Hui Lau Shan — Restaurant in Cupertino

I rarely give anything less than 3 stars even though this place deserve 1 star but let's just say I only tried once, so give it the benefit of the doubt.

Cons:

I ordered A3, the mango trio. The mango is nothing like Hui Lau Shan made in HK, it's not the same kind of mango from tropics of Asia (呂宋芒), I assume these are from Mexico but you can tell the difference. The smell, the taste. It's also not very ripe. There black glutenous rice is good. Nice texture but because of the ice, it makes the mango taste more sour and not able to enjoy the black glutenous rice as much. The coconut milk probably the best part. The size is very misleading if you think you are getting what the display show, you will be greatly disappointed. May be about 2/3 is what you getting. I was going to say half but you be the judge. After having that dessert, both my wife and I had diarrhea. Very bad stomach ache. Not as bad as food poison but it was very painful. I also ordered C4, the mango crepe. We don't think that's the problem of our diarrhea because my wife didn't have it. Nonetheless, it was another disappointment. I went to another dessert place which offer the same dessert and it was so much tastier, the mango taste much sweeter and flavorful. That's how I know they didn't use the right mangoes. The crepe doesn't taste very good neither compared to the one we had at the other dessert store, may be not enough butter in the batter.

Pros:

Well, it's a taste of HK if you missed HK, it's a nice experience as long as you don't have diarrhea. 😅

The wait is brutal though, it's got nothing to do with the food but honestly, I won't be coming back cause I doubt any improvement will make an impact unless they change the kind of...

Hui Lau Shan is a chain of dessert stores with a mango-forward menu. My personal favorites are their jumbo pomelo and mango with sago, and their jumbo mango chewy ball. Of note, the chewy balls are small tang yuan / mochi balls that add a great bite to the dessert, and we always add an order of extra chewy balls (they're really that good). Both desserts are packed full of mango flavor with actual mango chunks mixed in, a perfect treat for any mango-lover.

They offer their signature mango desserts year-round; however, I would keep in mind that mangos are seasonal fruits (May to September). If you're ordering off-season the mangos might not be as sweet and tender as they normally would be. From personal experience, I placed a couple orders in the winter months (what can I say, I still wanted my mango fix) and found the mangos to be somewhat unripe and sour to taste.

Another one caveat I'll mention is the incredibly long wait times (and I'm talking about 1hr+ waits) you may encounter. I'm not the biggest fan of waiting in line just to order (much less receive my food, and really who is), but personally I find the wait worthwhile given the quality and taste of their desserts alone.

If you're a fan of mango, then I can almost guarantee that you'll fall in love with Hui Lau Shan and their...

Had the mango chewy ball, and coconut jelly with mango. Both were good. Funnily enough, the chewy balls in Mango chewy ball were not great so we left them out when we tried the Coconut jelly with mango (pudding). If I lived here, I'd probably go A LOT. I don't like sugary desserts, and I get why there are so many lean, pretty young ladies lined up here. So worth it for the taste and how light it is. I went on a Friday but it wasn't too much of a wait. Maybe the hype died down?? Either way, I didn't think I'd like it, but it's yummy as heck. For the price, the portions aren't absurd. The mango pieces were fine, but the purée (idk what you call it) had a chalky aftertaste which comes from unripe mangoes. I really love mangoes though so it didn't bother me nor the people I was there with. Most customers were getting a few desserts in a group and sharing, and I can see why. It's surprisingly filling, mostly because the taste is satisfying enough that you're pleasantly happy and content after eating a few spoonfuls. Feels like how dessert should actually be enjoyed (several small bites shared with...