Hong Kong Scrambled Eggs
A Very Hong Kong Breakfast
Greetings from Hong Kong 🇭🇰
I’ve mentioned before my love for Asia: foods and cultures. Hong Kong is right up there when it comes to my favorite food cities on earth 🌎
Whether it’s roast goose, char siu, noodles, dumplings, more dim sum than you can count and even top-tier Italian pastas and sushi now, Hong Kong is an elite dining city where mediocrity doesn’t survive.
My first visit to HK years ago I was reminded of both San Francisco and London. Be prepared for narrow streets and some seriously hilly terrain at times.
The British influence on the city of HK is unmistakable in both the food and culture. Tea culture is big in both British and Chinese culture.
You’ll find tea shops all over and highly recommend stopping by Fortnum & Mason for some shopping and staying for afternoon tea. F&M is an iconic british department store that was founded in 1707 based in London. They are known for high quality prepared foods and teas.
Given the recent coronation of King Charles, when I visited they had lots of coo merch and tea blends to snatch up.
There is only one location outside of the UK and that’s in Hong Kong. The afternoon tea service is impeccable. I would venture to say the service here was even better than the home base in London. It had all the formality and tradition of the British experience, with the precision of service and attention to detail that is unrivaled in Asia.
The tea room looks out on the stunning Victoria Harbour. I would say it’s a must-visit especially if you’ve never had a proper British tea time experience.
Hong Kong Breakfast
Hong Kong is also distinctly Cantonese which means the primary dialect is not Mandarin, as it is on mainland China.
But what about breakfast?
Hong Kong has its own distinct breakfast culture including the most tender and fluffy scrambled eggs.
For the ultimate breakfast experience there is no second best. You go to Australia Dairy Company.
This is a HK breakfast institution.
Get here early and expect a wait. I don’t recall there ever not being a line but goes pretty quickly.
There is no messing around here. They get you in and out quickly. Expect curt, no-nonsense hospitality. You’ll most likely be sat at a table with complete strangers. No seat is left empty in the small dining room.
When you sit down the menu is on the table under the glass. There’s no time questions, just a quick “what you want?” when the server comes by. 😂 You’ll most likely feel rushed. Embrace it, it’s part of the experience.
*You can ask for an english menu which they have behind the cashier counter.
Order the full breakfast set which comes with scrambled eggs (don’t even mess with fried eggs, scrambled is where it’s at) with milk bread thats so fluffy it feels like biting into a cloud.
Commonly you would order the bread untoasted to fully appreciate the texture, but I get it lightly toasted for maximum flavor.
The eggs are other-wordly. They are made specifically in their own Cantonese style, which I’ll go into later.
The set also comes with milk tea. Think really strong brewed tea with lots of milk. The first time I ordered it hot (as is traditional) and the tea was so tannic I was taken aback 😂 . Get it iced during the summer or if you want something to water down the tannins while drinking.
Another popular beverage is Iced Lemon Tea. Again, brewed very strong with a healthy does of lemon and just a slight but of sugar. Honestly, was better than traditional Southern iced tea in the US. (yes, I said it)
Also included in the full breakfast set is Macaroni with Ham. This is a very nostalgic and traditional HK breakfast item. The macaroni is pretty unremarkable, swimming in a seasoned broth with thinly sliced ham scattered on top.
Try this at least once. It’s pleasant and slightly salty in a good way. Nothing like western breakfast sugar bombs.
Do not miss the steamed custards
These are insanely tasty. Served hot or cold choose between a sweeter custard with almond flavoring, or a barely sweetened traditional custard.
There was a grumpy guy hustling his ass off steaming these nonstop on my last visit. Try them all. Hot and cold are very different eating experiences.
Hong Kong breakfast is magic.
Australia Dairy company has been my first stop every time I’ve gone to HK. Usually arrive late at night, crash for a few hours to flip over time zones, at Australia Dairy Co by 7am, standing in line, awaiting those perfect scrambled eggs.
Hong Kong Scrambled Eggs
Ok, so if you can’t make it over to HK to experience the real deal you can give it a shot in your home kitchen and get a pretty close iteration.
A few things that differentiate HK scrambled eggs vs all others is the combination of high heat, cooking fats, technique with spatula to produce longer sheets of egg curd, and the addition of a starch which keeps the eggs emulsified (not pissing out water) and beautifully fluffy.
Luckily for me, I have a good friend who is a HK-born chef. He is obsessed with all things HK and is my primary contact if I have questions about the HK food scene.
It’s funny how food can bring people together… we met via a food writer friend, are now good buddies and he’s asking me for mainland China recs (for Chengdu and Xi’an) because he hasn’t been in so long 😂
Here’s his riff on HK Scrambled eggs:
Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 tsp neutral oil, plus more for pan (think avocado, peanut, palm)
1 tsp potato starch
1 TB evaporated milk
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cracked white pepper
Method:
In a cup or small bowl, combine the potato starch and 1 tablespoon water and mix until fully dissolved.
In another small bowl, combine the eggs, oil, evaporated milk, salt, white pepper, and potato starch slurry. Beat thoroughly with fork or chopsticks until fully combined with no lumps or streaks of egg white. (avoid a whisk, will put too much air into egg mix)
Set a carbon steel or nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of oil and heat until just smoking. Once hot, turn off the heat. Quickly pour the egg mixture into the pan.
Push the egg mixture around with a rubber spatula in long strokes, while tilting the skillet, to create thin layers of cooked egg with the uncooked mixture around.
Once uncooked egg comes in contact with the pan, a layer of cooked egg should immediately form. Continue to push the mixture around until the egg is barely set, around 10 seconds in total. Gather the eggs towards one end of the pan into a oval or square shape
You can place on plate or so fit the eggs on to sandwich bread.
Practice makes perfect and even if you mess up slightly you’ve still got some pretty tasty eggs for your meal 😉
