Where to find the best hot chocolate in Hong Kong

Located at the very western end of Gough Street, this bean-to-bar craft chocolate workshop is the perfect pit stop on your stroll through Sheung Wan. There’s no seating, except for a bench outside because most of the store’s floor space is taken up by the equipment needed to make solid and drinking chocolate entirely from scratch. Choose from 78% ($40) or 100% hot chocolate ($50), or a housemade hot chocolate drink ($50) available in the flavours fleur de sel (sea salt), Earl Grey, fresh mint, and ginger. Crack the door open to make your order and people-watch outside for the five minutes it takes to prepare. The railing adjacent to the store overlooks a mesmerising slice of busy Sheung Wan, and the frothy, intense, almost savoury hot chocolate is well worth the wait.

Opendoor Cafe + Courtyard is a quiet spot on Connaught Road West in Sai Ying Pun that’s perfect if you want to have your hot chocolate outside. Opendoor exudes a friendly vibe and the baristas are happy to make your drink with coconut milk, unsweetened almond milk, organic soy milk, or drizzle homemade syrups in flavours such as mint, ginger, and cinnamon. Pick a sunny day and order their homemade dark chocolate ($42) to enjoy in the eponymous courtyard behind the store. Although if it’s a truly beautiful day outside, you may want to bring your drink down the street to sip in Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park.

Easy Joe in Tai Kok Tsui, near Mong Kok, serves the hot chocolate of your childhood dreams ($48), perfect if you’re looking for a drink that’s satisfying without being too complex. It’s smooth and thick enough to compete with some of the other entries on this list but notably milky and sweet: think melted chocolate ice cream. If the ice cream comparison is really speaking to you, check out the fan favourite iced chocolate ($48), the same drink served bottled and chilled.

Sipping chocolate, or drinking chocolate, as opposed to hot chocolate, is a drink that borders on being a dessert. A form of drinkable chocolate with a long history, it’s made with real chocolate melted into milk instead of cocoa powder, and tends to be less sweet and very thick. Habitu serves an exemplary version: the original cioccolata ($50) because chocolate just sounds more indulgent in Italian. Take your time with this one.

The first thing most visitors notice when they walk into this French cafe tends to be a fresh baguette or a luminescent La Boule Cerise, but Passion also serves a hidden gem that you won’t find in the pastry display. Their signature drink, the Chocolat Chaud ‘Passion’ ($34), is made for sipping alongside a warm slice of bread. The drink is made from Valrhona chocolate and is rich enough that you’ll find the small serving size just right. Each cup is topped with a thin sheet of chocolate and accompanied by a raspberry to cut through the richness. For something mellower, go for their hot chocolate milk ($35).

Luxury French chocolatier La Maison du Chocolat is a reliable source for all upmarket chocolate-based goods, but there’s no reason to limit your visits to gift-shopping trips. La Maison is also a great place to sit down and drink hot chocolate. Order the Guayaquil ($60) for a vanilla-infused dark chocolate drink or the Caracas ($60) for a balanced, 60% hot chocolate. Both drinks are smooth and intense without being overpowering.

Brunch Club in SoHo is a great place to spend an afternoon. It has a patio in the back, bookshelves lining the walls, just the right amount of sunlight streaming in through the windows, and as it turns out, a quality hot chocolate selection too. Made from Belgian chocolate melted into hot milk and crowned with whipped cream, Brunch Club’s hot chocolate is available plain ($40) or topped with bananas & cream, strawberries & cream, marshmallows, cinnamon & cream, or caramel, chopped almonds & cream (all $46). Grab a book and get ready to linger (but be respectful of their weekday lunchtime rush!)

In recognition of those freakishly hot winter days that are just a part of Hong Kong’s climate, we’re rounding out this list with our top iced chocolate recommendation. Hazel & Hershey, perched way up on the quiet part of Peel Street, is beloved for its expert-made coffee and tranquil outdoor seats. Though the hot chocolate ($40) is a solid bet, Hazel & Hershey is an elusive master of cold milk foam, and all its iced drinks, from white coffee to chocolate ($50) are topped with a good inch of thick, frothy foam that is somehow as saturated with flavour as the rest of the drink. This drink has a slightly bitter edge and combines light texture with heavy flavour.