Shui Kee Coffee in Hong Kong has been around for decades and it is as old school, as traditional, as Hong Kong as you can get to a cha chaan teng.

You almost don’t see tourists dining there; just locals who want breakfast in the most comforting form they know, without having their wallets take a beating.

Where Hong Kong-style buns, sandwiches, French Toast, noodles and milk tea are concerned, Shui Kee Coffee does it in the most traditional no-frills way. You have to try it for yourselves if you want a true taste of Hong Kong-style breakfast.

Shui Kee Coffee sits within the food centre, on the third level of Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building. You wouldn’t “chance upon it” if you didn’t know about it and hunted for it. It is one of those places where locals in the know go to and one that they always return to for a quick, casual and affordable breakfast.

On the very straight forward menu, you have your usual Hong Kong-style beverages (HK$13/ S$2.16) such as Milk Tea, Yuan Yang and Almond Milk. Shui Kee Coffee is famous for its Hong Kong-style Milk Tea; you have to go for the Milk Tea, of course. We loved the cold one that came in an old-school glass bottle. It was silky with a subtle bitter after taste.

For breakfast, there is no better way to start your day in Hong Kong than with a bowl of Noodles (HK$24/ S$4). What is essentially just instant noodles is made better with two slices of luncheon meat and a fried egg; the locals sure love their “can tan mee”.

The Beef & Egg Bun (HK$14/ S$2.30) is a popular choice. Honestly, there is nothing special about it, but it is one of those typical breakfast items that locals grow up eating. Shui Kee Coffee’s rendition comes with eggs that are fried with chives for an elevated flavour.

What you must not miss is the Hong Kong-style French Toast (HK$23/ S$3.83). Shui Kee Coffee’s rendition is one of the best that we’ve had in Hong Kong.

The next time you find yourselves in Sheung Wan, make a trip to Shui Kee Coffee and eat like a local.

Shui Kee Coffee
Shop 17, 18167, Sheung Wan
Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building
Tel: +852 2850 8643
Mon to Sat: 8am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Sheung Wan

Famous Hong Kong cha chaan teng Honolulu Café has officially opened its inaugural international outpost in Singapore and we had the honour to savour their menu firsthand just a few hours ago.

Local chefs from Hong Kong’s Honolulu Café are also sent to Singapore to ensure that the dishes served here remain similar to the flagship store’s.

Honolulu Café was founded in Hong Kong during the 1940s, where it started out as a humble eatery selling coffee, tea and baked confectionery. The casual eatery is renowned for their scrumptious egg tarts, pineapple buns and Hong Kong milk tea – we are glad that we no longer have to board a four-hour flight just to satisfy our cravings!

No trip to Honolulu Cafe is complete until you have tried their signature Honolulu Egg Tarts (S$1.70++ each). Each palm-size flaky pastry encases to-die-for sweet soft egg custard; the dough had been frozen overnight and folded into many layers to achieve a crisp shell.

Is it exactly like those god-like ones we had in Hong Kong? Close enough. Well, we have to be honest that we were too carried away with taking photos and swooning over the tart of our dreams, so by the time we bit into the case, it was cold. That said, the custard was distinctly creamy, smooth, wobbly and subtly sweet; we remembered the ones in Hong Kong to be like that. The pastry was no doubt flaky, and fragrant with strong primary notes of butter.

Hopefully the next time we visit, we’d get to taste them warm for more exact comparison!

Honolulu Cafe’s next bestselling item is the popular Hong Kong snack, Honolulu Pineapple Bun with Butter (S$2++ each). Known as Bo Lo Bao in Cantonese, these buns are crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and served lukewarm with a slab of melting butter in-between.

Yes, get this.

Another favourite is the Chicken Wings with Swiss Sauce (S$6++ for six pieces) – which actually has zero link to Switzerland. Instead, these tender chicken mid wings have been marinated in a myriad of Chinese wine, soy sauce, spices and sugar. The plate came with generous sauce, and we took the effort to coat our wings in the soy sauce further before eating them. Mamma mia!

Now, this may sound random but another must-order savoury dish would be the succulent Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice (S$7.80++). You would think it is weird to eat a typical “tze char” dish at Honolulu Cafe, but trust us – these succulent pork chunks are well executed. Those with a stronger palate may find it a tad too bland, but we thought it was just the right balance of flavours.

We have always struggled to find authentic Hong Kong-style curry fish balls in Singapore and boy, are we glad that Honolulu Cafe has finally filled the gap! Bouncy and “full”, these Curry Fish Balls (S$3++) pack an addictive punch with every bite.

The curry paste is imported from Hong Kong and cooked to order here in Singapore, so it is definitely one of those highly recommended that you should get.

Mr. Luo Tak – the Winner of both 2010 International Hong Kong Milk Tea Competition and 2011 Hong Kong Yuan Yang Competition – is stationed at Singapore’s Honolulu Cafe to make sure that customers can enjoy authentic Hong Kong-style milk tea.

Help yourselves to Tea or Coffee with Condensed Milk (hot – S$3++, cold S$3.20++) or a glass of Yuan Yang (hot – S$3.30++, cold – S$3.50). Yuan Yang is essentially a beverage that has infused Hong Kong tea and brewed coffee into one kick-ass caffeine-loaded rejuvenating drink.

However, if you prefer your milk tea to be super sweet with overpowering evaporated milk afternote, this ain’t for you. We prefer ours to come with a lingering bitterness from the tea, and this met our mark.

With up to 35 dishes on the food menu, 13 drinks on the beverage list and three desserts, there is surely something you would definitely fancy at Singapore’s Honolulu Cafe. Other familiar Hong Kong delicacies such as Beef brisket in Soup (S$6), Pork Chop Bun (S$5++) and Condensed Milk Toast (S$2++ each, S$2.50++ for two).

It is only natural that new restaurants would have teething problems, mostly with operations. Honolulu Café has taken a very good first step by opening their first overseas outpost here in Singapore – because we love Hong Kong cuisine, right?

Hopefully, the team will be able to adapt well to Singapore’s service climate, and that the restaurant would run more smoothly in months or even weeks to come. For now, can we just say again how much we love Honolulu Café? You might have read this one too many times but it stays true.

BEST. EGG. TARTS. EVER.

Honolulu Café
The Centrepoint #01-33F/G
176 Orchard Road
Singapore 238843
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Somerset

This post was brought to you by Honolulu Café.

Occasionally I like to indulge in a sinful supper, and even though I have my trusty list of late night dining places to turn to, there are times when I would run out of places to go to, too.

Some restaurants are great spots for late night dining, but they often close by midnight, and of course, it is impossible to dine at expensive restaurants all the time. Some eateries, on the other hand, have good supper food, but they are not places where you would want to linger for long.

My ideal supper place should be somewhere that a) opens across wee hours, b) serves hearty supper food at affordable prices, c) offers a nice environment to hang out and d) is located conveniently. And Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe fits the bill perfectly.

I was thrilled when I learned that 13 of the 16 Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafes have extended their opening hours till 4am daily. Whoopie! What a great news for supper lovers.

The good people from Thai Express Group (parent company of Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe) hosted us for a late night party, and all of us had so much fun playing games while pigging out.

Also, to celebrate the newly revised operation timings, Xin Wang Hong Kong Café is launching a new Facebook ‘Spot the Wee Owls’ contest. Read more to find out more about Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe and the contest.

I am sure Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe is a familiar name for most people. But not everyone knows that it has 200 items on the menu. Diners can choose from not only the typical Hong Kong cafe dishes – like Bo Lo buns (pineapple buns), congees and noodles – but also local Singapore favourites, tim sum and tea-time snacks.

Some of the items that you cannot miss out at Xin Wang include their Hong Kong style western food, uber-thick French toast with maple syrup, cheese baked dishes, and of course, the signature mango shaved ice.

Besides the food, I love that Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe has a cosy ambience, with nice cushioned seats and seating booths for us to lounge around chit-chatting to the background music.

Anyway back to the ‘Spot the Wee Owls’ contest. It will commence in mid-October for four days throughout the month – 14th (Sunday), 20th (Saturday), 26th (Friday) and 1st November (Thursday). All you have to do is to visit any of the five selected Xin Wang Hong Kong Café outlets on every contest day from 12am to 4am and spot Xin Wang Wee Owls cosying up in the restaurant. Snap a photo together with the Wee Owls and post it on Xin Wang’s Facebook Page.

There will be a total of 12 Lucky winners with three chosen per contest day. Each winner will receive an Exclusive Limited Edition Xin Wang Wee Owls Membership Card. So, be sure to stay tune to Xin Wang’s Facebook Page for the five selected outlets set to be announced a day before every contest day!

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe is definitely the place to visit when you have food cravings late into the night. And remember to follow them on facebook to get the latest updates.