Authentic Taste Of Hong Kong: LAN FONG YUEN Cha Chaan Teng

There are lots of food choices in Hong Kong. Name it and you can find it in the city. As Filipinos, we are a big fan of Chinese cuisine. My Chinese food lover husband was actually in heaven when he got his dim sums and noodle fixes almost everyday during our stay in Hong Kong. So basically we don’t have issues when it comes to food.

In one blog I read about ‘things to do in Hong Kong’, the author mentioned of trying the ‘Afternoon Tea in Hong Kong’. The Afternoon tea is a tradition adopted during the time of British colonial rule. Because of my curiosity, I researched more about it. Where is the best place to have afternoon tea time? I found out that most fancy restaurants within luxury hotels in the city offers such tea time. Luxurious treats means having a pricey tag attached to it. So we decided to just skip doing this afternoon tea time and perhaps to just do it the next time were in Hong Kong .

Thankfully one of our friend, a Hong Kong local, introduced us to the real taste of Hong Kong. She said, your visit in Hong Kong is not complete without experiencing one of Hong Kong’s ‘Cha Chaang Teng or Tea Restaurant’ that serves no frills local comfort food.

Lan Fong Yuen founded in 1952

She brought us to Lan Fong Yuen. The restaurant is considered as institution in Hong Kong because it is the oldest and most famous Cha Chaan Teng. They are also the original inventor of the silk stockings milk tea.

The restaurant setup is basically ‘hole in the wall’. Back in the days, Lan Fong Yuen was an open-air food stall. Today their restaurants are indoors but still has the ambiance of their classic restaurant resembling their original green stall.

We visited their branch in Tsim Sha Tsui located in Chungking Mansion, 36-44 Nathan Road. It was around 4 o’clock in the afternoon and there were a few people queuing outside the restaurant waiting for a table. We waited for about 15 minutes before finally getting settled.

Milk tea counter

As we got settled into our table, the attendant handed us the menu. Ordering food to a Cantonese attendant wasn’t a problem since our local friend was the one who ordered for us. However, for international tourists, making orders isn’t that difficult because their menus have English translations with pictures along side each menu item.

The classic bread toast with butter and condensed milk paired with milk tea. Perfect combination.

We ordered some of the popular items in their menu like the classic french toast, pork chop with instant noodles, chicken and noodle soup and more. See photos below.

Chicken wings and vermicelli noodle soup

Pork chop and vermicelli curry soup

Ox-tongue in Vermicelli Curry Soup

Pork chop with instant noodles and cabbage

Everything we ordered was filling and delicious. That’s what comfort food is all about. No frills but perfectly satisfying. Price wise it was inexpensive. Perfect for foodie budget travelers.

Even though we were not able to experience the so-called afternoon tea time I mentioned earlier, we were still very happy because we were able to experience the authentic taste of Hong Kong.

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