How Hong Kong’s egg and beef sandwich became so beloved and the best places to eat it
A staple snack at cafes and restaurants in the city, the Hong Kong-style egg and beef sandwich is revered among locals and tourists alike
The Hong Kong-style egg and beef sandwich is not just a sandwich, but a testament to how a seemingly simple snack, served quickly and conveniently, can stand the test of time and become a collective memory among busy city dwellers.
Many restaurants have made it their own by adding salted (corned) beef and various inventive ingredients, infusing even more “Hong Kong-ness” into the dish and increasing the reverence it receives from locals and tourists alike.
It has been speculated that the Hong Kong egg and beef sandwich was a product of British colonisation, similar to how the Vietnamese banh mi was influenced by the country’s French colonial history.
Corned beef and egg sandwiches were a popular snack among the British Army during World War I and II, while some of the earliest mentions of canned corned beef place its origins in the British agricultural revolution that took place between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries.
“The use of salted beef in Hong Kong cafes probably had something to do with the British, who were already making salted beef sandwiches,” says Michael Lui Ka-chun, a veteran food writer and author of the 2023 Chinese-language book, The Taste of Hong Kong.
“Although salted beef cans were already quite popular when I was growing up in the ’80s, they were not a household item. They were used only, and widely, in cha chaan tengs [Hong Kong-style diners], as convenience is key in those kitchens.”