Follow Hong Kong immigration and listen to Hong Kong stories: As night falls, Times Square in Causeway Bay is brightly lit. In an inconspicuous small street behind this famous Hong Kong commercial center, a long queue has formed as usual in front of a small shop.
Holding green waiting numbers in their hands, the crowd waiting in the chilly air is not there for limited-edition goods or promotional sales, but for a bowl of Tong Sui (sweet soup). Such scenes are not uncommon in Hong Kong after dark; they have even become a unique part of the city's nightscape.
Hong Kong people call eating desserts "drinking Tong Sui," and for them, desserts mean much more than just an after-meal treat. "Life in Hong Kong is stressful, and eating sweets helps people relax and feel happier," says "Cong Sao," Feng Xiuzhen, the owner of the shop "Cong Sao Dessert," with a cheerful smile.
Inside this shop of about 50 square meters, the laughter of customers from all over the world mingles together, making it "packed to capacity." Beyond ordinary citizens, celebrities are also fond of the desserts; the "Cong Sao Dessert" plaque inscribed by Andy Lau attracts a constant stream of tourists taking photos.
"Apartments in Hong Kong are generally not very large, so a dessert shop provides a relaxing environment for friends to meet and chat," says Ms. Leung, a regular customer, while enjoying the signature durian crystal balls. "Chatting and drinking Tong Sui with friends makes worries seem to vanish, just like the sweet soup being eaten."
In the health preservation theory of the Pearl River Delta region, Tong Sui holds an important position. Drinking mung bean soup or water chestnut drink in summer helps relieve heat, while black glutinous rice or red bean soup in winter has blood-nourishing and qi-replenishing effects.
Initially, Tong Sui was made simply from various beans, milk, and fruits, simmered with yellow rock sugar, such as traditional sesame paste or sweet potato soup. Later, it was improved by adding various fresh fruits, coconut milk, mango juice, sea coconut, and sago.
The most typical example is Yang Zhi Gan Lu (Mango Pomelo Sago), a mixture of mango, pomelo, and evaporated milk. The sweetness of the mango and the tartness of the pomelo blend into the elegant milky fragrance, leaving an endless aftertaste, much like its beautiful name. The enduring culture of Tong Sui is passed down and carried forward through such constant innovation.
In the Causeway Bay area, there are other dessert shops like Chung Kee, Honeymoon Dessert, Hui Lau Shan, and Five Generations of Sugar. They generally sell traditional Hong Kong-style desserts such as red bean soup, tofu pudding, and tangyuan, while also offering their own unique, self-developed products. Drinking Tong Sui has become a must-do item on travel itineraries for those visiting Hong Kong.
Feng Xiuzhen serves a bowl of her original "Longan and Coconut Jelly Ice" and tells the reporter: using high-quality, authentic ingredients is the main reason Hong Kong dessert shops attract so many customers. "Peeling all these longans by hand is extremely time-consuming."
Every morning, Feng Xiuzhen leads her staff in processing longans, durians, and mangoes air-freighted from the Philippines and Thailand before sending them to the shop. "Industry peers know that a bowl of mango puree might require grinding three large mangoes, and a bowl of almond and walnut paste might require an hour of hand-grinding the nuts. Only in this way can we ensure the quality of the desserts and keep our customers coming back."
However, the charm of Hong Kong's Tong Sui in "capturing the hearts" of customers is facing a severe challenge from rising shop rents. Reports show that Causeway Bay in Hong Kong has become the world's most expensive retail rental district for the second consecutive year, surpassing New York's Fifth Avenue and the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Facing environmental changes, some dessert shops choose to expand their business to the north, such as Honeymoon Dessert and Hui Lau Shan, while others choose to stay and persevere. Regardless, one hopes that those spoonfuls of warm Tong Sui will continue to flow on the taste buds of food lovers.