I’ve blogged about Phoenix Restaurant before and they are still one of our favourite Hong Kong cafes. Since moving to Richmond Hill, we’re closer to their Bayview location and have picked up takeout a few times during the past year. Basically whenever we’re craving Hainanese chicken.

Ordering: The first time we ordered, I called the restaurant to place my order and referenced their menu online. Since then, Phoenix has set up an online ordering system that serves 3 of their 4 locations for pick up orders. They are also available on delivery apps like Uber Eats, Doordash and Asian apps like CMEOW and F.O.D. Considering their extensive menu, the online ordering tool had lots of photos available and sections for combos similar to the dine-in menu.

Pickup: Parking was plentiful at the Bayview location, although sometimes busy, shared with other restaurants and retailers in the same plaza. While dine in was closed, the restaurant had created a one way route for pickup from one door of the entrance to the other. The area was fully enclosed with plexiglass and there were only a few employees on site. I’m not sure how the layout has changed with dine in open again, however the experience felt very safe the times we’ve visited.

Food: My usual order at Phoenix is the Yunnan Noodle Soup with ho fan noodles, while Stephen gets the Hainanese Chicken (that we share). Our first time getting those dishes for takeout though, I found the fish broth was extra fishy and the noodles didn’t quite hold up in transport even packed separately. The Hainanese chicken was still delicious, tender and flavourful with the perfect fragrant rice. Instead of my noodles, we decided to try the Beef Brisket Malaysian Curry with a side of roti. The brisket was well cooked, had a good chew but still soft, and the curry was rich with just a touch of heat.

The malaysian curry came with a side of rice but the roti was a great upgrade, flakey and soft. Neither of the dishes we ordered were available for a drink combo at the time, which was a bummer as their Hong Kong milk tea is always a treat. While at first glance, the portion of curry looked small, there was plenty of sauce and we had even enough leftovers for another meal.

Overall picking up takeout from Phoenix was a convenient and tasty experience, remaining our go to spot for Hainanese chicken.

Cha Kee has been on my list of restaurants to try since their Richmond Hill location opened last year, but the tales of long lines always deterred us from visiting. With a new wave of restrictions and lockdowns rolling over Ontario, ordering takeout has become an attractive alternative.

Ordering: As always, I look for a way to order directly from the restaurant and Cha Kee has an online ordering system set up on their website! The interface is simple and easy to use. The default language for me is Chinese, there’s a language option in the menu. All the menu items (except french fries) had a photo and the usual customization options when adding to cart (ie. rice or noodles). The majority of the menu items also include a free drink, so don’t forget to add that to your cart separately. During checkout, there’s the ability to select whether to pick up ASAP with a time estimate or to schedule a later time on the same day. There is an option to pay online or at the store with a 10% discount for cash payment at the store.

Pickup: We picked up this order when indoor dining was still open in York region, so half of the tables inside were occupied. A portion of the dining space had been converted to service pick up orders only and Stephen was in and out. Being a small restaurant, there is only one entrance and not enough space to create a one way racetrack. We paid online, which made the pickup process faster with minimal contact.

Food: We were cautioned by Cha Kee regulars not to order anything fried for takeout as it may not stay crispy during the drive home. With that in mind, we decided on the Curry Beef Brisket with rice and Baked Pork Chop, Portugese Style with rice. One thing I’ve really missed about going to Hong Kong cafes is the milk tea and Cha Kee’s hit the spot. As for our mains, Stephen and I both preferred the pork chop, while Alivia ate a ton of the brisket. The pork chop was tender and cheesy, the sauce was delicious and I really enjoyed the seasoned rice underneath. As for the brisket, I liked that it was mild enough for Alivia’s tastebuds and the meat was quite tender. The texture of the rice was a bit on the mushy side, too soft for my preference and the potato was lacklustre.

Portions for both dishes were large and we had enough leftovers for a whole other meal. I would love to try their Crispy Chicken and all the gooey egg dishes one day.

Overall, our experience at Cha Kee was a moderate success. Stephen’s been inspired to recreate their Portugese Pork Chop at home and I’m looking forward to tasting more of their menu items dine-in post pandemic.

I have a soft spot of Hong Kong cafes, especially macaroni with spam. For me, the simple bowl of noodles and broth is quintessential comfort food. This meant that even though we went to Cafe Hollywood for their chicken wings, I couldn’t resist the $5.99 All Day Breakfast.

Atmosphere: The restaurant decor was true to theme with life-size Oscar statues and framed movie posters covering the walls. I was reminded of Hard Rock Cafe. Compared to other Hong Kong cafes, the interior was more modern and thoughtful, but the furniture was beginning to show age.

Service: Most Hong Kong cafes offer minimum but very efficient service and my expectations are quite low. Cafe Hollywood did not even meet the low bar. Service was disorganized. Each server was responsible for every task from clearing tables to taking orders, which is a normal setup, but this translated to servers being distracted by tasks without any system of prioritization. We waited to be seated, even though several tables were empty. It was also difficult to get anyone’s attention.

Food: Despite the less than stellar service, I really liked the food. Since I couldn’t resist breakfast, The Hubby and I split a bowl of Macaroni topped with two slices of Luncheon Meat, which came with a bun, two eggs and a slice of deli ham. I asked for my eggs sunny side up, and they were a touch undercooked. The bowl was filled with noodles and had a good amount of corn, peas and carrots as well. The texture of the macaroni was on the softer side, perfect for the dish, and the broth was lightly seasoned without being salty.

The main reason we visited Cafe Hollywood was for their happy hour wing special, 20 pcs for just $16.99 from 1pm to closing. We ordered one basket HK Style, a simple salt and pepper and another Pepper Chilli. Each basket comes with fries and a bowl of thick brown gravy. The wings were lightly battered, crispy and not oily. The seasoning was flavorful, not overpowering, and each wing was juicy inside. Really good. With the pepper chilli, the topping was a lot of minced garlic with black pepper, so order only if you’re ok with having strong garlic breath after.

Overall, the wings at Cafe Hollywood redeemed the meal. I’ll be back, but my heart still belongs to Phoenix.

Tai Wing Wah is known for their pork lard rice, shallow clay pots of steamed rice seasoned with soy sauce and lard, drippings from roast pork. This was one dish that The Hubby raved about and one of his late grandmother’s favourite restaurants. We stopped by for a family meal with our parents, his aunt and my cousins, a full table. The top of table was equally full of dishes, to the point where our server was stacking plates on top of each other to fit everything in.

With coconut soup, roast goose, bbq duck, oyster omelette, squid and fish, pretty much every farm (and sea) animal was present. The stand out dish of dinner though, was of course the pork lard rice. Steamed in a shallow clay pot, each grain of rice had the perfect texture and could be individually picked out. Along with the pots of rice, two bottles were passed around the table, one of premium soy sauce and the other filled with pure, golden lard. Each person could customize their rice but the key was to forget about calories, healthy decisions and balance the ratio of soy sauce to lard, adjusting along the way. Only a small amount of lard was needed, a tbsp or two, to coat the grains of rice with savoury, meaty goodness. The soy sauce provided also had a deep, rich flavour with a touch of sweetness.

After the mountain of dishes dinner ended with steamers of Ma Lai cake, a Chinese steamed sponge cake. The thick, fluffy slices of cake were moist and light.

With that, this is my last post for Hong Kong! After four days filled with seafood, dim sum, mango slushies and egg tarts, my pants were snugger. At this point, The Hubby and I bid adieu to our family and set off on the real “honeymoon” portion of our trip. First stop, Bali.

To me, travelling is all about new experiences and creating memories, often with my tastebuds and stomach. When I first visited Hong Kong in 2009, I had never eaten pigeon before. We feasted on the unique fowl twice during that trip and after returning home, I started noticing the bird all over menus in Toronto (although often listed as squab). Personally, I’m not sold on the bird but my affection is growing. Pidgeon is very fatty, and the meat gamey. For The Hubby though, no trip to Hong Kong would be complete without a visit to Lung Wah Hotel in Shatin and one of their famous roast pidgeons.

Located on a hill in Sha Tin, Lung Wah Hotel was built in 1938 and can be a challenge to find. I remember on our first visit, I melted in the sun and we had to ask for directions multiple times before The Hubby recognized the stairway up to the restaurant. On this trip, we had his aunts to guide the way.

Being an older restaurant, the dining room was dated but clean and filled with large round tables. I’ve read reviews that service ranges from spotty to downright neglectful, but with a language barrier and aunts who were not shy, I didn’t notice any issues. As soon as our table was full, we placed our order for roast pigeons.

Served head on, the plate of pigeons arrived along with disposable gloves, this was a eat with your hands kind of meal. The pigeons come whole, or cut into quarters. While the birds aren’t large, they are heavy and I would recommend half a pigeon for those with smaller appetities. In comparison, The Hubby can happily polish off one and a half himself. The skin was crispy and the meat dark and tender. One thing pigeon has chicken beat on is flavour, gamey and in no need of sauce or heavy seasoning.

To round out our meal, we also had spicy calms, steamed tofu, salt and pepper crystal pigeon eggs and a few others I missed snapping. All of the dishes were good but the real draw of Lung Wah Hotel was hand down, the pigeons.

Offal may not be for the faint of heart but it is considered a delicacy in most Asian cuisines. For me, I love the different textures of each organ and their savoury flavour. In Hong Kong, Beef Offal noodles is a classic street dish. Whenever The Hubby visited his grandparents in Hong Kong, they brought him to eat at Hop Hing Noodle Ka in Kwun Tong.

Since The Hubby’s last visit, Hop Hing Noodle Ka had moved from their original street location to a larger, cleaner space. The original hole-in-the-wall restaurant spilled out into the street and diners slurped up hot noodles in the Hong Kong heat. The new space was still cramped with tables and mismatched stools but there was air conditioning, a major upgrade.

The Hubby and I both ordered the beef offal noodles while his parents ordered a bowl of just the offal. Our bowls came with lung, tripe, spleen, and miscellaneous other organs (o_o), in a savoury beef broth with fat rice noodles. Each piece of meat was savoury, unique and a great chewy but soft consistency. I was also amazed with the portions. Usually in Toronto, an order of offal at dim sum was a small bowl, with no guarantee of what would be scooped up. Hop Hing Noodle Ka layered on the pieces. For those less adventurous, Hop Hing Noodle Ka also offers up beef brisket, wonton and fish ball noodles. I would still highly recommend trying offal, or at least splitting a bowl, paired with a plate of Ong Choy (Kong Xin Cai, 空心菜 or water spinach) covered in a sauce of fermented tofu.

For our short stay in Hong Kong this summer, most of the planning was done by The Hubby’s relatives. We listed activities and meals we were interested in and they worked out an itinerary to fit it all in. Many of the restaurants we visited were The Hubby’s childhood favourites. One Hong Kong experience he always loved was squid fishing. After we graduated university, a group of our friends travelled around Asia for two months. During this trip The Hubby brought us all to Sai Kung port to try our luck at the nighttime activity. I thought the experience was so unique and fun that I wanted to share it with my family, who were visiting Hong Kong for their first time.

At dusk, we all climbed aboard a wooden fishing boat and venture out into the ocean. Bright spotlights were turned on, flooding the waters next to our boat and attracting the squid. We cast into the ocean using only fishing line, hooks and luck (there was no skill in my fishing technique). After about an hour or two of fishing, or when everyone gave up, the captain cleaned and fried up all the squid we caught right there on the boat to be eaten fresh. Luckily, while we weren’t too successful with fishing, the boat crew were much better and filled our squid bucket.

Since squid fishing does take place at night, before all of the excitement was a perfect opportunity to feast on fresh seafood at the port. Several restaurant operate in Sai Kung and all have large fish tanks outside displaying their wares. Our group enjoyed a feast at Chuen Kee Seafood that filled us up in case we were skunked. I would however recommend eating a lighter meal before squid fishing if you suffer from motion sickness. When parked, our little boat did rock and forth strongly on the water.

Our seafood dinner included boiled shrimp, breaded, fried octopus, abalone, lobster noodles, spice seasoned mantis shrimp and steamed crabs with cooking wine. This was my first time eating mantis shrimp and while it was difficult to get the meat out of the shell, it was worth it (especially as The Hubby helped me). The meat was tender and had a similar texture to lobster. Speaking of lobster, those noodles drenched in lobster sauce was exquisite. I kept going back for more. Both the octopus and abalone were soft and tender.

The freshness and quality of the seafood at Chuen Kee would be hard to beat. Each dish was cooked from live seafood and mildly flavoured, to enhance each ingredient’s natural taste without masking it. A seafood meal in Hong Kong is really a must.

Dim Sum in Hong Kong is as ubiquitous as burgers in North American. One difference would be the breadth in quality and calibre of restaurants, there are hole-in-walls serving some of the best traditional dim sum in the city, to 5 star hotel restaurants exploring the definition a shrimp dumpling. Tim Ho wan falls closer to the former and is often lauded as the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world. Dishes range in price from $2.75 CAD to $4.50 (less than some dim sum places in Toronto!).

The original Mongkok location opened in 2009 and earned their one Michelin star the year after. With only 20-30 seats, locals and tourists alike would line up outside in the Hong Kong heat for hours. Today, there are multiple branches of Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong (including one indoors at IFC Mall, which makes lining up more comfortable) and they are expanding throughout Asia.

I visited the Sham Shui Po location this summer with The Hubby and his family while we were in Hong Kong. Since the original Mongkok location closed, this is now “the” Tim Ho Wan to visit. We arrived 15 minutes before the restaurant opened on a Wednesday morning and lucky enough to get a table in the first seating.

Compared to my experiences at other one Michelin star restaurants, I found Tim Ho Wan underwhelming in terms of service and atmosphere. The small, unassuming shop was efficient and tidy but didn’t have any aspects that stood out from other dim sum shops or restaurants. Servers hustled around the shop and lone diners were directed to shared tables. The acclaim and draw must be for the food?

We handed in our order sheet, which included dim sum classics like shrimp dumplings (har gow), shrimp rice roll, sticky rice, turnip cake, siew mai and the famous baked bbq buns. Dishes began to arrive quickly and our table was soon filled with plates and steamers. As I bit into juicy dumplings and spooned up sticky rice, I was enjoying the meal but confused. Each dish was consistently good and excellently crafted but nothing was wow-ing, that was until the plate of baked cha siu buns arrived.

Each order came with 3 buns and I would highly recommend ordering enough for each person to enjoy their own. After the five of us split one plate, we quickly ordered a second. These buns were pretty spectacular. Each bun was filled with saucey bbq pork and topped with a mixture of butter, flour, egg and sugar before being baked. This resulted in a crumbly topping, similar to a pineapple bun. Each bite was sweet and savoury.

While Tim Ho Wan may not warrant a 2 hour wait, 30 minutes would be worthwhile. The price was affordable for even the most budget-conscious traveller and the dim sum, while no frills, was authentic and tasty. If stopping by the Sham Shui Po location, I would recommend going early, otherwise, if it’s summer, the IFC Mall location in Central would be the most comfortable to queue up for. Menus and order sheets were available in Chinese and English.

Kitchen M is a Hong Kong style cafe on the corner of Highway 7 and McCowan that opened at the end of 2014. While in the neighbourhood running errands, I was debating whether or not to skip lunch when we drove by Kitchen M. Figuring I could order something light while The Hubby ate a full meal, we pulled into the parking lot.

Atmosphere: Walls of the restaurant were covered with printed posters advertising menu specials. At 2pm, we didn’t have to wait for a table and Kitchen M was less hectic than other Hong Kong style cafes in the area. The location used to be a Japanese restaurant and the dining room was fairly large.

Service: Service was fine, not bad, not exceptional, but perfectly acceptable. We were shown to a table and handed menus. The Hubby decided on his usual lunch combo and I was enticed by a wall poster to order a full bowl of noodles. The house special noodle wasn’t on the menu and I had to point to the sign when ordering.

Food: Overall, I thought lunch at Kitchen M was fine, from all aspects. Again, not bad but also not amazing. We ordered two hot Hong Kong milk teas that were good. The tea had a strong flavour and was milky. Our entrees though were meh to disappointing.

With the Hainanese chicken, the rice had the right flavour but the kernels were soft and mushy. There was no side bowl of stock, so I assume the rice was served with the stock pre-mixed in, which could have caused the sogginess. The chicken itself was ok. My house noodle soup consisted of round rice noodles in fish broth, topped with various fish balls and tofu puffs. Positives of the dish, there was a generous amount of toppings and the noodles were cooked to a soft but chewy consistency. Negatives, the broth. First, I found the broth under seasoned and second, there was a strong, distinct fishy flavour. Even with spoonfuls of chili oil, the broth was overpowering. I am a big fan of fish flavour and fish broth (I eat the fish skin for myself and The Hubby) but this bowl had no depth of flavour, richness or seasoning, just straight up fish.

Prices at Kitchen M were also higher than cafes offering similar menus in the neighbourhood. Personally, next time I’m hungry, I might stop by for the milk tea, but I’d look elsewhere for lunch.

Tasty Delight, formerly Leslie Cafe, is the closest Hong Kong style cafe to The Fiance and I. Last Friday, we decided to drop by for a homey dinner after a week of being under the weather. First, we spent 5 minutes looking for Leslie Cafe, before realizing there had been a name change.

Atmosphere: The restaurant itself looked renovated and clean with wooden chairs and cheery yellow walls. Tables turned over quickly and we didn’t have to wait for a table. I noticed fewer families and more couples/single diners that night.

Service: Servers were efficient but I did have slight communication issues with English. Originally, I tried to order the noodle soup special with vermicelli, but those dishes were only offered before 6pm (not indicated on the menu). She recommended another noodle soup dish and I asked if I could customize to fat rice noodles, she hesitated so I asked what kind of noodle the dish came with. The description was a “fat noodle”, it turned out to be udon. If you speak Cantonese, as is the case with many smaller establishments, ordering may be easier. Other than that hiccup, our food arrived quickly and it was easy to get someone’s attention at any time.

Food: Between a snack and two mains, the food was meh, ok and not so great. For the entree, this was more a result of ordering the wrong dish than the food itself. The Fiance stuck to his usual Hainanese Chicken and I had the Spicy Beef Brisket Noodles. With his dish, the chicken was well-seasoned and had lots of flavour while the rice was ok.

I was not impressed with my bowl of noodles. To start, I wasn’t expecting udon, but the noodles were cooked well, not mushy and had a good texture. The beef was also tender and soft, good but it all well apart in the soup. The broth was overwhelmed by the flavour of dou ban jian, spicy soy bean paste. I couldn’t taste anything else, not the meat, no fat, literally just one flat flavour. This dish was not a repeat order for me.

The curry fish balls arrived last and it is a hard dish to mess up. I’m not sure if there was too much cornstarch in the sauce but the flavour and consistency was off. There was lots of spice, but very little curry flavour and a little on the slimy side.

Tasty Delight delivered on 1/3 dishes, not great but with lots of other menu items and the low price point, I’m willing to keep looking for their hidden gems.