Lan Fong Yuen - Where milk tea began

If there is one drink that best represents Hong Kong, it's surely the popular Hong Kong style "silk stocking" milk tea (丝袜奶茶).

And somewhere in a small, busy alley in Central, one dai pai dong (大排档) lays claim to being the "inventor" of this milk tea.

 

Here is their famous milk tea, concocted from five different tea leaves, then mixed with milk imported from Malaysia and sugar. The tea is fragrant and smooth, but I don't really find it any more special than the milk tea found in some other cha chan tengs, oops.

 

Lan Fong Yuen prepares their tea using a custom made tea bag that has an elongated shape. With prolonged use, the bag turns from white to brown from tea stains, resembling ladies' stockings. This is how the term "silk stocking milk tea" came about.

Apart from milk tea, another of Lan Fong Yuen's popular dishes include the 金牌猪扒包 (pork bun). The meat is tender and tasty, and makes for a satisfying snack.

People also rave about the 葱油鸡扒捞丁 (chicken chop with instant noodles), but ours was very poorly done that day. The noodles were very undercooked and a total disappointment.

Lan Fong Yuen may not be out-of-this-world special, but it's still worth a visit if you're in the area, if not to obtain the boasting rights for having tasted the original Hong Kong style milk tea, then for an authentic dai pai dong experience.

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Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園)
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=1814
Add: 2 Gage Street, Central
         中環結志街2號
Tel: 2544 3895 / 2854 0731
Open: Mon-Sat, 7am-6pm