''Yuenyeung'' (, often transliterated according to the

Cantonese language Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic languages, Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River ...

pronunciation ''yuenyeung'', ''yinyeung'', or ''yinyong''; yuānyāng in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

) is a

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

created by mixing

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

with

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

. It originated in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

at '' dai pai dong'' (open-air food vendors) and '' cha chaan teng'' (cafés), but is now available in various types of restaurants. The exact method of creating ''yuenyeung'' varies by vendor and region, but it generally consists of brewed coffee and

black tea Black tea (also literally translated as red tea from various East Asian languages) is a type of tea that is more tea processing, oxidized than oolong, yellow tea, yellow, white tea, white, and green tea, green teas. Black tea is generally st ...

with sugar and milk. According to the Hong Kong

Leisure and Cultural Services Department The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultural ...

, the mixture is three parts

and seven parts Hong Kong–style milk tea. It can be served hot or cold.

Etymology

The name ''yuenyeung'' refers to

mandarin duck The mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata'') is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic – the males are elaborately coloured, while the females have more subdued colours. It is a medium- ...

s (''yuanyang''), which is a symbol of conjugal love in Chinese culture, as the birds usually appear in pairs and the male and female look very different. This same connotation of a "pair" of two unlike items is used to name this drink.

Origin

A '' dai pai dong''–style restaurant in Hong Kong named Lan Fong Yuen () claims that both yuenyeung and silk-stocking milk tea were invented in 1952 by its owner, Lum Muk-ho. Its claim for ''yuenyeung'' is unverified, but that for silk-stocking milk tea is generally supported.

Adoption

In summer 2010,

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

stores in Hong Kong and Macau promoted a frappuccino version of the drink. It was sold as the "Yuen Yeung Frappuccino Blended Cream". The drink is also common in Malaysia, where it is known as ''kopi cham'', from Malay '' kopi'' ("coffee") and

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

''chham'' (攙, 'mixed').

Children's yuenyeung

There is a caffeine-free variant of yuenyeung, called children's yuenyeung (). It is made using Horlicks and Ovaltine,

malted milk Malted milk or malt powder or malted milk powder, is a powder made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and Milk powder, evaporated whole milk powder. The powder is used to add its distinctive flavor to beverages and other foods, but i ...

drink mixes that are common in Hong Kong ''cha chaan tengs'' (cafés).

References

External links