{"id":883999,"date":"2026-04-10T05:41:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T05:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/883999\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T05:41:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T05:41:19","slug":"how-a-chinese-takeaway-kid-brought-hong-kong-style-french-toast-to-london-with-a-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/883999\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Chinese takeaway kid brought Hong Kong-style French toast to London \u2013 with a twist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Imagine this: a thick slab of golden-brown toast, topped with a perfect knob of butter melting slowly into the middle, finished with a drizzle of sticky golden syrup.<\/p>\n<p>For many Hong Kong diners, this variation on French toast is a familiar sight and a staple on menus across many of the city\u2019s <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/video\/hong-kong-authentic\/3326204\/when-east-meets-west-plate-tasty-fusion-hong-kongs-cha-chaan-teng?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">cha chaan teng<\/a>. But don\u2019t expect Cantoast Bakery in London to follow the mould.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cA lot of the time, I get questions from customers,\u201d says Haydon Wong, chef-owner of the pop-up bakery, which specialises in an updated version of the dish. \u201c\u2018What is salted egg?\u2019 or \u2018What is Hong Kong-style French toast?\u2019, which I feel like is the first step in getting people more curious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Cantoast\u2019s signature is made with rectangles of house-made milk bread that is deep-fried and cloaked in flavoured custards, such as pandan coconut, salted egg and black sesame.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Haydon Wong is the co-founder of Cantoast, a bakery in London specialising in Hong Kong-style French toast with a twist. Photo: Cantoast\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/9b3e4208-21e6-4cb7-b365-46ff1fcab729_f76d3248.jpg\" title=\"Haydon Wong is the co-founder of Cantoast, a bakery in London specialising in Hong Kong-style French toast with a twist. Photo: Cantoast\"\/>Haydon Wong is the co-founder of Cantoast, a bakery in London specialising in Hong Kong-style French toast with a twist. Photo: Cantoast<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cantoast\u2019s Hong Kong-style French toast comes cloaked in luxurious toppings such as golden salted egg yolk sauce, pandan coconut and cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e. Photo: Cantoast\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f74d0a6d-e16c-4660-8c9a-cdf9b418efab_2ecdf2ec.jpg\" title=\"Cantoast\u2019s Hong Kong-style French toast comes cloaked in luxurious toppings such as golden salted egg yolk sauce, pandan coconut and cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e. Photo: Cantoast\"\/>Cantoast\u2019s Hong Kong-style French toast comes cloaked in luxurious toppings such as golden salted egg yolk sauce, pandan coconut and cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e. Photo: Cantoast\u201cAt a glance, Cantoast doesn\u2019t resemble the traditional cha chaan teng French toast at all,\u201d says Wong, adding that the philosophy of <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/lifestyle\/food-drink\/article\/3338993\/why-korean-style-cafes-are-proving-so-popular-hong-kongs-coffee-shop-scene?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Korean cafes<\/a> and Japanese bakeries has long inspired him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Imagine this: a thick slab of golden-brown toast, topped with a perfect knob of butter melting slowly into&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[175924,748,249895,249897,393,249892,4884,249896,3749,249893,249890,249891,257,249894,16,15],"class_list":["post-883999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-bao","tag-britain","tag-cantoast","tag-dumpling-shack","tag-england","tag-french-toast","tag-great-britain","tag-haydon-wong","tag-hong-kong","tag-hong-kong-french-toast","tag-hong-kong-style-bakery","tag-hong-kong-style-french-toast","tag-london","tag-natalie-tj","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116378815048747515","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}