Many of you may have experienced a “hall crawl” in some shape or form at some point in time during your college career, but what about a “dessert crawl”? A dessert crawl — what might very well be the guiltiest of “guilty pleasures” — involves visiting multiple food locations and getting a different kind of sweet treat from each place.
This semester, I decided that the combination of my sweet tooth and Hong Kong would be the perfect opportunity to go on a “dessert crawl” with some close friends. Why Hong Kong? The city has an eclectic variety of Asian desserts to offer in bakeries, candy stores and other café-like venues, so I thought I couldn’t go wrong with trying a little bit of all of them. How did the sweets adventure end? Not only did I find some interesting and tasty treats, but the sugar coma I had at the end did make me want to leave the city and crawl back to campus. Check out the highlights from this excursion as well as some of the unique desserts that Hong Kong has to offer!
First stop: Pseudo-Healthy Dessert
The first stop on the list was Hui Lau Shan, a popular healthy dessert chain found throughout Hong Kong and a place that always seems to be packed with couples, friends and families. The top specialty of the chain is mangoes. You can get mangoes in all sorts of forms including pudding, ice cream, jelly or even get a medley of different fruits and dessert toppings with the mango. With the various options for dessert that this chain sells, my friends and I decided to get a dessert sampler. We received three different miniature types of mango dessert: a mango glutinous rice ball with fresh mangoes; tiny rice balls with sweet mango purée; and a scoop of mango sorbet. I admit that I’m not a huge fan of mango, but the desserts here had the perfect sweetness level as well as an appropriate portion size. Although I’m still questioning the idea of a “healthy dessert,” Hui Lau Shan did not disappoint, and I would definitely go back again.
Second stop: Street Food Dessert
The next stop on the list was one of the several street food stalls found throughout Hong Kong selling mostly salty foods on skewers such as curry fish balls and stinky tofu (that’s a whole other story), but also selling waffle desserts. The way I see it, these waffles can be found in two ways: inside-out or inside-in. Basically, I had the option of getting a traditional-style waffle (very similar to the one you can make at Lenoir or Rams), or an eggette—an egg waffle that looks more like a honeycomb than anything else. The honeycomb-like waffle tastes the same but is more fun to eat; you can just pick off the individual hollow circles of the waffle and eat them one at a time. Depending on where you go, the dessert is offered in different flavors or with different toppings. However, the most common way to eat it is in its original flavor and form. Personally, I thought the original flavor needed some sort of syrup or topping.
Third stop: Dessert in Disguise
I’m not used to thinking of a drink as a dessert but this drink definitely fits into the sweets category. The last stop on the dessert crawl featured a more familiar and popular dessert: bubble tea! If you’re not familiar with bubble tea, it is a drink originating from Taiwan in the 1980s. The drink comes in many different varieties but mainly consists of a tea mixed with fruit and/or milk; there may also be tiny tapioca balls or jelly cubes found inside. All of the ingredients are combined and shaken up, creating a foam layer on top of the drink (hence the name, bubble tea). The most popular kinds are bubble black tea, bubble green tea and pearl milk tea. I think it’s pretty cool how what was once simply found in Taiwan thirty years ago can now be found in different cities all over the world (including Chapel Hill)!
Bringing it back to the Hill:
What do you think? Would you ever go on a dessert crawl on Franklin Street? Think about it: Loco Pops, Coldstone, Ben & Jerry’s, YoPo, Sugarland and the list of dessert options goes on! However, with so many choices, you may just have to take on the dessert crawl with a large group of friends to prevent an early onset of diabetes. Dessert crawling might be just what you need for a pick-me-up treat after mid-term exams or for a roommate’s birthday gift/outing. Enjoy!
Sources:
Hong Kong treat store (photo): Seth Roberts
Mango dessert (photo): Seth Roberts
Eggette (photo): Seth Roberts