Cao Zhen
| Editor: Stephanie Yang | From:Where to eat Cantonese desserts in Bao’an?
As a migrant city, Shenzhen doesn’t have many traditional Cantonese dessert stores or stalls serving the huge variety of tong shui like Guangzhou and Huazhou. But you can still find some in old urban villages here.
Email of the writer: caozhen0806@126.com
Eating Cantonese desserts is one of the pleasures of the summer. Cantonese people normally have a bowl of “tong shui” (糖水) in the afternoon or after dinner. As a migrant city, Shenzhen doesn’t have many traditional Cantonese dessert stores or stalls serving the huge variety of tong shui like Guangzhou and Huazhou. But you can still find some in old urban villages here.
Sweet potato soup
Tong shui is a collective term for any sweet, cold or warm soup or custard in Cantonese cuisine. Commonly seen desserts include black sesame soup (黑芝麻糊), ginger milk custard (姜撞奶), red bean soup (红豆沙), sago soup (西米露), mung bean soup (绿豆沙), sweet potato soup (番薯糖水) and double-skin milk (双皮奶). Compared with Western-style desserts in modern shopping malls, these traditional Cantonese desserts are very cheap, normally under 10 yuan a bowl.
Tofu pudding
Guilinggao
Ginger milk custard, a typical Cantonese dessert, is prepared in quite a unique way. After you order it, a waiter will bring a bowl of ginger juice and a bowl of hot milk with sugar. Then the waiter will pour the milk quickly into the middle of the ginger juice. After two to three minutes, the ginger milk will be curdled enough that your spoon will be able to sit on top of it without sinking. You can choose to have the ginger be medium or spicy and you can add red beans to have a unique spicy sweet combo.
Ginger milk custard
A similar milk dessert is double-skin milk which is made of milk, egg whites and sugar. A velvety smooth milk custard, it has two skins. The first is formed while the milk is cooling and the second when the cooked custard is cooling. Resembling the Italian panna cotta, double-skin milk may be served with red beans, mango or other fruits.
Many Cantonese dessert soups have chewy ingredients such as jelly, sago, taro and glutinous rice balls. Sago soup is normally aromatized with coconut milk and common variations include the addition of papaya or mango.
Double-skin milk with mango
Red bean soup and mung bean soup are very popular tong shui which can be served either cold or hot. Lotus seeds, purple rice or glutinous rice balls are commonly served in the soups. Red bean soup can also be used in shaved ice desserts.
Black sesame soup is typically served hot and some Chinese believe sesame can warm the body, replenish blood, relax the bowels and nourish hair. With great viscosity, the soup is made of black sesame seeds, glutinous rice and water. Similar viscous soups use walnuts or almonds as their main ingredients. Glutinous rice balls are sometimes added.
Black sesame soup
If you don’t like sweets, try guilinggao (龟苓膏), a jelly-like Chinese medicine that is sold as a dessert. It has a strong herbal smell and tastes a bit bitter, but is cold and refreshing, so you can order guilinggao with honey, osmanthus sauce or coconut milk.
In some tong shui stores, snacks such as stewed eggs, chicken wings, curry fishballs and noodles are also sold.
Dong’s Huazhou Cold Dessert Store 董记化州冰冻糖水店
A mom-and-pop shop, Dong’s Huazhou Cold Dessert Store serves home-made tong shui, with a variety of taro desserts as its specialty. The taro desserts are soft and smooth and can be mixed with various toppings. You can order them with coconut milk and black glutinous rice, with mung bean soup or with fruits and juice. Located in Jia’an Village, it might be a bit difficult to find the store.
Add: Shop No. 3, Building 179, Jia’an Village, Jian’an Road 1, Bao’an District (宝安区建安一路甲岸村179栋3号铺)
Metro: Line 5, Fanshen Station (翻身站), Exit B and then take a taxi
Jin’s Milk Desserts 锦记牛奶甜品世家
From Guangzhou, Jin’s Milk Desserts has more than 70 kinds of Cantonese desserts and specializes in milk desserts, such as ginger milk custard and double-skin milk.
Add: 164 Qianjin Road 1, Bao’an District (宝安区前进一路164号)
Metro: Line 5, Lingzhi Station (灵芝站), Exit C1
Qingruntang 清润堂
Chewy bean jelly with coconut milk is one of the recommended desserts at Qingruntang. Shaved ice with assorted fruits, double-skin milk with red beans and papaya soup with snow fungus are also customer favorites.
Add: No. 102, Lingzhi New Village, Xinghua Road, Xin’an Subdistrict, Bao’an District (宝安区新安街道兴华路灵芝新村102号)
Metro: Line 5, Lingzhi Station (灵芝站), Exit C1
Great Mum Sweet Soups 大妈糖水
Great Mum Sweet Soups is open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and closes Mondays and Tuesdays. Its recommended desserts include black sesame soup, mung bean soup and red bean soup. Their mashed potatoes with cheese are also a popular item.
Add: 16 Fugui Road, Bao’an District (宝安区富瑰路16号)
Metro: Line 1, Pingzhou Station (坪洲站), Exit A and then take a taxi
Dianpinji 点品集
Located in Shajing, Dianpinji has a variety of recommended dishes that range between 5-8 yuan a bowl, such as mango pudding, durian pudding, bean jelly, mung bean soup, sago with coconut milk, glutinous rice balls with crushed peanuts and sesame seeds (糖不甩).
Add: 1/F, Deshangju, 29 Xin’an Road, Xinyang Village, Shajing, Bao’an District (宝安区沙井辛养村辛安路29号德尚居一层)
Metro: Line 11, Shajing Station (沙井站), Exit A and then take a taxi
Zengshicai Ginger Milk Custard 曾氏财姜撞奶
As the name suggests, Zengshicai Ginger Milk Custard’s must-try desserts are ginger milk custard and double-skin milk, served with diced mango or red beans.
Add: No. 153, Qinchengda Century Street, Xin’an Subdistrict, Bao’an District (宝安区新安街道勤诚达世纪大街153号铺）
Metro: Line 5, Honglang North Station (洪浪北站), Exit A
Pansu Herbal Teahouse 潘苏凉茶馆
With a history of 28 years, Pansu Herbal Teahouse sells not only herbal tea but also sweet desserts. Sago soup with taro and sugarcane soup with water chestnuts are diner favorites. Their barbecue chicken wings are also recommended.
Add: 278 Defeng Road, Bao’an District (宝安区德丰路278号)
Metro: Line 11, Fuyong Station (福永站), Exit D and then take a taxi
Sanji Tong Shui 三记糖水
Tofu pudding (豆腐花) can also be found in tong shui stores although it is a common snack in other Chinese restaurants. Made with soft bean curds, tofu pudding is a specialty at Sanji. Their mango desserts such as mango pancakes, sago soup with mango and tofu pudding with mango are definitely the summer’s must-try treats.
Add: No. 1010, Block 3, Guancheng Shijia, 73 Xinghua Road 2, Bao’an District (宝安区兴华二路73号冠城世家三栋1010店)
Metro: Line 5, Lingzhi Station (灵芝站), Exit A1
