Joy Luck Teahouse Brings Your Favourite Hong Kong Egg Tarts, Pineapple Buns and Milk Tea to Singapore

After my vacation in Beijing last year, I remembered meeting veteran Singapore-born TV producer Robert Chua for coffee and sharing with him about some interesting food kiosks I have seen in Beijing. One of them was a franchise from a popular chaa chan ting in Hong Kong. He had some thoughts about bringing famous Hong Kong food brands over to Singapore.

Mr Chua negotiated for over a year before successfully persuading Hoover Cake Shop, Kam Kee Café and Tak Hing Fishball Company to bring their signature items into Singapore. Joy Luck Teahouse (歡樂冰室) is born.

At Joy Luck Teahouse, expect three famous culinary treasures of Hong Kong — egg tarts, pineapple buns and milk tea. Besides the three items, Joy Luck Teahouse will also dole out Hong Kong Fish Balls and an array of Hong Kong-style beverages.

If you have travelled to Hong Kong, you definitely remember Hoover Cake Shop (豪華餅店). Even veteran actors Chow Yun-Fat and Liza Wang Ming-Chuen are fans of these egg tarts. Joy Luck Teahouse will be making two kinds of egg tarts: puff pastry and butter cookie. Smooth, wobbly and creamy, the custard is made with high-quality eggs and butter, hitting just the right note of sweetness.

The Hong Kong pineapple bun hails from Kam Kee Café (金記冰室), a stalwart in Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng scene. It is firm on the outside with a sweet, crumbly golden crust that resembles a pineapple and covers almost the entire exterior to provide crunch in every bite. The bun is also stuffed with a generous slab of fragrant premium butter in the middle (Bo Lo Yau) that melts within the soft warm bread. Other fillings such as kaya and luncheon meat will also be available.

The Hong Kong-style milk tea also follows Kam Kee’s secret recipe that calls for a blend of superior-quality tea leaves imported from Sri Lanka. European full cream evaporated milk is added to the brew to lend a moderately sweet flavour.

Also available here are Hong Kong Fish Balls, the most popular street food in the city. The fish balls are by Tak Hing Fishball Company (德興魚蛋公司). The freshly made fish paste is smooth and soft in texture with no flour or additives added.

There are other drinks like 8 Treasure Herbal Tea, Hot Coke with Ginger and Lemon, Salted Lemon 7 Up, Hong Kong Milk Tea with Collagen, Yin Yang, Kumquat Honey Drink, Almond Tea with Collagen, Ginger Brown Sugar Drink, and Ginger Milk Custard with Collagen.

Joy Luck Teahouse in ION Orchard is a takeaway kiosk. They will open a second outlet in Bugis next month which will have seating space.

Opening Specials
• 10% off regular items with no minimum spending for all walk-in customers.
• 20% off regular items with $10 minimum spending with membership signup in the 1st 2 weeks of ION opening.
• Buy 1 get 1 Free Hong Kong Milk Tea (Hot/Cold) or Pearl of the Orient (Hong Kong Milk Tea with Bubble) with membership signup in the 1st 2 weeks of ION opening. The free item will be the lower priced item.
• Senior citizens aged 60 and above will get to enjoy 50% off Hong Kong-style Milk Tea or 8 Treasures Tea