Of HK’s many bakeries, the one which stood out in many people’s minds must be Tai Cheong (Est. 1954) on Lyndhurst Terrace, Central - it was the one mentioned by HK’s last British Governor, Chris Patten, as his favourite bakery in the colony. Chris Patten, affectionately nicknamed “Fei Pang” (Fatty Pang) was well-known among HKers for his gustatory exploits. He’d famously quipped that he “could not go a day without an egg tart from Tai Cheong”.
In the last days of HK as a British colony before it reverted to China in 1997, lines formed outside Tai Cheong for its egg tarts - as if the bakery itself faced imminent demise, but prompted, doubtless, by the outgoing governor’s proclamation.
The queues are largely gone from Tai Cheong nowadays - if you want to take part in a 2-hour queue in HK these days, go to Jenny Bakery at Wing Wo St in Sheung Wan, where the flavour of the day for HKers seems to be Jenny’s ultra-rich butter cookies. P.S. - Jenny Bakery has opened a branch in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore, last year where, incredibly, the two-hour queues were replicated.
Anyhoo, back to Tai Cheong. More than two decades on (for me), and I still liked its egg tarts best. My “new” discovery on my last trip was its tasty chicken pie - smallish in size, but very flavoursome creamy chicken-and-vegetable filling encased in buttery, slightly sweet short-crust pastry.
Address: Tai Cheong, 35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 83008301 (there are 24 other outlets, but this Lyndhurst Terrace outlet is the original).
Opening hours: Mon-Sat: 7.30am-9pm. Sun & Public Holidays: 8.30am-9pm.
