[HONG KONG] In my early memories, salted egg was used in porridge, mooncakes or dumplings. Today, it has become the latest trend where you can find salted egg dishes all over the menu. In Hong Kong, the most popular restaurant that served the salted egg dish is Urban Bakery. Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to try their famed salted egg croissant during my last visit in Hong Kong. However, I managed to visit Chau Kee to eat their salted egg french toast!

Located at the corner of Water Street, one of the older residential areas in Hong Kong, Chau Kee is probably considered one of the hippest char can teng in the neighbourhood. They served freshly made dim sum with a twist all day.

We tried some of their popular items including the fancy “yin yeung siu mai” which comes with two flavors: one cod roe and one topped with truffle oil. It’s juicy and generous, but of course, the price is more expensive than your usual old school cha can teng.

Piping hot french toast on its own is already divine. It’s buttery, it’s lightly crisp, it’s golden on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. When you gently slice the Salted Lava Custard Toast into half, the salted egg filling flows out like a golden lava lake. The salted egg so easily harmonises with the toasted bread, as its savoury taste is light and understated. According to one of the taste test done by a Hong Kong magazine, this french toast even came in first. They beat other famous cha can teng like Moment Cafe and Paris Ice House. No wonder it draws so much crowd all day long. So sinfully good.

You can also round out your meal with a plate of “silver needle” noodles stir-fried in XO sauce. Just like our chee cheong fun, it has a good amount of smoky wok fragrance when stir fried with bean sprouts and addictive XO sauce. Also delicious is the shrimp toast which is filled with crunchy shrimp and covered in toasted sesame seeds.

Here’s a tip on how to skip the queue: go early on a Sunday morning, say 9am. You can walk into the restaurant almost immediately.

Chau Kee

Address: Shop H1, G/F, Tung Lee Mansion, Water Street, Sai Ying Pun, Western District
西環西營盤水街東利大厦地下H1號舖
Tel: +852 2559 2389
Opening Hours: Tue to Sun 8am to 6pm, closed on Mondays