Ube, also known as purple yam, has become increasingly popular across Asia, moving from a familiar Filipino ingredient to a colourful flavour found in cakes, pastries, drinks and plated desserts. In Hong Kong, it is still more niche than matcha or taro, but several restaurants, bakeries and cafés now serve ube treats worth trying.
From Filipino-style desserts and purple yam cakes to ube lattes and seasonal pastries, discover where to satisfy your ube craving in Hong Kong.
Barkada — Central
Barkada brings modern Filipino cooking to Elgin Street through the lens of Jen Balisi, the Filipina-American creator behind Indulgent Eats, together with Singular Concepts.
Ube is one of the strongest dessert and drink threads here, led by the Ube Biko Sundae, made with purple yam sticky rice, coconut gelato and ube coconut sauce. For weekend brunches, Barkada also serves Ube Biko Bumbong, a richer take on purple yam sticky rice with condensed milk, grated coconut, muscovado sugar and Eden cheese. Drinks also lean into the same purple yam flavour, with the Ube Colada mixing ube coconut milk and pineapple juice, while the Ube Coco Cooler keeps things lighter with coconut water and dairy-free ube cold foam.
📍 Where: G/F, 25 Elgin Street, Soho, Central
📞 Contact: +852 2663 0238
🌐 Webpages: Official Website | OpenRice
📱 Social Media: Instagram | Facebook
Holy Gaw — Wan Chai
Chef Marvin Gaw’s Wan Chai restaurant brings Filipino-Italian cooking into a compact, modern neighbourhood setting, shaped by his previous experience in kitchens such as Chino and Carbone. The menu keeps a casual feel while giving Filipino flavours and Italian comfort dishes a contemporary Hong Kong edge.
For ube lovers, Holy Gaw has several purple yam options across dessert and drinks. The Ube Latte is available hot or iced, while the dessert section includes an Ube Ice-cream Sandwich and Ube Basque Cheesecake, giving purple yam both a lighter café-style role and a richer baked-dessert expression.
📍 Where: Shop 4, G/F, 15 Swatow Street, Wan Chai
📞 Contact: +852 2782 3988
🌐 Webpages: OpenRice
📱 Social Media: Instagram | Facebook
Purple Flour Hong Kong — Kwun Tong
Purple Flour Hong Kong is built around Filipino-style baking, with ube at the heart of its breads, cakes and sweet treats. Based in Kwun Tong, it focuses on fluffy breads, moist cakes and rich desserts made with a strong emphasis on flavour and quality.
The ube range includes Ube Pandesal with Ube Halaya, Ube Pandesal with Ube Halaya & Cheese Filling, Ube Pandesal with Cheese Filling, and Ube Pandesal with 55% Dark Semi-Sweet Chocolate Filling. Other purple yam treats include ube cakes, ube loaves, custom cakes and chocolate brownies with purple yam.
📍 Where: Shops 1 & 2, 10/F 93 WYS, 93 Wai Yip Street, Kwun Tong
📞 Contact: +852 6025 1025 | purpleflourhongkong@gmail.com
📱 Social Media: Instagram | Facebook
Solarhands Bakery — Taikoo Shing
Solarhands Bakery started during the pandemic after its founder saw a need for a bakery serving Hong Kong’s Filipino community. Based in Taikoo Shing, it works mainly through online orders, with traditional Filipino baked goods, breads, pastries and cakes baked to order rather than sold from a regular walk-in shop.
Its ube range is broad and includes Ube Macapuno Cake, Ube Macapuno, Ube Macapuno Cupcake, Ube Yema Cake Tub, Ube Cheese Roll, Ube Plain Pandesal, Ube Swirl Ensaymada and Ube Cheese Ensaymada. The selection covers cakes, cupcakes, cake tubs, rolls, pandesal and ensaymada with purple yam.
📍 Where: Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong. Online orders only, no physical store at the moment.
📞 Contact: +852 9793 9174 | solarhandsbakery@gmail.com
🌐 Webpages: Official Website | Order Page
📱 Social Media: Instagram | Facebook
The Cakery — Multiple Locations
The Cakery is known for polished celebration cakes, cupcakes and health-conscious sweets, with several counters across Hong Kong. Its style sits closer to a premium cake shop, with a strong focus on gifting, birthdays and refined takeaway desserts.
For the ube angle, The Cakery focuses on the Ube Lava Tart, a vegan pastry that brings purple yam into a compact dessert format. It combines ube with banana cream and caramel, then finishes the tart with chocolate crumble for extra texture.
📍 Where: IFC Mall, Pacific Place, Harbour City, Wong Chuk Hang (Find Locations)
📞 Contact: +852 2816 1838 or +852 9449 2579
🌐 Webpages: Official Website
📱 Social Media: Instagram | Facebook
More Ube Spots To Check In Hong Kong
Other Hong Kong spots also serve ube treats, including cafés and restaurants with purple yam desserts or drinks. One name to note is LLLL.COFFEEBOX in Yau Ma Tei, which serves an Ube Latte, bringing purple yam into a coffee-shop format.
You can also keep an eye on a few bakeries. Black Market Bakery in Kennedy Town has an ube cake made with purple yam, vanilla and coconut flake frosting, while Vission Bakery has featured seasonal ube pastries such as ube puffs and bakery specials, so it is worth checking their Instagram page for the latest drops.
Header Image Credit: Barkada, Holy Gaw, Purple Flour, Solarhands Bakery, The Cakery