Osmanthus on a rainy day: Mrs. Fong’s Chinese Desserts

It was another humid and rainy day in Hong Kong. The usually busy Temple Street of Hong Kong Kowloon, home to the night market, was – shockingly – quiet as a mouse. Mrs. Fong’s Dessert had a five-star rating on Google Reviews; some even claimed to have queued up for an hour to order their desserts. So I was surprised to find that I was the only customer there, standing cluelessly in front of the large red banner that hung upon the shop, reading “方太糕品舖“.

I am not a fan of redbean or coconut as the tastes are overpowering for me. I also dislike sesame as the strange salty sensation uncomfortably reminds me of the nine peanuts I must eat everyday as part of my desensitization treatment. This was why there was the slightest bit of hesitancy upon ordering: I had stared through the clear window of the shelf, only to find out their desserts were literally made and named with these ingredients. 

Don’t worry – that doubt diffused in the warm and friendly attitude of the young lady that greeted us. She explained each option of their famous selection and even offered her opinions on her favorite one: the red bean cake. 

Mrs. Fong’s Dessert Shop was opened 20 years ago and they have continued to flourish in carrying on the legacy of traditional Hong Kong-style dessert cakes. Although these desserts originated from Guangzhou, the second-generational owner Eric classifies them as core-childhood memories that many local Hong Kong people will be familiar with. Despite being a small, quiet man, his eyes lit up when I requested to speak to him. He happened to be sitting in the back of the shop, doing the accounts on endless pieces of paper. 

I ended up ordering the osmanthus cake, the red bean cake, the green bean cake, the coconut matcha green tea – and I had to, of course, get their popular sesame roll… to face my fears. Every cake was uniformly cut into identical shapes and sizes, lining up symmetrically within the plastic box, coloured in their earth-tone palette. 

I was impressed by the consistency and taste of most of these, especially the osmanthus cake which had a perfect balance between the sweetness and the white flowering plant’s scent.  Made with glutinous rice flour and honey, I saw flakes of osmanthus within the clear spring yellow sticky cake. 

Meanwhile, the red bean cake and green bean cake slowly infused into my tastebuds with their nutty and grainy flavors. Nonetheless, this was well complimented by the light sugar and placed the flavoring at an equilibrium that did not overpower. 

What makes these traditional Hong Kong desserts stand out in particular are the shop’s hand-made process that uses organic superfoods as primary ingredients and avoids sugar wherever possible. As such, these desserts not only serve as great refreshments, but they also nourish the body. If you are in the area of Kowloon, I highly recommend you make a quick stop at Mrs. Fong’s Dessert Shop. Taste their osmanthus cake, as well as the red-bean cake – even if you, like me, aren’t sure you’ll enjoy the flavors! You might be surprised.  Seize your chance or you’ll have to line up for an hour! Unless you’re lucky with a light rainy day...