Hong Kong’s Most Famous Dessert Shop Hui Lau Shan Opens in Irvine | Eater LA

"A Hong Kong dessert institution that began as a traditional herbal tea shop in the early 1960s, it opened its first California outpost in Irvine on August 25 as part of a global chain with more than 300 locations. Known for popularizing fresh mango sago after adding it to the menu in 1992, the shop remains casual, affordable, and take-out friendly in Hong Kong, where its bright yellow-and-red signs are ubiquitous and stores are so busy patrons often must share tables. The Mango Chewy Ball is the signature and most popular item—pureed mango topped with a scoop of mango ice cream made fresh every morning on the premises and finished with chewy tapioca balls—while other highlights include a bright green durian pancake, taro and coconut snacks, a three-layered mango-and-coconut juice with aloe jelly, the seasonal Red Dragonfruit (pitaya) Fruit Icy with fresh pureed dragonfruit, aloe jelly, honeydew and chopped kiwi, and the Mango Crisp ice cream sandwich with cookie powder and cream. Staff trained in Hong Kong and local chef Billy Ho helped the Irvine opening; team members come in four hours before opening to prepare fruits and make fresh aloe, coconut jelly, and tapioca from scratch. While Asian stores typically use Philippine carabao mangoes, U.S. locations source mangoes from North and South America that are derived from the same strain and, according to the team, remain very sweet; menus may vary slightly by climate (e.g., NYC offering more hot items), but core recipes are consistent across locations." - Kristie Hang