A famous cha chaan teng in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Lan Fong Yuen Toast, milk tea, and yuenyeung
The whole theme of this Hong Kong trip was basically checking off all the famous spots.
Before I left, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos, but honestly
they all kept recommending the same places, so I pinned a few spots on Google Maps,
asked GPT to build me a travel route,
and followed it almost exactly. It actually worked out pretty well!
Anyway, this was one of those places
that always shows up on every Hong Kong food recommendation list, so I had to try it.
It’s one of the most famous cha chaan tengs in Hong Kong,
Lan Fong Yuen Toast in Tsim Sha Tsui.
As you can see on the map,
it’s not far from Tsim Sha Tsui Station,
but it wasn’t exactly the easiest place to find..!!
How to get there: I made a little GIF with my own feet, lol,
but to explain it in words,
don’t go into Chungking Mansions.
Walk a little farther to the side and you’ll see
a building with an escalator going down to the basement!
Take that escalator downstairs
and there’s a whole row of restaurants.
There’s also a floor map posted on the wall right when you get down there,
so it’s not too hard to find Lan Fong Yuen
(it’s a little farther inside).
This is what the entrance looks like.
We didn’t come for breakfast.
We stopped by around 4 p.m. for a snack,
so we got in right away without waiting.
Apparently the busiest time here
is around opening, at 10:30 a.m.,
and there can be a line.
It’s an old, historic shop, but the building has been remodeled,
so the space felt clean and pretty comfortable.
Even though it’s updated, they kept the old signs on the walls
and decorated with vintage-style items, so it still had that classic Hong Kong feel.
Now let’s take a look at the menu
at this famous Hong Kong cha chaan teng, Lan Fong Yuen.
First, the toast and sandwich menu.
The toast everyone orders is the third item from the bottom,
the one in red for 34 HKD,
Traditional French Toast with Coconut Butter. That’s the one, just for reference.
Here’s the drink menu!
Milk tea and yuenyeung are the famous picks, so we ordered one of each.
Yuenyeung is basically Hong Kong-style milk tea mixed with coffee.
On the menu, it’s listed as Coffee Tea Mixed.
A staff auntie came over to take our order at the table.
There’s also a photo menu, but this one really felt like it was made for locals, so I mostly just used the pictures as a guide.
I heard things like chicken noodles and tomato soup
are popular too, but we had dinner plans later,
so I didn’t want to go too heavy.
Also, by that point, I was already kind of worn out
from all the rich, greasy Hong Kong food,
so I wasn’t in the mood to experiment.
Hong Kong food and I were not fully getting along…
One thing to know: Lan Fong Yuen has a minimum order rule
of 40 HKD per person.
We ordered the toast, milk tea, and yuenyeung,
and the total came to 90 HKD,
so thankfully we cleared the minimum…^^
The drinks came out first. You can tell which is which, right?
The one on the left is the milk tea, and the one on the right is the yuenyeung.
For my taste, the milk tea was better.
Unlike a lot of milk tea in Korea, it wasn’t sweet,
but it had a deep, full-bodied flavor.
Hong Kong milk tea really did live up to the hype for me.
A bunch of sauces and condiments like this were set out on every table.
Then came the Lan Fong Yuen French toast!
Visually, it kind of looked like
a simple homemade toast situation.
Travel really does make you eat things
you’d never normally order at home, haha.
The toast was fresh and tasty, for sure,
but I’m not sure it tasted famous-famous, if that makes sense.
When I opened it up, there was a generous layer
of something like kaya spread inside, so yes, it was definitely good.
I’m at the age where I think about my blood sugar, so I was eating it plain
without adding syrup,
but the older staff lady came by and, in a very no-nonsense way,
told me, “Syrup!!” and walked off.
So I poured on a little maple syrup and dipped it.
With the syrup,
it tasted even more like something you’d make and eat at home.
Deeply focused on a very serious phone call at Lan Fong Yuen.
Anyway, this place is so famous
that I do think there’s value in going once just to say you did.
But personally, I don’t think it’s worth lining up for
or going far out of your way just for the food.
Still, I totally understand the urge
to go and get the classic photo.
Just don’t set your expectations too high, and it’s worth trying once.
-End-