Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe is arguably the biggest name in the local Hong Kong ‘Cha Chaan Teng’-style restaurant scene. When you think of Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, you think affordable prices, comfort food and a relaxing casual ambience.

In conjunction with their 10th anniversary celebration, Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe has launched a specially curated #AWESOMELY10 menu. Since their first outlet opened in Heartland Mall (which is also their flagship outlet), 19 other outlets have popped up in every corner of Singapore; there is definitely an outlet near you.

What we love best about Xin Wang is that most outlets are open till 2am to cater to the late-night dining crowd. With an entire menu priced S$15 and below, we learned lately that all the dishes are cooked a la minute to ensure freshness and tastiness.

Here are some highlights from the #AWESOMELY10 menu and some other signature dishes that are ever popular.

Our eyes were first drawn to the Scallop Cheese Baked Rice (S$11.90) which featured two plump and juicy scallops atop a bed of rice with sauce and cheese on top, baked till crisp. It is nothing fanciful, but makes a simple, casual dish that is value for money.

The Sliced Beef Claypot Ee Fu Noodle (S$11.90) fared better, though. That is our idea of basic comfort food at its best. Ee Fu Noodles have always been a local favourite and the addition of sliced beef really kicked the dish up a notch.

We were extremely stoked to try the Pork Cutlet Dry Curry Ramen (S$10.90) as we have always been fans of their Asian-style curry dishes. For just S$10.90, you get a massive piece of perfectly deep-fried pork with noodles doused in tasty, thick curry. The varying textures sure got our hearts.

Then, there is the Smoked Duck Fried Rice (S$9.90) that was created to bring a unique twist to their classic fried rice offerings.

This other curry-centric dish, the Seafood Curry with Rice (S$11.90), features a variety seafood simmered in a bowl of not-too-fiery curry. We are the typical Asians who find comfort in curry with rice, and you bet this flavourful one sealed the deal for us.

We were a little skeptical about the Ham Ying Yong Sauce Spaghetti (S$11.90) when we first saw it on the #AWESOMELY10 menu, but it turned out to be pretty comforting. The brave marriage of cream and tomato sauce sure turned out well. Of course, those ham slices were added comfort; simple goodness that we can always count on for supper, right?

People in Hong Kong love their spaghetti with an Asian twist. Or more specifically, a Hong Kong twist. The Fried Fish Fillet Spaghetti might scare the Italians away, but not us. Al dente spaghetti is tossed in a tomato sauce, and accompanied with a huge serving of deep fried fish fillet; that is how they roll in Hong Kong. By the way, this dish is only S$9.90!

Sometimes, we can be creatures of familiarity and we just want to return to dishes that we know. Those are the all-time favourites that we’ve relied on, and the Eel Hot Pot Porridge is one of them. Just look at how great this claypot dish looks!

Grilled and slathered in Japanese sauces, the generous slab of eel adds sweetness to the porridge. Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe is probably the only place where you can find such a unique combination, and it is only S$12.90.

Now, here comes the star – one that we will never be sick of. Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe’s signature Pork Chop and Egg Papaya Soup Bee Hoon has over 3 million bowls sold. Papaya might seem intimidating to some, but we can assure you that the soup is really just a rich broth that is sweet and milky, and tastes nothing like papaya at all.

Accompanied by an egg, sweet corn and pork chop, we find ourselves gravitating towards this dish every time we don’t know what to eat. You know how menus can confuse us sometimes because there are just too many (great) choices, but this – we know it will never go wrong.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe has two other signature dishes that have been crowned favourites since day one – the Signature Stir-Fried Rice and the Signature Stir-Fried Noodles that are at S$11.50 each.

Both are extremely flavourful and come with generous seafood and meats. The latter is our favourite. The springy noodles are stir-fried in a sweet sauce, and every mouthful boasts a ‘wok hei’ that is so intense with each bite.

For the uninitiated, ‘wok hei’ simply means the essence of the stir-fried taste “imparted” by the wok over high temperature. You know it is a good dish when the ‘wok hei’ is robust.

These two desserts are new and are part of the new #AWESOMELY10 menu. We tried them both and loved both; so good that we couldn’t pick a favourite.

The Kiwi and Mango Shaved Ice (S$3.90) is a refreshing alternative and we know that we will be ordering this if we need something tart yet sweet.

The Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice Cream (S$4.90) brought back many childhood memories of growing up with this dessert that we all so affectionately know as ‘pulut hitam’.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe (Flagship outlet*)
205 Heartland Mall
Hougang Street 21 #01-133/135
Singapore 530205
Tel: +65-487 3481
Daily: 11am to 2am
Nearest Station: Kovan

*Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe has a total of 20 outlets islandwide.

This post is brought to you by Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe.