Classic Hong Kong food stores: Hoover Cake Shop, Kowloon City
Bakery has fans all over the city, and owner is keen to pass on his skills
"We easily sell more than 40 trays of egg tarts a day. There's always 36 tarts in each tray. You do the maths," says Ching Git-kau, who has worked at Kowloon City's Hoover Cake Shop for about 30 years.
The bakery was founded in 1975 by Chow Ping-kuan, who started training as a baker when he was 14. He still works every day in a tiny kitchen behind the shop.
The bakery has fans from all over the city. "Everyone from schoolchildren to accountants to movie stars. Chow Yun-fat loves our cakes," says Chow Ping-kuan's wife, who prefers to be identified as Mrs Chow.
She credits the introduction of pandan-flavoured chiffon cake at Hoover to the actor. "He brought one in from Singapore and asked us to replicate it."
Chow's family moved to Canada in the 1980s, but returned four years ago and took over Hoover again.
Chow is afraid that his style of baking will die out and says that if anyone is interested in learning it, he'll give them lessons. "It's not an easy life operating a bakery. Not many people want to do it. The white powder we use is flour, not cocaine. If only it were just as easy to get people addicted,"Mrs Chow says, laughing.