In a little makeshift shack on the corner of Mosco and Mott, there once was a Hong Kong Cake Lady, known to everyone who frequented New York City's Chinatown. For close to two decades, Mrs. Tam worked under an awning that said only "Hong Kong Cake", making mini custard cakes to order for a dollar per bag. The cake batter made of humble ingredients like egg, sugar, and flour, was poured into a honeycomb shaped cast iron mold, then baked on a tiny stove top burner. The taste was a heavenly mix of fresh baked Madeleine, custard, and really great waffles. Even in the deep freeze of winter, A and I would endure long lines, shivering while we deeply inhaled the sweet scent wafting from her shack. We don't know exactly when she stopped showing up, but the Hong Kong Cakes we grew up craving have not been made in that shack for years. Imitators mushroomed all over Chinatown, but no one makes them as good as Mrs. Tam.
Fast forward to 2009, we land in Hong Kong. Our first order of business? To find Hong Kong Cakes. Except, we weren't actually sure that Hong Kong even had Hong Kong Cakes. And if it did, surely they were not called Hong Kong Cakes? Perhaps just, Cakes? Some expert googling in our hotel lobby taught us that in Hong Kong, these snacks really do exist! Locals call them Gai Dan Zai, or little eggs. Google also said that the most popular HK Cakes are made by North Point Gai Dan Zai. After trekking back and forth across town, and with help from newly made friends, we finally hunted down the infamous NP Gai Dan Zai in their only location with late night hours. Boy, they were worth the trouble. Crispy outside, lightly sweet and tender inside, NP Gai Dan Zai were shaped and flavored a bit differently from New York HKCs, but scrumptious nonetheless.
The rest of our Hong Kong food binge :
From street food, to afternoon tea at the Peninsula.
Dim Sum, of course.
Bar hopping in Knutsford Terrace.
Late night snack of Hong Kong style spaghetti, fish cake and rice noodle soup.
Mm, everything looks so good.
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