We sought out the best versions of this Hong Kong staple to find out which egged our taste buds on the most. 

Hoover Cake Shop (豪華餅店)


136 Nga Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon City 

九龍城衙前圍道136號

$7 each

★★★

We trekked all the way over to the deep dark side for this celebrated patisserie and found it claimed the most attractive crust with a flaky puff pastry that had opened up nicely. The crust somewhat overpowered the custard but was the best part of this dainty little pie. A luminous yellow interior with a good sheen on top revealed a flavour that was more milky than eggy with a hint of sweetness.

An easy to eat tart that held itself together really well, this was the best option for those who prefer a less egg-rich flavour.

Honolulu Coffee Shop

176-178 Hennessy Road, Wanchai

灣仔軒尼詩道176-178號地下及閣樓

$8 each

★★

A favourite around town, we had high expectations for this well-known tart so were very surprised when it didn’t fare so well in our tasting. Neither our local tasters nor the Western palates had much love forthis renowned pastry. Although authentic looking in colour and size, the hugepuff pastry crust overwhelmed the eggy centre that left a dry and artificial powdered egg taste on the tongue. Overall, we found it quite a tasteless tidbit that wasn’t sweet or particularly savoury and failed to satisfy any of our tart devotees.

Kam Fung

41 Spring Garden Lane, Wanchai

灣仔春園街41號春園大廈地下

$5

★★★

This one was a bit sad and sickly looking with a thin layer of puff pastry and a sturdy, gelatinous centre. When cut, it was actually disturbingly firm and held its shape impeccably well and contained a solid balance between crust and custard. The cheapest of the bunch was also the palest and had a strong egg white taste that was very clean, neutral and natural. Seemed like it would be a better breakfast-appropriate snack as it lacked any sweetness but had more of a savoury baked-egg taste.

Tai Cheong Bakery

35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central 

中環擺花街35號地下

$6

★★★★

We had one convert on our judging panel whose previous love of the puff pastry version was irrevocably switched to the short crust side in his teenage years, we found the short crust version also appealed to our Western tasters more than the less buttery puff pastry tarts. Hence, this one got a lot of love. This held the richest interior of the lot with a very eggy flavour that left a hint of sweetness on the tongue. It’s glossy finish and perfectly coiffed shape looked very appetising, though its fluorescent yellow hue was ever so slightly alarming. It travelled the best of the bunch thanks toits aluminium cup and was the one all of our tasters went back for more of.