Bottled Goodness

Don’t be put off by the grubby chairs and tables or the ancient-looking menu: you’re here for the milk tea. Tucked away in the cooked food center of the Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building, Shui Kee Coffee has been around for over 60 years and it looks its age. But its renowned “milk tea in a bottle” ($13) and snacks still attract tourists and foodies. “The milk tea in a bottle is my invention,” says the 80-year-old owner Cheung Wing-yan. “The size is just right and we refrigerate it beforehand so we don’t need to add ice.” Cheung says there’s no trick to his trade: “Fresh milk tea is good milk tea. We only prepare the drink to order.” Cheung drinks two cups of milk tea a day: “If I don’t love it, how can I make milk teas that are so popular?”

Shop 17, 2/F, Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building, Sheung Wan.

Shui Kee's renowned "milk tea in a bottle" ($13)

Milk Buckets

Local restaurant chain Tai Hing is a more commercial and pricey option, but if you’re lusting after a creamy, cold cup of milk tea, chances are there’s a Tai Hing near you. The well-known Chilled Original Milk Tea ($19) comes in a bowl of ice, which keeps the drink cool without diluting the taste as the ice melts. According to Tai Hing, the idea came from a Western contraption: ice buckets for beer. Tai Hing’s standardization of the entire milk-tea-making procedure—from the mixing of Sri Lankan tea leaves, to the amount of water, to how long the tea steeps for—adds up to a reliably strong and delicious cup of milk tea. There’s even a canned version ($11) on sale in Tai Hing branches as well as ParknShop.

Various locations including Shop A, Man On Commercial Building, 12-13 Jubilee St., Central, 2567-2200, www.taihingroast.com.hk.

Golden Glory

What could possibly beat milk tea? Perhaps the “Gold Tea” ($16 hot, $18 cold) from Yuen Long’s Tai Fat Restaurant. Lai Wong-ming, Tai Fat’s tea master, has over 30 years of experience and won the 2009 Hong Kong Milk Tea King competition with this brew. Using six types of Ceylon tea, the “Gold Tea” has a delicate aroma, but isn’t as strong as most other milk teas—a good choice if you’re only starting your milk tea journey. It’s rumored that former Chief Executive Donald Tsang is a regular.

Shop 5, Beauty Court Shopping Centre, 4212-4213 Hung Shui Kiu section of Castle Peak Rd., Yuen Long, New Territories, 2443-5533.

Pop the Bubbly

Let’s not ignore one of the biggest phenomena in the Hong Kong milk tea scene: the invasion of Taiwanese bubble tea. Shin Chiu, the tea master behind the new restaurant Check-In Taipei, describes Taiwanese milk tea as more of “an elegant lady” while Cantonese milk tea is more “masculine.” Using tea leaves from Taiwan, Shin’s concoctions are light, aromatic and very cooling. His favorite? The Jade Milk Tea with White Pearls ($24). “It’s a perfect pairing: the jasmine tea flavor and fresh milk produce a beautiful aftertaste.” You can personalize your beverage as well—the special milk tea menu lets you adjust the sweetness and ice content, and add anything from tapioca pearls and puffed rice to sweet basil seeds.

G/F, 27 Hollywood Rd., Central, 2351-2622; delivery service available in Central for orders over $200.

Check-in Taipei’s Shin Chiu applying his bartending skills to making milk tea

Rose and Black

Word on the street is that Kam Fung Restaurant serves the best milk tea around ($16 hot, $18 cold). The busy restaurant is clean, brightly lit and relatively spacious (only mild arm- or knee-bumping). Having opened its doors in 1956, the restaurant is known for its strongly flavored milk tea that doesn’t leave a bitter aftertaste. How? Kam Fung only steeps a batch of tea leaves once and uses a unique mix of rose tea and the classic Lipton black tea for an aromatic and invigorating cup of Hong Kong goodness. Try the iced milk tea, as well as a nostalgic selection of buns: from egg tarts ($5) and chicken tarts ($10) to bor lor yau, pineapple buns with a thick slice of butter in the middle ($8).

G/F, Spring Garden Mansion, 41 Spring Garden Lane, Wan Chai, 2572-0526.

Kam Fung's iced milk tea ($18)

Stop Stocking Me

The very cha chaan teng that popularized the concept of “silk-stocking milk tea,” Lan Fong Yuen is famous for its strong and rich brew ($18 hot, $20 cold). “It’s not actually silk stockings,” says owner Lan Chun-chung. “Those are cotton bags. We ‘pull’ the milk tea from bag to bag six to seven times, to get a richer taste.” Originally a dai pai dong, Lan Fong Yuen now has four branches across the city. Lan boasts of their mix of bigger and smaller leaves. “Big tea leaves give that heavy, brown color, while the more delicate leaves provide the aromatic taste.” Lan recommends a spoonful of sugar, as well as a freshly toasted pork chop bun ($22) with the traditional drink.

Shop 2, 2 Gage St., Central, 2544-3895.

Lan Fong Yuen's tea master | And their creamy "silk stocking milk

Just Wing It

Owner Lai Fai tells us that Wing Lok Yuen Restaurant sells more than 1,500 cups of milk tea per day. Furnished like a traditional bing sut, Wing Lok Yuen has a beautiful downstairs seating area, plus a fun and sentimental selection of Hong Kong beverages. A must-try is the milk tea with red beans ($23). “I had doubts about it at first, but it tasted really good and was an instant hit,” Lai says. “The trick is to brew a stronger tea so it’s not overtaken by the sweetness of the red bean.” A lot of milk teas nowadays are guilty of tasting acrid, says Lai. “Many restaurants over-steep their tea—we never do that.” A perfect afternoon tea, says Lai, cannot consist of milk tea alone: “You need to try our hot dog ($13), made with sausages from Holland and a secret sauce.”

G/F, 19 Chiu Lung St., Central, 2522-0965.

Wing Lok Yuen's milk tea with red beans ($23)

How to Order Milk Tea, CCT-Style

涼茶 Leung cha “cooling tea”— Iced milk tea

走冰 Zau bing “walk ice”— No ice

飛砂走奶 Fei sa zau nai “fly sugar, walk milk”— No sugar, no milk

少甜 Siu teem “little sweet”— Less sugar

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