Although Chinese cuisines aren't known for desserts, there are some great sweet dishes that originated in the south of China. In the 1950s and 1960s, when Hong Kong's agricultural industry was just taking off, the island territory was importing a lot of evaporated milk as a stable dairy source, along with other canned products. In later years, as Hong Kong quickly modernized, canned products went from necessities to nostalgic cultural mainstays. Even today, with such a wide variety of homegrown food and rare imported products available, Hong Kongers still love their Spam, Horlicks, and Ovaltine.

A favorite dessert that was born from the long standing HK love affair with canned products is mango pudding.  It's cold, creamy, yet very light, with the intense flavor and aroma of fragrant ripe mangoes. Think of it as a Chinese panna cotta. These days, many places in HK and the US alike get creative and use other tropical fruits, making interesting concoctions such as passion fruit pudding, lychee pudding, and even durian pudding (tolerable for up to two bites).However Mango is still the original and the best in the eyes of many.

At home, mango pudding is a doddle to make as long as you have a blender or food processor (plus the patience to wait 2 hrs for it to chill)

In Hong Kong, chilled mango pudding is the perfect dessert in the subtropical climate, especially in the summer. And because the inside of my apartment feels pretty insane right now too, this the only thing I can think of eating for dessert other than plain fruit and ice cream from the store. When you make this dessert, just be sure to use ripe mangoes, as they will be much sweeter and juicier than unripe mangoes.