Hung Fook Tong
Unit 56, 505 Highway 7 East
Thornhill 905-881-1688
Dessert for two with all taxes and tip: $15

There was a time when it seemed like Chinese dessert places were popping up like mushrooms. When one place closed another would open. Even people who are acquainted with them can’t always decide which one, but tonight my sister and I settled for an old favourite, Hung Fook Tong.

There’s nothing spectacular about the décor but I’d say that for any of the other places we could have chosen. We’ve been here before and we know it’s good, which is why we’ve returned. The menus are written in both English and Chinese but please don’t take the English literally; a good number of the desserts end up sounding more like a patch of an overgrown yard or a square foot of a forest instead of anything remotely edible. Placing the order is easy enough though, we just mark it down on the sheet provided, choose hot or cold, and choose to add glutinous rice dumplings. It’s simple and sweet unlike the superfluous translation on the menu.

I ordered Black Rice with Pearls Delight ($4.50). This is taro paste and glutinous rice dumplings mixed in black glutinous rice that has been made into a kind of porridge. The pearls refer to the dumplings and I can only assume that the “delight” refers to the dessert as a whole. It comes either hot or cold but in this weather that’s a stupid decision, I ordered it cold, of course.

The taro paste is very sweet when eaten alone so I mixed it with bites of the thick porridge to even out the flavour. The porridge is just a little sweet. I rather like that since it lets me enjoy the flavour and texture of the rice rather than be overwhelmed by sugar. The dumplings themselves have no actual flavour but they’re chewy, actually the entire dish is filled with texture. The paste is smooth, the porridge has grains of chewy rice and the dumplings are chewy but soft and easy to bite into at the same time. It’s a lot more complex than strawberry shortcake.

My sister ordered Assorted Fresh Fruit with Grass Jello and Sago ($5), another nice cold dessert for the recent hot weather. The assortment of fruit isn’t bad, though the pineapple is obviously canned and processed rather than fresh. Grass jello is great in this weather, it’s very cooling and I find it has a very faint herbal flavour to it.

Finally, because I gave into temptation, we ordered the Durian Sweet Heart ($4.80) to share. This is glutinous rice dumplings filled with durian custard and sprinkled with coconut flakes. I have a severe weak spot for durian-flavoured desserts. The fruit itself is very rich and pasty; this dish mixed it with custard, making it even sweeter. Anyone who hasn’t ever tried or been near durian should be forewarned - most people think that durian stinks. I’ve heard it described as smelling like rotten eggs or vomit. To me, the stronger the smell, the more I like it.

I don’t even have to bite into the dumpling to smell the fruit. That’s a good sign. A lot of times flavoured custard taste simply of custard and not the added flavour at all, I don’t have that problem here. I can definitely taste the durian. The dumpling is pleasantly soft but I’m barely paying attention to it because that durian flavour is all I’m after.

Long story short, it made me happy. It’s not about the atmosphere or service at these places, just the food. Even if some of the names given to the dishes are unintentionally amusing it’s not going to detract from my enjoyment, rather, it almost enhances it.