Complete Jyutping Guide to Hong Kong Tong Sui

A 糖水舖 is not a tea house and not a cha chaan teng. Unlike dim sum, there is no steamer slip. Unlike cha chaan teng slang, there are almost no kitchen codes. You say the bowl name.

Each line has Jyutping playback. Mandarin often uses a different word, or the right characters with the wrong tones.

What 糖水 is

糖水 (tong4 seoi2)

Meaning: Cantonese sweet soup: paste, bean soup, sago, steamed milk.

The category, not a bowl of sugar water. “Let’s get 糖水” means a dessert shop. seoi2.

糖水舖 (tong4 seoi2 pou2)

Meaning: A shop that sells those bowls.

舖 is pou2, not 鋪 pou1 (“to spread”). Cha chaan teng sweets—red-bean ice, egg tarts, mango pudding—are a different list. See cha chaan teng slang.

Hong Kong name vs Mandarin

Custard buns are yum cha. See dim sum.

Hot pastes

糊 as a dessert suffix is usually spoken wu2. Some dictionaries still print wu4.

1. 芝麻糊 (zi1 maa4 wu2)

Meaning: Black-sesame paste. The default hot bowl.

2. 合桃糊 (hap6 tou4 wu4)

Meaning: Walnut paste. Hong Kong says 合桃. 合 is entering tone hap6. The player ends on wu4; speech often raises it to wu2.

3. 杏仁糊 (hang6 jan4 wu2)

Meaning: Apricot-kernel paste. English menus often say “almond.” 杏 is hang6.

Bean soup, tofu skin, glutinous balls

4. 紅豆沙 (hung4 dau6 saa1)

Meaning: Sweet red-bean soup, smooth or with beans. Some shops add dried tangerine peel. 沙 is saa1.

5. 綠豆沙 (luk6 dau6 saa1)

Meaning: Sweet mung-bean soup. 綠 is entering tone luk6.

6. 腐竹糖水 (fu6 zuk1 tong4 seoi2)

Meaning: Dried tofu-skin in ginger-sugar soup, often with egg. 竹 is entering tone zuk1.

7. 糖不甩 (tong4 bat1 lat1)

Meaning: Glutinous-rice balls coated in sugar, peanut, and sesame. Literal: the sugar does not shake off. Two entering tones: bat1 lat1. Not a filled 湯丸.

8. 清補涼 (cing1 bou2 loeng2)

Meaning: Mixed herbal sweet soup; the mix varies by shop. A Lingnan name, not a Hong Kong coinage. 涼 in this dish is loeng2; the adjective is loeng4.

Cold

9. 楊枝甘露 (joeng4 zi1 gam1 lou6)

Meaning: Mango, pomelo, sago, coconut milk. A Hong Kong dessert, usually credited to 利苑 in the 1980s. The name is Guanyin’s willow branch sprinkling sweet dew. Some shops use grapefruit. 楊 is joeng4. Mid-Autumn pomelo: Mid-Autumn.

10. 西米露 (sai1 mai5 lou6)

Meaning: Sago—often tapioca pearls—in coconut milk or syrup. 楊枝甘露 is this bowl plus mango and pomelo.

Milk and tofu

11. 雙皮奶 (soeng1 pei4 naai5)

Meaning: Double-skin milk. The method is Shunde; Hong Kong shops sell it hot or cold.

12. 薑汁撞奶 (goeng1 zap1 zong6 naai5)

Meaning: Hot milk poured into ginger juice so it sets. 「撞」 is the pour. Common in the Pearl River Delta. 汁 is entering tone zap1.

13. 豆腐花 (dau6 fu6 faa1)

Meaning: Silken tofu pudding, often with ginger syrup. Three syllables in Hong Kong. Same family as 腐竹, different dish.

How to order

You name the bowl. 唔該，一碗芝麻糊。 Add 熱 or 凍 when the shop sells both. 楊枝甘露 is usually cold; 芝麻糊 is usually hot. 雙皮奶 and 豆腐花 come both ways.

Winter lists lean on 糊 and 豆沙. Summer lists lean on 西米露 and 楊枝甘露. 清補涼 is a mixed herbal sweet soup; the ingredients change by shop, so repeating the name on the board is safer than reciting a fixed recipe.

糊 on the menu is the dessert suffix. In the shop it is often wu2. Dictionaries may still print wu4. Follow the player for 芝麻糊 and 杏仁糊; 合桃糊 on this page ends on wu4 because that is the lookup form—speech still often raises it.

A 糖水舖 is a dessert shop, not a bakery and not a tea restaurant. Egg tarts and mango pudding belong on those other lists.

Shadow the names together

What these names train

Shops differ. Hear the bowl name; keep the tones stable.

FAQ

Is 糖水 the same as cha chaan teng dessert?
Overlap is small. Red-bean ice, French toast, and pineapple buns are cha chaan teng slang. Here it is paste, bean soup, sago, and steamed milk.

Did Hong Kong invent 雙皮奶?
No. The method is Shunde. 楊枝甘露 is the Hong Kong-named bowl on this list.

What next?
Dim sum, street snacks, or the Jyutping converter.