I’ve been enjoying a travel show called Adam & Poh’s Great Australian Bites, which follows celebrity chefs Adam Liaw and Poh Ling Yeow as they eat their way around Australia.
A recurring question they pose to themselves and guests on the show is whether the humble meat pie could be considered Australia’s national dish.
With this topic in mind, my partner recently told me she had just found one of the best chicken pies in Hong Kong, and that I needed to try it for myself. I immediately imagined a hearty Aussie or English-style savoury pot pie with flaky pastry, large enough to be a meal.
I was taken to a new cha chaan teng, or traditional Hong Kong-style cafe, where the chicken “pie” was in the display counter next to pineapple buns, Swiss rolls and other pastries.
It turns out the so-called pie was a Hong Kong-style tart just slightly larger than a typical egg tart, with crumbly, sweet pastry.