10 Hong Kong-Style Egg Tarts, Ranked From Worst To Best

But which HK-style egg tart is truly worth the calories and your tummy space? 8days.sg went undercover and anonymously bought 10 brands of HK egg tarts from bakeries around the island. We then tasted them side-by-side for a comparison ranking, from worst to best.

Although some restaurants also offer egg tarts, we’ve kept our list strictly to only takeaway bakeries, as it’s the most convenient way of buying the snack. The 10 brands also offer a mix of flaky (puff) and shortcrust-style pastries, which are both offered in HK.

Now, we know that taste is subjective, but in our book, a good egg tart constitutes one with a buttery crust that boasts a nice bite. It should cradle slippery custard with a delicate texture that melts on the tongue with a fragrant, rich finish.

So iconic is the egg tart, it was included in Hong Kong’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List as an item that defines the city’s culture. The modern-day HK egg tart is said to be inspired by the British egg custard tart, which was brought over to Guangzhou by the British in the 1920s.

It was later adapted by Chinese pastry chefs into their menus, and eventually made its way to Hong Kong. The British-style egg tart traditionally has a shortcrust case (a crumbly, buttery, cookie-like pastry), which is more popular in Britain.

But in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, the recipe was subsequently tweaked to a puff pastry crust (using lard or shortening to achieve a lighter, flakier, albeit less rich mouthfeel) — and this version is what you’ll mostly find at cha chaan tengs today.

Crystal Jade Group’s executive dim sum chef, Fung Wing Sang, 59, tells 8days.sg: “As I recall, the very first version of HK egg tarts was made with a cookie crust, which is likely inspired by the British afternoon tea tradition of consuming shortbread with tea. This is why some cha chaan tengs in Hong Kong still serve egg tarts with a cookie-like crust to pair with milk tea or coffee.”

The native Hong Konger reckons that the puff pastry crust was only introduced in HK later. He adds: “Pork lard was used in the earlier days [to get the flaky crust] while more recently, some use shortening to achieve the light flaky texture”. As it doesn’t mix with water, the oil in lard and shortening helps separate the pastry layers, thereby creating a flaky texture.

Chow Ping Kwan, the 80-year-old owner of Hoover Cake Shop (pictured above, with ex-TVB producer Robert Chua, who brought Hoover’s egg tarts to Singapore via his Joy Luck Teahouse), tells us that the flaky crust egg tart is more popular with his customers.

“Hong Kongers prefer egg tarts that are less dense, with a thinner crust [and a lighter milk-based custard], compared to Portuguese egg tarts which are made with egg yolks and heavy cream,” he shares. A rep from Chinese restaurant chain Imperial Treasure concurs: “The essence of a true HK-style egg tart is its flaky crust.”

At Crystal Jade’s bakeries and restaurants, chef Fung also offers egg tarts with a flaky crust, as he reckons: “We feel more customers prefer this version, and they stay fresher for longer and keep better as well, which is ideal especially for takeaways.”

Photo: Joy Luck Teahouse

For our ranking, we rounded up 10 popular brands selling authentic HK-style egg tarts (Macau's Portuguese egg tarts not included, for obvious reasons): Tai Cheong Bakery, Honolulu Cafe, Tong Heng, Joy Luck Teahouse, Leung Sang Hong Kong Pastries, Hong Kong Flaky Lotus, Tim Ho Wan, Crystal Jade, Legendary Hong Kong and So Good Bakery. We tapow-ed the pastries home like any regular customer, and sampled them together to compare their shiokness.

And here are our results below, from worst (#10) to best (#1):

Hong Kong Egg Tart, $2 each

As far as HK-style restaurants go, this three-year-old joint at Jurong Point has the most delightfully authentic ambience (even the area outside the eatery is decorated to look like mini ‘Mong Kok’). Other than classic fare like roast duck and char siew rice, the restaurant also has a little takeaway bakery counter serving bakes like bolo buns and flaky egg tarts.

Our tart crackles tantalisingly to the bite. However, its light crust tastes mildly of stale grease and the under-baked egg custard within is just too wet. We wonder how long it had been sitting out on the shelf before we brought it home. Even a quick warming up sesh in a toaster oven sadly didn’t make this any yummier.

#03-80 Jurong Point 2 Shopping Centre, S648331. Open daily, Mon-Fri 11am-10pm; Sat & Sun 10am-10pm. Tel: 6794-1335. www.lhk.com.sg.

Honolulu Egg Tart, $2.20 each

Founded in Hong Kong in 1940, this cha chaan teng is well-known for its “192-layer” flaky egg tart, which has a crusty shell like tau sar piah. It opened its first Singapore outlet in 2017, and currently has two branches here. Customers who are not dining in could still tapow the cafe's pastries via an express takeaway counter at Honolulu's outlets.

Honolulu Cafe’s egg tart has its loyal fans who like it for its delicate texture and the fact that it's not too sweet. Our colleague who reviewed the tart when the HK-born cafe first opened in Singapore opined that while it wasn't the “most full-bodied and buttery” egg tart (Hong Kongers prefer lighter flavour profiles vs Singaporean diners' penchant (us included) for richer-tasting food), its custard had the pleasant “wobble of just-set silken tofu”. Unfortunately, the tart we bought wasn’t as nice. While the lard-butter-margarine crust is crispy, it's more muted in flavour than its counterparts on this list. Our tart is also slightly over-baked and thus a tad dry, with a firm custard that’s not as lush as we’d have liked. It probably would've been a passable tart eaten on its own, but the disparity was obvious when pitted against the other options on this list.

Two outlets including #01-33 F/G, The Centrepoint, S238843. Open daily, Mon-Thurs 11am-9pm; Fri-Sun 11am-10pm. Tel: 6734-6609. www.facebook.com/honolulucafe.sg.

HK-Style Egg Tarts, $4.80 for a set of three mini tarts

Like Joy Luck Teahouse’s offerings, the famed Hong Kong dim sum chain was brought to Singapore by ex-TVB producer Robert Chua. It also has takeaway THW express counters at selected outlets for customers to tapow dim sum dishes, with egg tarts being one of them. Unlike regular-sized egg tarts, which are almost palm-sized, Tim Ho Wan’s shortcrust egg tarts are sold as a mini bite-sized trio like communal dim sum.

Where other HK chains like Honolulu Cafe go easy on the butter for its egg tart crust, Tim Ho Wan’s version has a decent buttery whiff, with pale yellow eggy custard the consistency of tau hway. It was evidently packed warm into its paper box when it was handed to us, ’cos when we later opened the box at home, the trio of tarts had turned soggy from condensation. Ah, the perils of takeaway orders.

10 outlets including #01-29A/52 Plaza Singapura, S238839. Tel: 6251-2000. Open daily Mon-Fri 11am-10pm; Sat & Sun 10am-10pm. www.timhowan.com.

Egg Tart, $1.30 each

This bakery chain with an adorable name is founded by a Hong Kong family who moved to Singapore in 1988. They offer traditional HK-style pastries such as wife biscuit, char siew pastry and chicken pie, plus a selection of buns. What we like most about this shop is its prices; compared to the average $2 for an egg tart on this list, Hong Kong Flaky Lotus’ regular-sized tart is a wallet-friendly $1.30 each.

For its price, Hong Kong Flaky Lotus’ egg tart is serviceable. We were a little wary of the violently bright orange egg custard at first glance, which turned out to have a decent wobbly silky texture with a delicate flaky crust that shatters to the bite. But flavour-wise, it’s not an exceptionally delish tart; just nice enough that we would chomp on one mindlessly at teatime.

Two outlets including #01-89/90 Icon Village, S078877. Open daily except Sun. Mon-Fri 7am-7pm; Sat 8am-5pm. Tel: 9645-5338. www.facebook.com/hkflakylotus.

Egg Tart, $2 each

Ask “where to get egg tarts?” in Singapore and you’d likely be directed to Tong Heng, the fourth generation-run Cantonese confectionery in Chinatown which has been around since the 1920s. It’s best known for its distinctive diamond-shaped egg tarts, which reportedly came about as the bakery wanted to set its product apart from other competitors’. In 2018, the shop revamped its riotously colourful Chinese shop facade to a brightly-lit, modern look with dine-in seats. It’s a much more comfortable experience buying pastries there now, though we miss its gritty old-school vibes. Tong Heng also has a takeaway kiosk in the west, at Jurong Point.

Many of our friends swear by Tong Heng’s egg tarts as their go-to, but we beg to differ. While its egg custard filling is one of the best we’ve tasted — sweet and rich, it caressed our tongue before melting into a velvety puddle — it’s marred by a crumbly shortcrust-style shell that tasted stale and oily.

Two outlets, including 285 South Bridge Rd, S058833. Open daily 9am-6pm.Tel: 6223-3649. www.tongheng.com.sg.

Mini Egg Tart, $2 each

Crystal Jade, which was founded in 1991, needs little introduction. The restaurant chain also has a bakery concept called Crystal Jade My Bread, where you can buy a selection of snacks such as, yep, egg tarts. According to its executive dim sum chef Fung Wing Sang, the egg tarts are made with a flaky crust to ensure it stays perky and fresh longer for takeaway orders.

At $2 for a pop that we could finish in one clean bite, Crystal Jade’s egg tart ain’t cheap. Instead of a golden crust, CJ’s take is puffy and pale, almost white. But it’s incredibly crispy, with what feels like thousands of wispy layers crumbling in our mouth, slicked with gobs of smooth, satiny custard. We wish it was more than one bite, though.

Three outlets including #B2-38 Takashimaya, S238872. Tel: 6733-3323. Open daily 10am-10pm. www.crystaljade.com/mybread.

HK Egg Tart, $1.70 each

This “modern HK-style” bakery chain with a rather cheesy name has a connection to Imperial Treasure — it took over the restaurant chain’s bakery at Tanjong Pagar’s 100AM mall circa 2017, and has since opened two more cha chaan teng outlets. We were informed by Imperial Treasure’s rep that the company has “sold the [bakery] business” to the folks behind So Good Bakery, and that “some bakers and staff” from Imperial Treasure Bakery had moved to So Good.

Unlike the dainty size of the other egg tarts on this list, So Good’s tart is an oversized disc with a shortcrust base. And it’s surprisingly delicious, like eating a rich buttery cookie topped with a robust crème brûlée-like custard without the caramelised sugar. An unexpectedly cheap but good find.

Three outlets including #01-10A/14 100AM, S079027. Tel: 6636-1661. Open daily 8am-9pm. www.facebook.com/sogoodbakery.

Like Tong Heng, Leung Sang is another Singaporean old-school Cantonese pastry stalwart that is perhaps best-loved for its egg tarts. It currently has an outlet at Jalan Membina at Bukit Merah, with an apparently defunct branch in Chinatown, though we've seen the Chinatown takeaway shop operating when we passed by a few weeks ago. There’s very little branding or frills for this obscure gem; our pastries were simply handed to us in plain, unlabelled plastic boxes and bags.

We went “mmm” when we bit into this tart, which boasts a fresh, crispy flaky crust cradling a mound of luscious, wobbly, golden egg custard. It tastes very old-school, and we would've reached for a second helping if not for the fact that there's a hint of what tastes like margarine in its crust.

Two outlets including #01-06, 8 Jln Membina, S64018. Open daily Mon-Sun 7.30am- 7.30pm. Tel: 6271-6056. www.facebook.com/leungsanghk.

Egg Tart, $2.30 each

The latest cha chaan teng in town is Joy Luck Teahouse, which opened its takeaway kiosk only last month at Ion Orchard selling bolo buns and nai cha from HK’s Kam Kee Cafe, curry fishballs from Tak Hing Fishball Company and Hoover Cake Shop egg tarts in two styles, flaky and (shortcrust) pastry. A second dine-in outlet is slated to open at the end of this month at Bugis Junction.

We went with the flaky egg tart for this list, as it’s the version that’s said to be more popular in Singapore and Hong Kong. It’s super buttery, with wispy flakes clinging to globs of decadent, silken, eggy custard. We can’t stop at one, waistline be damned.

#B4-61 Ion Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, S238801. Open daily 9am-10pm. www.facebook.com/joyluck.teahouse.

Egg Tart, $2 each

And here it is, the champion of our 10-brand list: Tai Cheong Bakery. The Hong Kong cha chaan teng chain first came to Singapore in 2017, and its local outlets were brought in via a subsidiary by the Palm Beach Group (which also runs Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant at One Fullerton). In Hong Kong, it’s a common sight to see customers buying its shortcrust egg tarts in bulk from its flagship bakery at Lyndhurst Terrace in Central, nestled in Tai Cheong’s signature jade green paper boxes.

Prior to this taste test, we have, on occasion, lingered for a good hour at Tai Cheong’s Holland Village outlet just to wait for a freshly-baked batch of egg tarts to emerge from the oven. The warm, just-cooked munchkins taste like little pieces of heaven; with an insanely buttery cookie-like crust and tau hway-esque filling that’s just a smidgen oozy, brimming with all the sweet, creamy qualities that good custard should possess. Admittedly, our cold takeaway tarts for this review are not as scrumptious as its fresh-from-the-oven version — but it’s still far better than the other ones on this list. It's packed with just as much flavour (though the pastry's texture suffered a little en-route home). This is our gold standard for a Hong Kong-style egg tart. Note: Interestingly, we find Tai Cheong's egg tarts at its Singapore branches strangely richer and yummier than those we've tried at the original stores in Hong Kong. ​​​​​​​

Four outlets including #B208-5 Takashimaya Food Hall, S238872. Tel: 8223-1954. Open daily 10am-9.30pm. www.taicheong.com.sg.

PHOTOS: YIP JIEYING

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