When sugarcane is mentioned we usually think of its juice and how great it would be to have an ice cold cuppa to quench that thirst during hot days. But have you heard, seen or even eaten sugarcane pudding in Malaysia? I guess not – which is why we hunted for this unique dessert in our last trip to Hong Kong. Our destination was Kung Lee, a half-decade old shop that has been churning out fresh sugarcane juice, pudding and herbal jelly at Hollywood Road, Central since 1948.
If you ask me, the sugarcane juice here tastes no different compared to those sold by Malaysian hawkers. It has the same grassy flavor, freshly squeezed and contains no additional sugar.
The sugarcane pudding @ $12 on the other hand is quite interesting. You would have expected it to have a gelatinous, jelly like texture judging by its appearance. But the pudding’s body, mainly made from sugarcane juice is actually quite dense, almost cake like with a slightly chewy sensation. That being said, this is a delicious and cheap treat alright. And since it is much less sweeter than the juice version, I suggest trying the pudding first or else it could taste bland in comparison.
Kung Lee’s sugarcane pudding is definitely worth a try if you happen to be nearby. Hong Kong is not all about dim sum, Wonton noodle and tong sui only you know?
Kung Lee 公利真料竹蔗水G/F, 60 Hollywood Road,
SOHO Central, Hong Kong
It’s surely one of a kind of pudding. Apart from the wanton noodles, dim sum and tong sui, there’s always the char chan teng, polo yau and pou chai fan right? But the most that I wanted to try is their chau tau foo.
Used to live down the road from this place. Nobody knows about them except us in the neighborhood.
A few years back, due to rising rent around the area, they were featured in newspaper and TV complaining that they will have to shut cause they can’t afford the rent. And suddenly they were famous! People start lining up to try their sugar cane juice etc
And of course those in open rice give them high rating helps too.