Update June 2016: Duck Shing Ho has gotten so popular apparently there is no way of getting them from the queue anymore. They also only offer queuing on certain days sometimes. Do give them a call to check on their latest 'policy' changes. My last visit to HK I could not get them at all even if I wanted to order in advance.
I visited them again in April 2014. You can check out my experience here:
http://garysyayornay.blogspot.sg/2014/04/duck-shing-ho-eggrolls-part-2-5-april.html
Hey everyone, after a long hiatus, here's a new post. Not that I haven't been eating out, but tons of people are already doing reviews on local food, and there are already so many food blogger celebrities, I decided it may be more meaningful to focus on overseas food. Let's try out this model, shall we?
Heard of Duck Shing Ho 德成号? To be honest. I've never heard about it until a month ago. I am a great fan of Hong Kong egg rolls 鸡蛋卷 (vs Singapore egg rolls - they are more flaky, delicate and soft), and I have been always used to the usual tourist favorites such as Wing Wah 荣华 and Hang Heung 恒香. There's another bakery called Kee Wah 奇华 however, the eggrolls are comparatively average - more comments on taste later.
(pictures taken from the web)
I was personally inclined towards Wing Wah as they are located at the airport and hence easy to buy back (though Hang Heung egg rolls are much better tasting; it's a hassle to carry tins of eggrolls from town to airport).
I was having a conversation with my aunt about my impending visit to HK and asked her whether she wanted any Wing Wah eggrolls. That was when she commented that Hang Heung had better tasting eggrolls. Personally, I had never compared the taste and was satisfied with Wing Wah, who was more convenient to buy.
Arising from this conversation, I conducted a search on the internet for 'Best tasting egg rolls in HK', that was when I found there was another player in the market who is famous for only their egg rolls - Duck Shing Ho 德成号; the other players are bakeries famous for Old Wife Cakes (Lo Po Peng) 老婆饼!
I also found that Duck Shing Ho is extremely popular, and required advance reservation of orders. However, they do release a severely restricted number of over-the-counter sales for tourists and impromptu orders; the catch is it's on first-come-first-serve basis, whilst stocks last.
And from the various reviews and blog posts online, turns out also that the queue is extremely long. People have to arrive at the shop exactly on 9.30 am (their opening hour), otherwise risk disappointment. One blogger even commented that she arrived early yet the shop was already out-of-stock. Another blogger made 3 visits before getting her eggrolls!
Given the popularity, my interest was piqued. Were these egg rolls were really that great tasting, whether it's worth it to get up early to queue for them? The location wasn't very convenient - all the way at 北角 North Point. If you are staying at Kowloon side, even worse because it is far. If you come all the way without buying any of them, it's disappointment x 100. And, there's nothing really interesting at North Point, it's just a neighbourhood area with small shopping centres, though it's a historic Hokkien district.
Nevertheless, after a long consideration, I decided to make it to North Point to buy these egg rolls. I was staying at Wanchai so it's not far (15 minute away on same MTR line).
.
True enough, there was already a long line when I arrived about 9.20 am.
There were 3 flavours; original, coconut and butter. According to web reviews, the coconut sells out the fastest, but I'm a fan of original tastes, so I got a big tin of original, and 2 small tins of coconut and butter - each person was limited to 4 small tins (1 big tin = 2 small tins).
When I left the shop around 10 am, there was still a queue, albeit a short one. There were still a lot of tins of eggrolls in the shop for sale though, even the popular coconut flavour. I suppose you don't have to be as kiasu as me to come so early, arriving around 10 am should be ok during non-peak periods. Peak period is during festival season such as Chinese New Year, Mooncake Festival, Christmas, etc). One blogger arrived at 11 and still managed to get her egg rolls ( though the coconut has been sold out by then).
Duck Shing Ho
I couldn't resist and tested Duck Shing Ho first.
The big tin!
The eggrolls were arranged nicely - and they survived the long trip home.
Just taking it out and crumbs were falling...
You can see the microscopic holes in each layer - providing an 'airy' feel with each bite.
Result: Flaky, soft, yet crunchy. Extremely fragrant - I suppose this is because their egg rolls are the most freshly baked - having only 1 outlet without worries of distribution. Sweet to the taste too. Very very delicate yet you could feel the texture. The egg roll crumbled easily as I held it, illustrating its delicateness.
Hang Heung
I stopped by Causeway Bay Sogo and bought eggrolls from Hang Heung (HKD61.20 - on offer).
Result: Slightly (very very slightly) harder than Duck Shing Ho, yet still flaky and crunchy. Less sweet though. Not fragrant - the tin could had been left on the shelf for days.The packing of the eggrolls was also horrible (forgot to take a picture). Actually I don't mind the poor arrangement but they should ought to be careful.
Wing Wah
Of course, I got the eggrolls from Wing Wah at the airport as well (HKD68 for small tin).
Result: The hardest of the 3. My aunt was right, the texture is weak, being too smooth - for such eggrolls, you would actually want it to be flaky. It is the thickest - I suppose Wing Wah needs their egg rolls to be harder so they can survive the distribution throughout the country. Fragrance-wise, it was also lacking. It is also less sweet. However, it is still crunchy and delicious regardless. But compared to the competitors, lost out. Generally still good tasting though, so you can still buy it if you are at the airport. I guess it is also more worth it because it's thickest so you can more,
There's Kee Wah as well. I bought eggrolls from them long ago as I got them mixed up with Wing Wah. The eggrolls pales to Wing Wah even in comparison. Although it's thinner, there's no texture or flakiness whatsoever. It tastes like a copy of our local eggrolls, minus the pandan and/or coconut smell and taste. Not recommended.
So is it worth it to travel to North Point to buy these supposedly-famous egg rolls?
I would say a small 'yay'. Out of the 3 eggrolls tasted, Duck Shing Ho lives up to its reputation of having the most flaky, delicate, fragrant, and delicious eggrolls. It's a close fight between Duck Shing Ho and Hang Heung. though I would give Duck Shing Ho a point more since it's freshly baked - the Cantonese people are anal about having their ingredients and food fresh. However, Hang Heung wins in the sweetness category; Duck Shing Ho is too sweet.
The reason for a small 'yay' is because Duck Shing Ho is far to begin with, and you even have to arrive early and queue. I spent 1.5 hours for the whole journey and purchase - and you could spend the same time more productively shopping, eating, sleeping in the hotel or relaxing.
The eggrolls are tasty, but unless you really really have the spare time to travel and queue, it's not that worth it.
Hang Heung - Easy to access: they have branches at Tsim Sha Tsui Sogo and Causeway Bay. However, it's tough lugging tins of eggrolls to the airport. Tasty as well, just not that fresh.
Wing Wah - Convenient. You buy them in the restricted area of the airport; that means you don't need to worry about luggage weight restrictions! Decent enough eggrolls, with the HK style and taste.
Kee Wah - Give it a miss. They have a branch at the airport, in the check-in area, but get Wing Wah instead.
Well, if you really want to go to North Point for Duck Shing Ho, then watch for the next post 'Directions to Duck Shing Ho'!
http://garysyayornay.blogspot.sg/2013/06/hong-kong-series-getting-to-duck-shing.html
Address:
Duck Shing Ho
北角渣華道64號地下
G/F., 64 Java Road, North Point
Tel: 2570 5529/2571 5049
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 9.30 am to 7.00 pm
I visited them again in April 2014. You can check out my experience here:
http://garysyayornay.blogspot.sg/2014/04/duck-shing-ho-eggrolls-part-2-5-april.html
Hey everyone, after a long hiatus, here's a new post. Not that I haven't been eating out, but tons of people are already doing reviews on local food, and there are already so many food blogger celebrities, I decided it may be more meaningful to focus on overseas food. Let's try out this model, shall we?
Battle of the Hong Kong Eggrolls
Heard of Duck Shing Ho 德成号? To be honest. I've never heard about it until a month ago. I am a great fan of Hong Kong egg rolls 鸡蛋卷 (vs Singapore egg rolls - they are more flaky, delicate and soft), and I have been always used to the usual tourist favorites such as Wing Wah 荣华 and Hang Heung 恒香. There's another bakery called Kee Wah 奇华 however, the eggrolls are comparatively average - more comments on taste later.
(pictures taken from the web)
I was personally inclined towards Wing Wah as they are located at the airport and hence easy to buy back (though Hang Heung egg rolls are much better tasting; it's a hassle to carry tins of eggrolls from town to airport).
I also found that Duck Shing Ho is extremely popular, and required advance reservation of orders. However, they do release a severely restricted number of over-the-counter sales for tourists and impromptu orders; the catch is it's on first-come-first-serve basis, whilst stocks last.
And from the various reviews and blog posts online, turns out also that the queue is extremely long. People have to arrive at the shop exactly on 9.30 am (their opening hour), otherwise risk disappointment. One blogger even commented that she arrived early yet the shop was already out-of-stock. Another blogger made 3 visits before getting her eggrolls!
Given the popularity, my interest was piqued. Were these egg rolls were really that great tasting, whether it's worth it to get up early to queue for them? The location wasn't very convenient - all the way at 北角 North Point. If you are staying at Kowloon side, even worse because it is far. If you come all the way without buying any of them, it's disappointment x 100. And, there's nothing really interesting at North Point, it's just a neighbourhood area with small shopping centres, though it's a historic Hokkien district.
Nevertheless, after a long consideration, I decided to make it to North Point to buy these egg rolls. I was staying at Wanchai so it's not far (15 minute away on same MTR line).
.
True enough, there was already a long line when I arrived about 9.20 am.
There were 3 flavours; original, coconut and butter. According to web reviews, the coconut sells out the fastest, but I'm a fan of original tastes, so I got a big tin of original, and 2 small tins of coconut and butter - each person was limited to 4 small tins (1 big tin = 2 small tins).
When I left the shop around 10 am, there was still a queue, albeit a short one. There were still a lot of tins of eggrolls in the shop for sale though, even the popular coconut flavour. I suppose you don't have to be as kiasu as me to come so early, arriving around 10 am should be ok during non-peak periods. Peak period is during festival season such as Chinese New Year, Mooncake Festival, Christmas, etc). One blogger arrived at 11 and still managed to get her egg rolls ( though the coconut has been sold out by then).
Taste Test
I couldn't resist and tested Duck Shing Ho first.
The big tin!
The eggrolls were arranged nicely - and they survived the long trip home.
Just taking it out and crumbs were falling...
You can see the microscopic holes in each layer - providing an 'airy' feel with each bite.
Result: Flaky, soft, yet crunchy. Extremely fragrant - I suppose this is because their egg rolls are the most freshly baked - having only 1 outlet without worries of distribution. Sweet to the taste too. Very very delicate yet you could feel the texture. The egg roll crumbled easily as I held it, illustrating its delicateness.
Hang Heung
I stopped by Causeway Bay Sogo and bought eggrolls from Hang Heung (HKD61.20 - on offer).
Result: Slightly (very very slightly) harder than Duck Shing Ho, yet still flaky and crunchy. Less sweet though. Not fragrant - the tin could had been left on the shelf for days.The packing of the eggrolls was also horrible (forgot to take a picture). Actually I don't mind the poor arrangement but they should ought to be careful.
Wing Wah
Of course, I got the eggrolls from Wing Wah at the airport as well (HKD68 for small tin).
Result: The hardest of the 3. My aunt was right, the texture is weak, being too smooth - for such eggrolls, you would actually want it to be flaky. It is the thickest - I suppose Wing Wah needs their egg rolls to be harder so they can survive the distribution throughout the country. Fragrance-wise, it was also lacking. It is also less sweet. However, it is still crunchy and delicious regardless. But compared to the competitors, lost out. Generally still good tasting though, so you can still buy it if you are at the airport. I guess it is also more worth it because it's thickest so you can more,
There's Kee Wah as well. I bought eggrolls from them long ago as I got them mixed up with Wing Wah. The eggrolls pales to Wing Wah even in comparison. Although it's thinner, there's no texture or flakiness whatsoever. It tastes like a copy of our local eggrolls, minus the pandan and/or coconut smell and taste. Not recommended.
So is it worth it to travel to North Point to buy these supposedly-famous egg rolls?
Verdict:
I would say a small 'yay'. Out of the 3 eggrolls tasted, Duck Shing Ho lives up to its reputation of having the most flaky, delicate, fragrant, and delicious eggrolls. It's a close fight between Duck Shing Ho and Hang Heung. though I would give Duck Shing Ho a point more since it's freshly baked - the Cantonese people are anal about having their ingredients and food fresh. However, Hang Heung wins in the sweetness category; Duck Shing Ho is too sweet.
The reason for a small 'yay' is because Duck Shing Ho is far to begin with, and you even have to arrive early and queue. I spent 1.5 hours for the whole journey and purchase - and you could spend the same time more productively shopping, eating, sleeping in the hotel or relaxing.
The eggrolls are tasty, but unless you really really have the spare time to travel and queue, it's not that worth it.
Hang Heung - Easy to access: they have branches at Tsim Sha Tsui Sogo and Causeway Bay. However, it's tough lugging tins of eggrolls to the airport. Tasty as well, just not that fresh.
Wing Wah - Convenient. You buy them in the restricted area of the airport; that means you don't need to worry about luggage weight restrictions! Decent enough eggrolls, with the HK style and taste.
Kee Wah - Give it a miss. They have a branch at the airport, in the check-in area, but get Wing Wah instead.
Well, if you really want to go to North Point for Duck Shing Ho, then watch for the next post 'Directions to Duck Shing Ho'!
http://garysyayornay.blogspot.sg/2013/06/hong-kong-series-getting-to-duck-shing.html
Address:
Duck Shing Ho
北角渣華道64號地下
G/F., 64 Java Road, North Point
Tel: 2570 5529/2571 5049
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 9.30 am to 7.00 pm
How did u bring it home? Hand carry or check in luggage? TQ:)
ReplyDeleteHand carry. Check-in not recommended! The egg rolls are so brittle and would shatter under rough handling.
DeleteWhats the specific ingredients???i have some recipes from youtube and google but all not same like the picture.thank you.
ReplyDelete