In this guide
💡 The Short Version: A cha chaan teng is Hong Kong’s all-day diner, ordering from a menu that runs from milk tea and pineapple buns to French toast, macaroni soup and baked rice. Service is quick: decide before you sit, expect to share a table at busy times, and take the order slip to the cashier when you leave. Some places take only cash. Order: hot or iced milk tea (nai cha), a pineapple bun with butter (bo lo yau) and French toast with syrup. Australia Dairy Company in Jordan is the best-known for eggs and milk pudding, Mido Cafe on Temple Street for its 1950s interior and Lan Fong Yuen in Central for milk tea. See where to eat in Hong Kong for the rest.
What to order
Milk tea and the handwritten bill. Photo: Angeimoarm, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
| Order | Cantonese | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Milk tea | 奶茶 (nai cha) | Strong tea with evaporated milk, hot or iced |
| Pineapple bun with butter | 菠蘿油 (bo lo yau) | A bun with a sugar crust and a slab of butter |
| French toast | 西多士 (sai do si) | Egg-dipped toast, fried, with butter and syrup |
| Set meal | 餐 | A main dish with a drink, usually offered at set times |
| Iced drink | 凍 (dung) | Cold version of a hot drink, often with an added charge |
Menus are bilingual and the staff speak enough English to order. The Western dishes are Hong Kong versions: macaroni in soup, baked rice with a tomato sauce and eggs on buttered toast.
French toast with butter and syrup. Photo: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
How the place works
- Be quick. Know what you want before you sit down.
- Share. At busy times you may be seated at a table with strangers.
- Pay at the cashier. Take the slip to the counter by the door.
- Cash. Carry small Hong Kong dollar notes; some places take Octopus, others only cash.
Where to go
Australia Dairy Company, Jordan
47 Parkes Street · scrambled eggs, toast, steamed milk pudding
Order the scrambled eggs with thick buttered toast, then the steamed milk pudding or egg custard (Hong Kong Tourism Board). The founder worked on Australian farms in the 1940s and opened the company in 1970 (Wikipedia). Service is efficient and blunt, and the average visit is about ten minutes, so the queue at peak times moves.
Scrambled eggs with ham on toast at Australia Dairy Company. Photo: Chainwit., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Mido Cafe, Yau Ma Tei
63 Temple Street · milk tea, egg sandwiches, noodles
Mido has been serving since the 1950s from a corner building on Temple Street with its original stained-glass windows, wooden booths and wall tiles. It appeared in The World of Suzie Wong and Moonlight Express. It closed temporarily in July 2022 and reopened later that year (Hong Kong Tourism Board). It sits at the edge of the Temple Street night market, so pair it with an evening walk.
Mido Cafe at the corner of Temple Street. Photo: Lord Jaraxxus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Lan Fong Yuen, Central
G/F, 2 Gage Street · 7:30 to 18:00 Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday · under HK$50 a head · cash only (OpenRice) · milk tea, pork chop bun
Lan Fong Yuen has been making Hong Kong-style milk tea for more than 70 years; the tea is strained through a fine cloth and comes hot or as a yuenyeung, coffee mixed with tea. You can take a cup from the green stall at the front, or sit in to order the pork chop bun (Hong Kong Tourism Board).
Kam Wah Cafe, Mong Kok
45-47 Bute Street · pineapple bun with butter, egg tart
For over five decades Kam Wah has served the standard cha chaan teng menu of milk tea, scrambled eggs, French toast and egg tarts, and its pineapple bun, served with a slab of butter, is its best-known item (Hong Kong Tourism Board).
Sing Heung Yuen, Central
G/F, 2 Mei Lun Street · crispy bun with lemon and honey, tomato macaroni soup
A dai pai dong in an alley beside Pak Tsz Lane Park and near the PMQ design hub. Order the crispy buns with lemon and honey with a Hong Kong-style milk tea, and the macaroni in tomato soup (Hong Kong Tourism Board). The space is compact.
Wai Kee Noodle Cafe, Sham Shui Po
62 and 66 Fuk Wing Street · 6:30 to 20:30 Monday to Friday, 6:30 to 19:15 at weekends and public holidays · under HK$50 a head · cash only (OpenRice) · noodles in soup with pig liver or beef, kaya French toast
Choose the noodles in soup with pig liver or beef; if liver is not for you, the choices of topping include ham, egg and sausage, and the base can be instant noodles, macaroni or vermicelli. Finish with the kaya (coconut jam) French toast (Hong Kong Tourism Board).
Cheung Hing Coffee Shop, Happy Valley
9-11 Yik Yam Street · egg tarts, pineapple buns, milk tea
Open since the 1950s, with a red calligraphic signboard, wooden booths, pale yellow walls, a checkered floor and three-bladed ceiling fans; it appeared in the 2025 series The First Frost (Hong Kong Tourism Board).
Honolulu Cafe, Tseung Kwan O
Shop 3-5, G/F, Maritime Bay, 18 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau · coffee and egg tarts (Honolulu Cafe)
Honolulu has operated since 1940 and is known for coffee poured repeatedly between vessels for a smooth texture, and for egg tarts with a flaky, many-layered pastry (Hong Kong Tourism Board). It is a trip out of the centre; take the MTR to Hang Hau.
Tsui Wah
Tsui Wah began in 1967 as a small ice room (bing sutt) in Mong Kok and is now a chain with branches in Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China and Singapore, so it is the easiest cha chaan teng to find (Tsui Wah).
The origin
Before the Second World War, Western-style food in Hong Kong was served in full-service restaurants that working people could not afford. In the 1950s and 1960s, “soy sauce Western” restaurants and bing sutt ice rooms turned into cha chaan tengs, serving affordable Hong Kong versions of Western food (Wikipedia). In June 2014, milk tea, yuenyeung, the pineapple bun and the egg tart were added to the first Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Hong Kong.
Next: dim sum, roast goose and siu mei, Temple Street and food tours.
Common questions
What does cha chaan teng mean?
It is Cantonese for 'tea restaurant': a casual Hong Kong diner serving milk tea, toast, noodles and rice dishes that mix Cantonese cooking with Western-style food.
Does a pineapple bun contain pineapple?
No. The name comes from the cracked, golden sugar crust on top of the bun, which looks like a pineapple's skin. It is often served hot with a slab of butter inside, as a bo lo yau.
What is silk-stocking milk tea?
Strong black tea brewed in a large pot, strained through a long cloth filter and mixed with evaporated milk. The filter's stained cloth gives the drink its name.
How do I pay in a cha chaan teng?
Staff write your order on a slip that doubles as the bill. Take it to the cashier on your way out. Some places are cash only, so carry Hong Kong dollars.
Which cha chaan teng should I try first?
Australia Dairy Company at 47 Parkes Street in Jordan for scrambled eggs and steamed milk pudding, Lan Fong Yuen at 2 Gage Street in Central for milk tea and Kam Wah Cafe at 45-47 Bute Street in Mong Kok for the pineapple bun.
What is the best-known cha chaan teng for scrambled eggs and steamed milk pudding?
Australia Dairy Company in Jordan, founded in 1970 and known for its scrambled eggs, toast and steamed milk pudding.
_%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%88%E8%8C%B6-_%E8%8F%A0%E8%98%BF%E6%B2%B9,_%E5%A5%B6%E8%8C%B6Afternoon_tea-_Pineapple_bun_and_milk_tea_(5296598723).jpg){kind=link}