I'm always on the lookout for different sugars to use in both cooking and as a sweetener for coffee and tea, and I've long been a fan of La Perruche pure cane sugar lumps (centre). Normally, the sugar sells for about HK$60 for 250 grams, but this limited-edition version, being sold at Great (Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 2918 9986), is a good deal at HK$84.90 for 500 grams - and you get not just the sugar, but a sealable metal tin in which to store it.

The Come In brand of pandan sugar (left) is a convenient product for - what else? - pandan-flavoured sweets. There's even a recipe on the back of the bag for pandan chiffon cake. It's sold at Great for HK$12.90 for a 250 gram bag.

Coconut flower sugar is just what it says it is: sugar made from the sap of flowers from a coconut tree. The sap is cooked until it thickens then, eventually, it caramelises and crystallises. It's hard to detect any coconut notes in the sugar because the caramel flavours are stronger, so it tastes pretty much like other types of palm sugar. I like to dissolve the sugar in water, then use it in Southeast Asian sauces; I've not tried it yet in baking. There is some concern about the impact of coconut sugar on people who depend on coconuts in their daily diet; the flowers that are "tapped" for the syrup won't produce the fruit, which is leading to higher prices for fresh coconut and other coconut products. Stephen James Organics coconut flower sugar (right) is HK$68 for a 350 gram bag at Oliver's (Prince's Building, Central, tel: 2810 7710).