Lan Fong Yuen - Cafe, Central, Hong Kong

Lan Fong Yuen - Cafe
G/F2 Gage Street, Central, Hong Kong
852-25443895

Last Visited: 2009

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

Lan Fong Yuen has been featured on television and printed media for its famous silk-stocking tea. The taste of milk tea when run through a silk stocking is supposedly different from that made the regular way because all of the impurities have been filtered away. Some might even call milk tea making an art as you wait until the point of boiling, filter the tea, and do the process again and again until the impurities are gone. Just the right amount of evaporated milk is added to get the perfect sweetness and smooth taste.

The restaurant first began as a food stall and you can find the stall as well as the new restaurant behind it on the same street. Back in the day, food stalls were extremely popular and many people would find it more convenient and less expensive to get the best food at the 'dai pai dong.' My parents talked about going to these stalls as kids and ordering a small plate of noodles or some type of pastry for a mere dime. It was fresh, fun, and everyone loved eating there.

While the likelihood of you actually seeing the milk tea being made during your visit is low, you'll see lots of articles about it posted within the restaurant. It's definitely not a fancy place, but I think most people go just for the experience and ability to say that you've been.

We ordered a tea set - milk tea, available hot or cold, with a slice of thick toast which is buttered and topped with condensed milk. While prices are reasonable, you can find less expensive milk tea elsewhere, but the style of milk tea here is different. The tea flavor is itself very strong and there is a certain smoothness about the drink - it's rich in a way that you don't experience with all milk teas. I can't say I'm particularly accustomed to it or that it was better than other milk tea drinks I tried in other places, but it was fun to see all of the articles and it was a great snack.