French Toast and its variations
Our family travelled to Hong Kong, when I was a child/teenager. We were having our meals, and I was fed with a bite of French toast – this was the start of my addiction to Hong Kong-style French toast. I’m not alone, CNN agreed with me; Hong Kong French toast was ranked 38 on CNN The world’s 50 best foods that was updated on 15 Mar 2018.
The typical Hong Kong French toast is served with a thin slab of butter, which slowly melts away, and golden syrup. If you’re in for a treat, you can be generous with the golden syrup.
I used to enjoy the thick layer of peanut butter in between 2 white toasts when I cut open the Hong Kong French toast, but after the cha chaan teng that I patronize closed down, I seldom find peanut butter in French toasts. I once thought peanut butter was a sure-have in all Hong Kong French toast. Nowadays, it’s a pleasant surprise if I chance upon peanut butter in my French toast.
It was just thick white toast, coated with egg mixture which was deep fried to golden brown. I like the alluring aroma of egg that exuded from the French toast. I’m pretty sure seasonings were added to the whisked eggs (perhaps vanilla essence, or soy sauce). I had French toast mostly at Australia Dairy Company since I’ll drop by for their luscious scrambled eggs, and they serve very satisfying French toast all day. Similar to Australia Dairy Company, Man Wah served plain French toast. The French toast was served diced, with a slab of butter and condensed milk (instead of the usual golden syrup). The condensed milk complimented the French toast really well; it’s a nice blend of sweet and savoury. Personally, I’m more inclined towards Australia Dairy Company’s French toast. First, Man Wah’s French toast was too thick; I felt like eating white bread with condensed milk for some bites. Second, despite the nice crispy egg crust, it was fairly lacking in taste and aroma. Although I’ll not make a deliberate trip to Man Wah for their French toast, but if I’m nearby I wouldn’t mind visit them for a second try. I chanced upon this highly raved Golden Lava (aka salted egg yolk molten lava) French toast, when I was searching for food treats, and decided to put my faith on the reviews. When the French toast was served, I’m filled with anticipation! We halved the French toast and the golden lava started oozing out! I was enticed and took a big bite, only to be met with disappointment. The toast felt like a thick crust and the “Golden Lava” was a bit lacking in favour. The French toast was crispy but the bread seemed to soak up too much butter/coating mixture, thus it tasted like a thick crust rather than a thin crispy coating. I believe the French toast was pan fried, instead of deep fried, due to the uneven colour on the toast and the crispiness of the coating wasn’t consistent. The “Golden Lava” wasn’t up to my expectation too; it doesn’t have a good balance between saltiness and sweetness. The salted egg yolk presence was relatively mild and the “Golden Lava” had this custard taste that felt tad sweet for me. Although we finished the toast but it’s unlikely I’ll order this dish again. Nonetheless, I’ll still recommend visiting Chau Kee for their awesome dim sum!
If the classic French toast was awesome, these French toast cubes with chocolate drizzle and ice cream were more awesome! I had to wait approximate 20mins before these French toast cubes were served, and it totally worth it! The kitchen most probably needs to heat up the oil before dropping in these bread cubes. I appreciated the wait, as it resulted in nice crispy yummy little French toasts. The scoop of vanilla ice-cream was average, but what could go wrong with ice-cream, chocolate drizzle, and deep-fried food? This is the kind of food your inner glutton demon loves! Tsui Wah operates a chain of chan chaan teng in Hong Kong; these French toast cubes are most likely sold in other outlets as well but not at Hong Kong Airport. (P.S. Tsui Wah sells the classic French toast, which was decent too; I had it some time ago.) Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司
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Man Wah Restaurant 民華餐廳
Chau Kee 周記點心
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Closed on Monday and Public HolidayCost
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Tsui Wah Restaurant 翠華餐廳
Aside the above mentioned French toast, I also tried the Kaya French Toast at Wai Kee Noodle Café and I don’t find it satisfying.
I been wanting to try the French toast cubes at Hoi On Café but luck wasn’t at my side. I visited it twice; the first time it wasn’t available during breakfast hours, the second time the café was closed.
The French toast on the menu is normally worded as 法蘭西多士, when ordered we normally said 西多士 or 西多, which is its shortened form.
Verdict & Information
N.A.
- genre: food
- tags: cha chaan teng, hong kong 2016, hong kong 2018