Kam Fung Cafe, Wanchai, Hong Kong

One of the best desserts in the world is the simple cantonese egg tart 蛋撻 or 蛋挞. There are a few accounts on the origins of the mini egg tarts, found today in Chinese Bakeries & Dim Sum Restaurants. I tend to believe the Portuguese story with the tart deriving from the pastel de nata.

Kam Fung Cafe, a small food stall in the Wanchai District, features one of the best egg tarts I’ve ever tasted. In this unassuming restaurant/bakery, you are seated immediately, if there isn’t a line, with other people on tables or in booths. I’ve realized that in Asia, personal space is luxury and people will bump into, seat next to, or touch (albeit inadvertently) without a problem. I’m slowly getting used to it more. We sat at a table, on stools, with 3 other people. With real estate prices through the roof, its no wonder that communal seating is seen as a common place.

Kam Fung Cafe features three exceptional things – the egg tart, the po lo bao, and baked chicken pie. The egg tart is simple slightly-sweet custard pie. Not meant to be overly sweet, the baked goodness in the solid egg tart is also one of my mom’s favorite desserts. Egg tarts are so popular that KFC, in China, sells them. The po lo bao, translated to pineapple bun, is a baked sweet roll. There is, in fact, no pineapple taste, only the look of a pineapple. Though I am not sure how it looks like a pineapple, except for the bright yellowish color. You must take a cold slab of butter to eat with. I am still not sure why the po lo Bao is so popular. The last thing, in which I didn’t expect, was the baked chicken pie. Similar to the idea of an American chicken pot pie, this little goodie features chunks of chicken inside the baked bread. The bread is flakey and absorbs some of the juicy warm goodness.

Mr. P tells me that, it is best to come to Kam Fung Cafe, right after they finish baking. I bet you could smell the baked goodness just a few blocks away. I will certainly use my nose, next time, to find my way back to Kam Fung Cafe.