M Star Cafe
Chinese restaurant · Chinatown ·
Traditional HK cafe: noodles, congee, milk tea, sandwiches
Traditional HK cafe: noodles, congee, milk tea, sandwiches
"M Star is one of a new crop of Hong Kong-style cafes to open in NYC. As with the cuisine of New York City, the menu incorporates global influences. What that means in practice is lots of noodles, egg breakfasts, Spam, hot dogs, fish balls and beef balls, and plenty of other casual food skewed toward breakfast." - Eater Staff
"Many of the spots on this list are part of a new, flashier wave of cha chaan tengs, where the food is just as social media friendly as it is tasty. But when we just want a basic breakfast set, we head to this old-school cafe on Division Street in Chinatown. They’re available until 11am, and cost $7.75 for a couple dishes and a milk tea or coffee. Our go-to is Set C, which comes with buttered toast and macaroni and ham. Getting a table can be tricky during peak hours, but they have a quick turnover." - neha talreja, will hartman
"Breakfast is the move at this old-school, Hong Kong-style cafe on Division Street in Chinatown. They’re open until 6pm with everything from dim sum and congee to instant noodles, but get there before 11am to grab a breakfast set for $7.75. Each one comes with two or three solid breakfast staples, served on paper plates, and a milk tea or coffee. It can get crowded during peak hours, but it’s well worth it to squeeze into the first stray seat you find. The walls are covered in drawings of Hong Kong celebrity caricatures, old photographs, and hand-written specials on colored construction paper, the chairs are neon green, and the menus live under a thick layer of plastic on the tables. Food Rundown Breakfast Special C Our go-to breakfast order. This comes with a salty macaroni and ham soup, and buttered toast." - Neha Talreja
"The new Hong Kong–style cafes on the Lower East Side offer old-fashioned, human-sized sandwiches, and at this spot egg is scrambled with corned beef — salty and delicious — with the milk-bread crusts cut off just like your parents might have done." - Robert Sietsema
"At M. Star (also styled "Em Star") on Division Street I found a less bare-bones space with a colorful mural depicting a map of Hong Kong and its environs and a bill of fare far longer than S Wan's — toasts, sandwiches, breakfast specials, bubble tea, baked rice or spaghetti dishes, dim sum, congees, and noodle soups with a choice of nine noodles. I ordered a corned beef-and-egg sandwich ($4) on bread with the crusts excised, which was really quite wonderful, and one of the place's signature cart noodles: broad rice noodles in a stew ($9.25) with a hot dog, fish balls, pickled daikon, and satay beef. The satay beef, spicy and peanutty, added real flavor and heat to the broth and sent me back to the D train with my mouth on fire." - Robert Sietsema