iDrink Shui Kee Coffee

Morning coffee, afternoon tea

These days, Hong Kong has espresso to rival the best in the world, but it has something else that other cities don’t: ‘cha chaan teng’. These local cafés serve tea and coffee along with pastries and light dishes. Shui Kee Coffee is known for its excellent iced milk tea, which is served in a glass bottle, along with its ‘sai dor see’ Hong Kong-style French toast (stuffed with kaya and wok-fried) and onion and egg sandwiches. (蔥蛋牛包)

Hungry? Look up

It’s not just the tea and food that makes Shui Kee worth visiting. Located on the top floor of the Sheung Wan market, it’s part of a lively food hall known as a ‘cooked food centre’. These were built to house hawkers displaced from the streets in the 1970s. Today, they’re always a good spot for a cheap and cheerful meal.

Tea time

When you order drinks in a cha chaan teng, you can customize them to your preference. Want less sugar? Ask for ‘siu tim’ (少甜little sweet) or ‘zau tim’ (走甜unsweetened). Hot? ‘Yit’ (熱). Cold? ‘Dong’(凍). Tea can be served with milk (‘nai cha’奶茶) or lemon (‘ling cha’檸茶). Coffee normally comes with milk, but if you want it black, as for ‘zai fe’ (齋啡).