Hui Lau Shan — Restaurant in Austin

I have been wanting to try out this place since I heard it opened. So happy to know it was next door to where we were having lunch so we hopped on over after lunch. It was busy but no lines. The menu was slightly complicated because we had many that couldn't do dairy in the group and many who have not been here nor tried anything remotely close to the items listed. We took our time but a line was forming so we had to be quick. We called the worker behind the counter and she was nice and helpful telling us there are essentially 4 desserts that are dairy free. The rest has milk. Oh well busting out the lactose pills lol

We ordered, 3 drinks all dairy free. The mango passion fruit and passion fruit green tea. Not sure they liked it. They said it was to thick and the passionfruit seeds were hard to not swallow. And the goo gel clumped in the bottom making it hard to drink.

Another person also ordered their mango special that had a little mix of everything. Idk if they thought we said to go but everything was packaged so cutely. The ice cream was ok. The goo clump again was unique and odd lol reminded me of snot. The mochi was mochi.

I got the rice balls and taro in milk. It tasted like coconut milk. I wonder if it was because in that case it's really not dairy. I am a big rice balls fan and make my own. I was disappointed because the rice balls weren't soft. How can they make that wrong? It was edible just not gooey soft like I like it. The taro too was good but couple were not done and in huge chunks and too hard. The sago in milk was good but everything is just so small. For the price it felt too small.

All our deserts costed nearly $50 and that's because the payee accidentally pressed 18% tip. That seemed way too high a tip since they just pretty much brought out or dished out the desserts not sure if they were the ones making them all in the back by hand.

Anyways I am glad I tried and wish I can give them more stars. But felt the price didn't justify the product at least what we ordered and had. No one raved about it and it's really just mango and cheap rice balls. The mochi and ice cream wasn't anything too too special and can be bought elsewhere.

The whole place is cute but small and quaint. Not too much seating especially if it got packed. They have lemon water if you got thirsty which I appreciated.

So I was slightly disappointed with the entire experience because I really wanted to like it. The price point is a tad high to justify I believe....

I grew up in Hong Kong, so I was extremely excited to see a hk dessert shop open up in Austin. I went around 7pm on a weekday evening and there was a line trailing out the door. I wanted to get the mango pancake but of course it was already sold out by the time I got to the counter, so definitely come early if there's a particular treat you want. The interior is clean and modern and finished well but the A/C could be stronger. There were minimal seating so many people end up sitting outside. Parking wise: The garage is free as long as you are there for less than I think two hours.

I got the mango mochi, the mango trio and the mango coconut sago drink. It all came in a cute little plastic bag with mango cartoons on it, very hk style. The mango trio was delicious with the glutinous red sticky rice. It tasted similar to the mango coconut sago drink but better because it has more depth from the rice. The coconut sago was good and refreshing, but really not very sweet. It did actually taste a little diluted as some others have mentioned. The mango mochi was wonderfully chewy with a piece of fresh mango in the middle.

Overall verdict: 4.2/5. The presentation, cute interior, and the refreshing desserts are a welcome addition especially to this Texas heat. Will be back for the mango pancake and other desserts.

Update: I visited Hui Lau Shan yesterday on a Thursday evening and there is no longer a line, which was nice. There were many mango pancakes available as the owner mentiomed! The young man taking my order was very helpful. However, I had ordered two drinks, which i got, but instead of the mango mochi I ordered, I was given someone else's order, which was disappointing. An unfortunate accident, I should have checked before leaving. Despite the mishap everything was excellent, and I can definitely see myself...

Growing up in Hong Kong, boba wasn't king. Mango was king. And my favorite two places were Hui Lau Shan and Honeymoon Dessert. Honeymoon dessert was for after dinner in the mall. Hui Lau Shan was my go-to for hanging out with friends, wandering around with a mango drink while street shopping, cooling off in the summer.

Fast forward to COVID and all the Hui Lau Shan stores closed down in HK, so imagine my delight when I saw this was opening up in Austin.

But you aren't here for the backstory. You just wanna know if it's good. And yes, yes it is! The desserts are mango with fresh mango and have that deep mango flavor.

I got the mango & coconut sago drink, which was my go to. It was great! The mango is perhaps a little less good than in HK, but that's honestly an impossible bar here in the US. But the mango chunks in my drink were perfectly ripe and sweet. I wonder how they will maintain that throughout the year. My only complaint is that the drink seems to be quite a bit colder here than what I had in HK. Normally I love cold but the problem is that it makes the sago harden up after a few minutes, affecting texture. So maybe don't mix the drink fully and mix in the sago only as you are about to drink it? Tbf, I've noticed this issue in other mango dessert shops in the US.

I also got the durian black glutinous rice (opted for the cold version). Loved this too! The rice was perfectly "not too sweet" and I was very happy with how much durian there was (you can't see in the picture well -- what's showing is just the tip). Durian was creamy, sweet and delicious, for those who enjoy durian.

I went on the busy soft launch day. Impressed with how the workers were...