in-the-world places so iconic of Hong Kong’s historic past nor is it one of the Michelin-starred yum cha spots where a basket of dumplings will redefine the meaning of mouth-watering taste and eye-watering prices. Filling in the mid-range restaurant budget gap, Yum Cha instead offers a more universally-accessible experience, ideal for families, friend groups and also casual business get-togethers. Our pro tip: come here around mid afternoon for their yum cha desserts. Evoking memories from a similar dessert creation that we tried many many years ago back in Australia, Yum Cha’s pig-shaped char siew bao is likewise adorable, but could do with more meat filling. More memorable for us Dessert Correspondents were the restaurant’s pineapple tarts formed into tiny birds and the large golden yellow egg custard buns. Pulling the latter apart revealed a molten custard centre of delicious fun — a perfect short afternoon tea to ride over that midweek workday. 😀
 

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