Name (English): Bak Bo Tong Herbal Tea
Name (Chinese): 百寶堂
Category: Food & Beverages
Phone Number: +852 2398 1183
Address (English): G/F, 218 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok
Address (Chinese): 旺角西洋菜南街218號地下
Address Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/wkCXT3Bv7MM67HBj8
Address longitude and latitude: 22.322350786226085, 114.16956863799986
Nearest MTR Station: Mong Kok Station Exit B3
Nearest MTR Station Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/6hM1vxABNCDKK4dm6
Nearest MTR Station longitude and latitude: 22.320538850897062, 114.16968079814855
How far from the nearest MTR Station: 5-minute walk from Mong Kok MTR Exit B3
Opening Hours:
MON 09:30 – 23:45
TUE 09:30 – 23:45
WED 09:30 – 23:45
THU 09:30 – 23:45
FRI 09:30 – 23:45
SAT 09:30 – 23:45
SUN 09:30 – 23:45
Budget (per person): HKD20-40
Recommended Food/Drinks: Chinese Herbal Jelly/Guilinggao (龜苓膏)
Recommended Time to Visit: Any opening hours
Accessibility Note: Easy access
In the 1960s, healthcare system in Hong Kong was not well-developed. When people were sick, herbal tea and turtle jelly (Guai Ling Goh) served as a cheap and easy-to-reach “medicine”. Herbal tea shops also functioned as “Community centres” back in the days. People passing by could enjoy music and television while cooling themselves down by drinking a cup of herbal tea. Those were the days when herbal tea shops were popular that they could be found everywhere in the city.
Guai Ling Goh a.ka.Turtle Jelly (龜苓膏)
It has been (in)famously arousing visitors’ curiosity, if not fear. But can you imagine how it is made with turtles? This most signature food in herbal tea shops actually contains no turtle meat but only shell of a specific species. However, this species of turtle is endangered in recent years and its substitutions are also increasingly costly. As a result, many herbal tea shops substitute turtle shells with other herbs, meaning “turtle-free”.
While honey (or, quite often, syrup) is on the table at your disposal to balance out the bitterness, you are strongly recommended to try it without the condiment for the best medicinal effect. Many locals have an acquired taste to enjoy the original, complex flavors of the herbs used in the jelly- particularly the cool and refreshing blast at the throat, then a fine, natural aftertaste of sweetness at the root of the tongue.
Nowadays, the younger generations prefer western medicine to herbal tea to cure sickness, for it is of modern scientific nature which translates into “more reliable”. Still, people love to sit in this traditional healthful cafe and enjoy their cool drink of choice during summer!
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