Westchester Breakfast Club

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Attendees: :jump_to_Sylvia:

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Howdy from the other side of the planet! Actually, not so much, since I returned from my trip to Hong Kong last week. But, in the spirit of sharing breakfast tales, I thought I’d share this one with you.

The Australia Dairy Company has nothing to do with Australia or any Dairy Company from Australia. I actually have no idea why it is called this, especially since I do not believe they can really correctly pronounce Australia (or Chatham Street, but that is a whole other story). Anyway, in preparation for my trip out there with fellow adventure food enthusiast Liz, I did some digging around of where to eat while in Hong Kong. I took my search to the food blogs of Hong Kong, and in a few of them, as well as numerous articles written about the best foods of Hong Kong, I came across this establishment. Everyone raves about their scrambled egg sandwiches and ham and macaroni soups (a staple breakfast item in HK). Well, if the blogs all say pretty good things about it, and the various articles rate the place high, then I guess I had to try this myself. Luckily it was only about a 15 minute walk from our hotel (it took us 20 since we got a little turned around….not surprised right?). Located along a quieter street off a major road, it’s easy to miss, except for the queue of people, even at 9am on a Monday morning. On line and inside were a mix of people in their business suits, mothers and their children, some in school uniforms, some not, younger adults, and a smattering of Chinese families on holiday. Then there was us, or I should say, Liz, quite possibly the only non-Chinese person in the place, which really was not unusual, since we tended to dine way off the beaten track.

Since this place was written up in so many English articles, I just assumed that they would have menus in English, or at least pictures. No. They did not let their fame get to their head and start catering to the masses. And I love them for that. Inside it looked like it has been there since the 1960’s, and it has retained it’s cha chaan teng atmosphere. Tiny plastic chairs, tables with the menus under the plexiglass, a cup of hot tea in a brown plastic glass to welcome you. You also don’t get a table for yourself, everyone shares. As we sat down, a woman was finishing up. In her place a lovey dovey young couple (girl put sugar in her milk…).

I sat down, and I started to panic. There is no English on the menu. There are no pictures to speak of. What do I do? Since they were famous for their scrambled egg sandwiches, that’s what we will have. I dug deep into the troves of vocabulary I picked up over my previous visits. Last year, I remember my cousin ordering scrambled eggs for me and what she called it. I overheard other people outside ordering what I assumed were sandwiches, and they said that. If I piece it together, it has to mean scrambled egg sandwich. I gave it a try. I ordered two scrambled egg sandwiches and two hot milk teas. I may have an elementary vocabulary, but my accent is slight enough that I can pass as a local (thanks to all the practice I get talking to my mom). The waiter then proceeded with a follow up question. I did not expect a follow up question. After a little back and forth, I figured out he was asking if I wanted it toasted, yes was my answer. Phew!

The sandwiches arrived, and they looked egg-cellent! I was excited. After one bite, I was sold. This was the best scrambled egg sandwich I’ve ever had. The eggs were so light and fluffy and cooked perfectly. They weren’t too dry, and they weren’t runny at all. They were moist and without an overwhelming butter flavor that I’ve found sometimes in fluffy eggs. The toast was thick and also light and moist. Just lightly toasted to give it texture, but not taking away from the elasticity required to hug those eggs lovingly.

The milk tea was also very good. Smokey and smooth, just like HK style milk tea should be.

The icing on the cake? For the both of us it cost a total of just about $7.50. Not too shabby!

The czar says: If you are in Hong Kong, I highly recommend The Australia Dairy Company. Bring me with you! I promise I’ll learn how to read!

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