Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This post is but one part of the whole Hong Kong/Macau 2011 series …

Petite, almost-gone-in-two-bites egg tarts @ Kam Fung Cafe in Wan Chai. This cafe is famous for their egg tarts, chicken pies and milk tea. Slightly out of the way, in the Wan Chai district on the Hong Kong island.

And thus, this sudden idea was hatched from a haphazardly planned Repulse Bay-Stanley excursion. (More on that in a future post). We were on board a bus going towards Central from Repulse Bay, then while travelling on Queen’s Road East; we passed by Wan Chai District.

Now if you ask any of the local folks about Kam Fung Cafe, and chances are they will tell you that either the milk tea here is so much better than Lan Fong Yuen (the other milk tea champ) and the other one in Yuen Long, or the detractors will shake their heads in disagreement.

So how did we find the highly sought-after ‘nai cha’ (Cantonese for milk tea) here?

These men were seated on the same table, within close proximity but yet there was no conversation between them. Only slurps of Nissin noodles with pork, sips of hot milk tea (left) and the other chilled version (right), and pure pleasantries from their facial expression.

Locating this cafe was not a walk in the park though. But thankfully there was English translation on the signboard hanging above the entrance. A few doors away from this, there was another cafe with almost similar name and we almost fell for it. Yeah, and the staff upfront was ushering us like as if they’re the REAL deal.

Thankfully, we did not succumb and walked a short distance away.

There she was; in her elements. Scrapping off the tarts from the steel containers for baking; then frantically placing each on the paper cups. Notice the plastic cups of chilled milk tea next to her? Many patrons were seen going the take-away option, for seats are limited inside the cafe.

Smooth, milky and very comforting. I personally found the milk tea here better than Lan Fong Yuen‘s, but this might be due to the fact that I had the iced version at the latter, and one shall not dilute their tea with ice cubes IMO. At Kam Fung though, the cold milk tea is not chilled with ice cubes, but placed in the fridge.

Soft, fluffy with a buttery fragrance. A notch below Kam Wah‘s, in my opinion. But not all of us agreed on that. Okay, taste is subjective indeed. But if you’re here and you like pastries and breads, try one.

Hong Kong’s iced lemon tea is NOT like what we have here. The tea had no astringent, sharp taste (from the tannin) unlike the tea here. But instead, you get a smooth and aromatic brew without the addition of milk, and loaded with slices of fresh lemons. How to drink this? Use the spoon or stirrer and exerts pressure on the lemon wedges to release the zesty juices.

Kam Fung is also famous for their chicken pies, but we omitted this because we were preparing for a proper lunch after this.

Verdict? Good milk tea; almost the best throughout our trip. Kam Wah serves a reasonably good one too, and even Sing Heung Yuen (the epitome of ‘dai pai dong’) impressed not only with their fresh tomatoes beef noodles and crispy buns, but their iced milk tea as well. The egg tart was of the buttery, cookie pastry type unlike Honolulu’s flaky version. Still prefer Honolulu’s to Kam Fung’s though. But Tai Cheong‘s review coming in a future post, so wait for that.

Oh, and food’s not dirt cheap here, and service was far from reputable. Just order, eat and go. I pushed my luck in establishing a conversation to no avail. 🙂

People from all walks of life got their fix here; from breakfast to lunch to tea time. If you’re in Wan Chai, I would highly recommend for you to drop by. Or just take away a cup of cold milk tea and a few pieces of their egg tarts.

KAM FUNG CAFE (Openrice page)
G/F, Spring Garden Mansion,
41, Spring Garden Lane,
Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
Google Map of Hong Kong Food
Exit A3 at Wan Chai MTR station, then walk southbound past Johnston Road and towards Spring Garden Lane. Come here for breakfast, lunch or tea time. Not sure if they’re opened for dinner.