Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe: No silver lining here

September 30, 2008 | 15 Comments

I’m sceptical about Hong Kong cafes in Singapore. A bowl of instant noodles, with sunny side-up and luncheon meat for $6-8? Or how about the so-called “authentic dim sum” which was supposed to be Hong Kong’s speciality. Even though I didn’t go to Hong Kong before, much less tried the authentic Hong Kong cuisine, but the rumours about the quality of the food at such cafes couldn’t be that far-fetch. After all, they say there can’t be no smoke without any wind.

DSC_1201 by you.

Xin Wang Hong Kong cafe’s one of the many Hong Kong cafe that have spring up in Singapore in recent years. With the others being Hong Kong cafe @ East coast, Wan Chai Hong Kong tea room, wong kok char chan teng, and with Crystal Jade Hong Kong cafe recently joining in the foil.

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Kaya bread ($1.80)

I made a mistake with the order. On the menu, there’s kaya bread, and kaya butter bread. So I just ordered kary bread, which meant no butter. And kaya bread without any butter ain’t nicer than kaya butter bread. This smudged the judgement for a good piece of toasted kaya bread.

DSC_1177 by you.

Special shrimp Har Gau ($2.80 for 3)

If the har gau was used to gauge the standards of Xin Wang cafe’s dim sum, then there’s no need to try the rest. The skin was too thick, and when we picked up the har gau with chopsticks, there’s an opening at the bottom of the skin, which resulted in the shrimp dropping out. The deconstruction of the har gau continued, with the skin and shrimp eaten separately, and this was not a good thing.

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Siew Mai ($2.80 for 3)

The same could be mention for Xin Wang’s siew mai. The skin was equally thick, and sticked to the teeth. The overall taste was very porky and oily. Only the use of chili sauce could cover the taste, and made us swallow the dim sum.

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Baked BBQ pork pastries ($2.80 for 2)

I always had an soft-spot for pork pastries, the buttery flaky pastry exterior, with juicy char siew hidden within. However, the standard guide for good char siew sau, was not applicable to the ones here. There’s a weird taste about the char siew, and at $1.40, i felt totally ripped-off, the one at Royal China was cheaper, and ten times better than this, and even Yan Ting’s rendition at $1.60 seemed to be cheap when compared to this.

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Pork chop with French fries ($8.50)

The saving grace was suprisingly, the pork chop. Well not exactly fantastic, but at $8.50 it did provided a hearty meal with a generous size of pork chop, french fries, beans, and sunny side up. The pork chop was just nice, not too hard to cause damages to your teeth, and not too soft that it’s literally soggy.

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Total bill was $22.05 for 2 person.The food wasn’t very expensive, which explained for the busy crowd in the cafe when I went for lunch at the branch at Anchorpoint. It was a case of being sweaty and smelly eating in hawker centre, or sitting in cooling environment.

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I think the lure of air-con, with reasonable pricing, and a comprehensive selection of food will just be the thing that continue to draw the crowd in. I’m not sure whether I’m too fussy, or the patrons don’t really mind eating less-quality food. But i guess maybe I’m being too difficult here, the food if you closed one eyes, was still acceptable given the price.

DSC_1162 by you.

My scepticisms proved to be right, and I won’t be visiting Hong Kong cafe anytime soon. I did heard that the Hong Kong cafe @ East coast is a better one compared with its peers. But until then, i’m steering clear of the rest of them.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe
370 Alexander road
#01-07 Anchorpoint

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Comments

15 Responses to “Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe: No silver lining here”

  1. Renee
    September 30th, 2008 @ 10:47 am

    hihi..i dun tink i will like to gif a kickstart for tos so-called HK cafes here…instant noodles wif luncheon meat n eggs…total price dun even cost $6 in reality..!! pffft..rather haf home-cooked meals…haha…i will say Toastbox n Ya Kun have the best toasts instead.. =D

  2. >wj
    September 30th, 2008 @ 11:05 am

    hey i’ve also tried the xin wang at anchorpoint before. yup it’s quite crowded at lunch and dinner times but the service is quite fast. too bad u never try their stir-fried mee sua, i think it’s not bad. pork chop is one of the best there already haha. u can also try their yuan yang (coffee + tea), not bad also la. i’ve also tried the hong kong cafe at east coast, i think it’s worse than xin wang though got greater variety of food. ya generally hk cafe is not a place of great food, but if u wan a fast meal and at affordable price, hk is a choice :)

  3. DhNy
    September 30th, 2008 @ 2:24 pm

    Kim Gary @ Vivocity might give you a better impression. Their milk tea and thick toast are fairly authentic.

    DhNys last blog post..Chong Qing Hot Pot: ???? Buffet!

  4. ladyironchef
    September 30th, 2008 @ 7:30 pm

    renee: yeah totally rip-off, thats why i have been delaying my visit to hong kong cafe until now. but you see what happen. haha

    wj: ya super crowded. east coast one worse than xin wang eh? hmm..

    dhny: ah, kim gary, but i heard mix reviews too. maybe will check it out soon. thanks for the recommendation

  5. ladyironchef
    September 30th, 2008 @ 10:47 pm

    hey sorry folks, i didn’t notice that my photos aren’t showing, some problem with photobucket. Solved the problem with flickr already : )

  6. ivy
    September 30th, 2008 @ 11:42 pm

    hello…i’ve been silent reader for quite some time alr but dis time, i just have to comment. I couldn’t agree with u more about the disappointing dim sum at HK cafes like xin wang. i nv felt so cheated. and how dare they charge almost e same price as classy places like royal china and yan ting for that kind of standard! give me Victor’s Kitchen anytime!

  7. ladyironchef
    September 30th, 2008 @ 11:48 pm

    Hello Ivy: glad you finally decide to come out of the silence. hehe! Yeah the char siew sou was a classic example.$1.40 is a total rip off, when i can get it at $1.10 at Royal China. Even yan ting’s at $1.60. Cheers

  8. >wj
    October 1st, 2008 @ 2:42 pm

    ya kim gary’s not bad, but they got super long Q also esp during those meal times, cuz can see the view opposite (sentosa) if u can sit inside. their baked rice is not bad if u prefer creamy baked rice rather than those cheesy ones, and i quite like their stir-fried spaghetti, spaghetti done in chinese style hehe interesting yet simple n nice.

  9. D.
    October 1st, 2008 @ 4:14 pm

    Yes, do check out Kim Gary at Vivocity soon! I personally like it and would like to hear your reviews about it :)

  10. ladyironchef
    October 1st, 2008 @ 9:12 pm

    hahaha, looks like there’s a kim gary campaign. lol! no problem, will try soon : )

  11. M
    October 7th, 2008 @ 4:33 pm

    I tried XinWang twice – cine and siglap – and both times it was terrible. Had mango sago dessert, with the sago bits being hard in the middle (dunno if it was stale or undercooked :/) and the thick toast was hard and slightly burnt. I used to prefer Tong Shui, but they’ve jacked up their prices wayyyy high. HK Cafe is pretty good – but only for certain items. I usually only go there for suppers so I’m willing to pay the amount for supper (but not for lunch/dinner).

    Ms last blog post..First Thai – First the WORST!

  12. ladyironchef
    October 10th, 2008 @ 8:22 pm

    M: you still tried twice eh? i think after this experience, i won’t bother to step inside again. lol! tong shui i only tried their desserts, so not very sure about them.

  13. Jo
    October 15th, 2008 @ 1:24 pm

    Out of the mainstream HK cafes in SG, I still prefer XinWang. Good locations. Colorful menu. Fast service. Comfortable atmosphere.

    Kim Gary in SG is good, but wait till you try the branch in City Square, JB. The food is soooo much better and the prices are alomost half of those in SG because of the exchange rate. If I were to go to the branch in Vivo, it’s either I want the sentosa view or I am desperate for my yuan yang.

    I like the deco in Tong Shui and like the Liang Seah branch, but like others think, the prices are a little high for their portions. The durian puree thick toast is however a must-try for all durian lovers! Very sinful for the waistline but simply good comfort food.

  14. ladyironchef
    October 17th, 2008 @ 9:09 pm

    jo: haha! kim gary got one in city square JB eh? didn’t see it the last time i went, but then again, its been quite a long while since i last went city square. lol!

    but i still don’t like hk cafes in Singapore. haha

  15. Daniel
    November 22nd, 2008 @ 7:49 pm

    Try their Char Siew Buns. They’re quite good actually. haha

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