Bella S.
Yelp
A decent Hong Kong cafe with decent prices. As soon as you walk in, you get that nostalgic HK food/cafe smell. The interior is decorated with neon lights and Hong Kong city/street names. What was cool was their table decor with mahjong pieces underneath the glass - quite a nifty idea.
As for service, it's pretty much the "Asian" way - they care more about speed and efficiency, so don't come here expecting the American-style pampering service. I overheard a non-Asian couple at the table nearby complaining about how "these Asians are not trained in hospitality service." That's the normal service for the culture. They will come, take your order (by memory, which amazed me), deliver your food and come again at the end to give you your check when you are ready. There's no "checking in" to see how you are doing, though, you can always flag them down if you need anything.
They have the regular menu as well as their "afternoon tea" menu. The "afternoon tea" menu is dine-in only and served daily (including weekends) from 3-5pm. Items on this menu are limited, but the prices are a steal deal and it's served with your choice of beverage (coffee, HK style milk tea, coffee milk tea, Chinese Tea, lemon tea or red bean ice).
As for food...
1. HK Style Pineapple Bun with butter (5/5)
Each order comes with 2 pineapple bun, which is soooo worth the $4.99. The top of the pineapple bun was perfectly crisp and has a slight orange peel flavor to it, while the inside is pillowy soft. It's sliced in half and stuffed with a decent size butter, which has a unique flavor that's milky, yet slightly salted. Definitely worth the carb splurge when you come here.
2. Butter/condensed Milk Toast (4/5)
Well toasted 2 slices of bread that's lathered with a generous amount of butter and condensed milk. It's crispy, yet buttery and sweet from the condensed milk. *This is a "afternoon tea" menu item*
3. House Special Pork Spare Ribs (3.5/5):
The pork was cooked well and was relatively tender. It actually tasted exactly like Char siu but with the bone in. It has a sweetness to it like you would get from Char siu due to the sauce combination used (usually honey, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder, and fermented bean curd). It's a bit on the dryer side, but at least it's easy to separate the meat from the bone.
4. Egg Tofu Clay Pot Casserole (5/5):
This was my favorite dish. The egg tofu was crispy on the outside and creamy soft on the inside. It's really not "eggy" at all despite the name. It's sautéed with a whole lot of white onion, which gives it a nice fragrance. The sauce is slightly sweet, yet savory. Overall, highly recommend getting this if you like tofu.
5. Macanese Fried Drum Stick over Rice (4/5)
This is a big slab of Macau-style fried chicken chop (not so much drum stick - kinda misleading name) that's topped off with curry sauce and served with a side of curry-flavored fried rice. The chicken had a very nice crispy skin, but the inside meat was a bit dry, so relied heavily on the curry sauce to make it palatable. I especially liked the curry rice though. It was flavored very well and topped with thinly sliced egg and ham. Be warn though - if you are prone to getting heartburn/acid reflux, you may not want to order this dish as it can induce heartburn due to the curry.
6. French Toast Stuffed with Milk and Ovaltine (3/5)
This reminded me of eating the Taiwanese coffin bread where they take a thick slice of toast and cut the middle open and fill it with toppings, which in this case, it's milk. Then they top it off with a layer of ovaltine powder. Unique concept, but flavor wise, it's nothing special. It just tasted like milk and bread; you can't taste any ovaltine (chocolate flavor).