Wing Lok Yuen is a popular cha chaan teng in Hong Kong’s Central district, specialising in localised Western fast food for almost 50 years. The cafe is particularly well-known for its hotdog bun, which consists of two petite pork-and-chicken franks wedged between a bun. It sounds pretty nondescript, except Wing Lok Yuen’s regulars swear by the proprietary creamy, tangy “yellow sauce” with chopped pickles that’s draped over the hotdogs instead of ketchup and mustard.

The cha chaan teng apparently guards its recipe for the addictive yellow sauce closely, but you can soon try an inspired version of the hotdog bun and sauce in Singapore. Local cha chaan teng chain Joy Luck Teahouse is offering a HK Twin Sausage Bun ($3.20) from Nov 3 that’s, er, modelled after Wing Lok Yuen’s famous dish.

While Joy Luck Teahouse had brought food by popular HK brands like bolo buns and milk tea from Kam Kee Cafe, egg tarts from Hoover Bakery and curry fishballs from HK fishball maker Tak Hing, Wing Lok Yuen is not officially partnering the cha chaan teng to sell its hotdog bun here.

Wing Lok Yuen's hotdog bun.

JLT’s owner, former TVB producer Robert Chua, worked with his kitchen team for two months to reverse engineer the sauce, which is made with butter, eggs, vinegar, mustard and pickles. The sauce is then added to steamed hotdog buns (you can request for it to be lightly toasted) with two slim locally-made chicken dawgs.

We have never tried Wing Lok Yuen’s famed hotdog bun, though we are intrigued by the rave online reviews for what is essentially a very simple snack. Since we can’t fly to Hong Kong, we sample Joy Luck Teahouse’s version instead.

Instead of an Ikea hotdog-sized frank in a hotdog bun, you get two small chicken hotdogs tucked between a soft, fluffy bun. The chicken franks have a good snap to them, but what ramps up the shiok level is the house-made mustard-y yellow sauce, which is thick, goopy and piquant with bits of crunchy chopped pickles and cocktail onions. Definitely a lot tastier than your standard ketchup-and-mustard combo. But you’ll have to shell out $3.20 for the pricey pleasure of savouring this special sauce lah.

Available from Nov 3 at Joy Luck Teahouse’s eight outlets islandwide including #B4-61 Ion Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, S238801. Open daily 9am-10pm.