Kung Lee

This is a place that specialises in sugar cane juice. It is a quaint little old place. The kind of places that is disappearing in HK. Here one can be assure of the quality of the juice one is getting. it comes either cold or hot. The hot version is supposed to be better for one’s throats, so opted for the hot version on this visit.

You know you have met the One…
When he is not bothered by the following things about Kung Lee
1) Long walk from MTR (subway) stations
2) No AC
3) Lack of fancy décor
When he appreciates the below elements of this old store
1) Follows the 60-​year tradition of hand-​cranking cranes to extract juice
2) Refuses to add sugar, additives and preservatives to its sugar cane juice
3) Enjoys the simplicity of life and keeps 2 sweet cats in the store
Here, the One does not have to be your lover. That person can be your friend or your family member. In my case, I know that my little bro and I are bros for life when he looks forward to trying sugar cane pudding for our next visit to Kung Lee.

No-​bullshit-​traditional-​local-​fresh-​sugarcane-​juice.
Well, I can pretty much end this review here. But hey, there’s a reason why Kung Lee, such a local shop, can stand in the middle of Soho for such a long time. (To be fair, one of the main reasons is, they own the whole building so they are not prone to the crazy rent.)
All the sugarcane juice are freshly made each day. You can see if the staff pressing the sugarcane into the machine, if you are lucky.
Sugarcane juice, if you can’t deduce that from its name already, is super doper sweet. You only want to drink it once awhile, either on a very hot and thirsty summer day to keep you hydrated, or a very cold winter day to keep your stomach warm. Anyway, since they don’t add any artificial sugar, it’s all healthy to you if you are not drinking in excess.
If sugarcane juice is not enough for you, try their chrysanthemum tea, or better, their turtle jelly. I can’t be sure if they actually use turtle shell powder at all, as many of the shops in town already replaced them with herbal additives that serve similar medicine purpose. It is very good for you healthy, and it’s probably one of the only few shops here in Soho you can get turtle jelly.
By the way, I never said it tastes good. If it’s your first time and you think it tastes like the worse thing ever, you are probably right. But then I’ll also recommend you to try so 24-​herb tea too…

What can I say? It specialises in sugarcane juices and is the best in Hong Kong. Unlike those sugarcane juices which got diluted, this one here is freshly squeezed from raw sugarcane without dilution. This could be a bit too sweet for some people but is guarenteed to be the richest. I struggle on whether it’s a 4 or 5 stars and decided a 5 simply because this is the best. haha

Hiking up the hills and steps from Central to get to Kung Lee in the heat was so well worth it, as I got to cool myself down with a cup of freshly squeezed sugar cane juice.
Kung Lee just so old school and I love how simple and pretentious it is. Serving healthy drinks and herbal remedies as supposed to something that is unhealthy with just pure sugar.
A little piece of history. I always try to drop by for a drink everything when I am in town.

I have heard of this place for a very long while but it is not until recently that I have finally visited this local staple; Kung Lee has been serving up herbal tea since the 40’s and has continue dishing out not only tea and drinks, but also turtle jelly and sugar cane jelly.
Although situating in Central, this joint is actually quite far from the business district and is like several streets above the main road on the hillside. That explains why it took me that long to find this place.
Nonetheless when you get there, you would easily miss it as well due to the modesty of the storefront. I trust that there were little done to the décor ever since the shop was set up 60 or so years ago. From the mosaic tiles on the walls, the ceiling fan hanging down and the timeless posters on the wall, you will feel like you have been brought back to a time when Hong Kong has not yet become the business center you know today, simple and down to earth.
Rather than the herbal tea, Hung Lee actually is more famous for it’s sugar cane products, the freshly squeezed juice and the tea brewed with sugar cane are two of the top sellers in the shop. I personally prefer the former even though I am not particularly fond of sugary drinks. (just let me side track a little bit… Isn’t it contradicting that I don’t normally drink things with sugar added, but now i’m drinking the raw form of sugar.hmm.) It is not like you are drinking in syrup, rather, there is a sense of freshness in the juice extracted from the stem of the plant which make it quite a refreshing drink in the heat of summer.
Another must try of the shop would be the sugar cane jelly. It is strictly speaking not the normally type of jelly coagulated by gelatine, it is more like a cross between mochi and pudding than jelly. It would be an accurate description to call it a solid form of sugar cane juice. Quite ideal for dessert, I would normally buy a tub of it after having dinner in central; again, the freshness of the sugar cane juice gives lightness to the pudding and you can most definitely make room for that even after a hardy meal.