As a Filipina living in Hong Kong for the past 9 years, one of my favorite things about this city is the sheer amount of amazing fresh mango desserts. Mango sago is easily the one I eat the most. The refreshing, not-too-sweet Cantonese tong sui (dessert soup) with juicy mango and chewy sago pearls comes in many forms, from soups to puddings and sorbets, often with the addition of pomelo and other bouncy toppings.
Here is a work-in-progress guide on some of my favorite places to satisfy my craving for mango sago.
C Dessert
The mango sago in C Dessert’s fast-food style dining room in Wan Chai is highly customizable, with so many different combinations from coconut milk to mango sorbet bases, and taro balls, brown sugar boba, and glutinous rice balls from HK$40. The mango liza (pictured on the left) is a personal favorite. You may have to queue but the line moves very quickly since people flow in and out and it’s definitely worth it for the fresh, delicious desserts at affordable prices.
Sugar Mami
Sugar Mami is a takeaway shop offering the best value for mango sago, as they serve it in big tubs alongside other combinations of mango, taro and coconut milk desserts starting from just HK$39 with locations in Causeway Bay, Sham Shui Po & Tsuen Wan. You can see just how much plump, juicy mango they scoop into each container in this video.
Grindie
If you want to enjoy your mango sago in a more relaxed space with modern cafe aesthetics, visit one of Grindie’s locations across Hong Kong. I’ve personally been to the Causeway Bay and New Town Plaza locations. I recommend trying it with the silky tofu pudding base and adding coconut jelly to go with the fresh mango, mango juice, glutinous rice balls, pomelo and sago.
Walk We Eat
Walk We Eat is a dog-friendly cafe and dessert shop located out in Tseung Kwan O (the best stop after visiting the immigration office), serving build your own desserts with a wide range of toppings, including fresh mango, bouncy tofu mochi, sago, taro balls, milk pudding, coconut or mango juice, and more. It’s served in a little bucket if you order it takeaway, perfect for bringing out to the waterfront.
Icegreen
I’ve only visited Icegreen’s Causeway Bay location once but loved the crushed ice mango sago that has a mango sorbet topped with fresh mango, sago pearls, and a chewy, stretchy fresh mochi. They serve a variety of options including kakigori, and also have a location in Mong Kok.
Kai Kai Dessert
This decades old institution with locations in Jordan, Mong Kok, and Causeway Bay is best known for their traditional black sesame and walnut soups with tang yuan (glutinous rice balls), but they also serve a mango pomelo sago in a chilled mango soup that’s almost like a smoothie. There are not much toppings you can add on, so if you want something simple that has the most mango flavor, this is where to go. I actually find it a little too sweet for my personal taste (I prefer a little coconut milk to tone down the sweetness), so I like the black sesame and walnut items here more.
Ching Ching Dessert
Another Wan Chai option, this tiny shop with cute HK-theme artwork sets themselves apart with the option to get mango sago topped with icy milk. It’s more like a shaved ice dessert with more milky flavor than mango, but it’s a great way to cool down in the heat. I need to go back to try their more traditional mango pomelo sago dessert, which they also offer with tofu pudding.
Dream Tofa
This tiny shop with 6 counter seats is quite expensive compared to others on this list, but its location just off the Central-Mid-levels Escalator means it’s the closest to where I live and most convenient if you are touring around Central. You can get tofu pudding topped with fresh mango, pomelo and sago, add taro balls, or get the mango on grass jelly.
I will add more spots to this list as I dig up the photos from my phone! In the mean time, you can watch this video with a couple more spots, or just search for “mango sago” in google maps to see what’s near you, as there are Cantonese dessert shops all over the city.
I would skip Honeymoon Dessert though, as I’ve had very meh mango sago at two different locations I’ve tried.
