Hong Lin Restaurant — Restaurant in Kowloon

The first meal we had when we arrived in Hong Kong was at Hong Lin! Have to say that the pineapple buns in front of the store definitely drew me in. With a few choices to choose from on Tung Choi Street, Hong Lin seemed like the best one. The food options seemed similar to LA's Garden Café with a few late night specials that sounded promising. The restaurant is pretty big with lots of booths and tables. Because it was pretty late, we were given the option to seat ourselves.

I really wish I was able to try Hong Lin's fresh pineapple buns as it came out from the oven - or one of their egg tarts. The other reviewers make it sound so delicious!

Drinks: -Hot HK milk tea: all HK places make it the same - super smooth and tasty. If you haven't tried milk tea from HK, you're missing out! You're able to add condensed milk to get the taste to be as sweet as you want it to be. -Red bean gelatin: a big staple for most HK cafes. Not a big fan of this drink, but my dad loves it. Solid drink here. -Horlick: the hot malted milk drink that my parents always order when they go back to HK since it allows them to reminisce on their childhood days. I personally do not like the drink too much, but they love the taste.

Soup: -Both Asian and Western style soups were really good. Their Borscht soup had enough tanginess to it with a good number of ingredients inside.

Food: -Pork knuckle rice: Like I said before in another review, most HK establishments use tomato sauce to make their pork knuckle dishes now. Not a fan of this way to cook pork knuckle, but the meat was tender and tasty. The tomato sauce just took the flavor away from the meat. -Soy sauce chicken with BBQ pork and rice: My sister was a big fan. Chicken was cooked well and not too dry, but the BBQ pork was slightly dry. Good amount of meat and rice for 1 person. -Won ton rice noodle soup: Four won tons in a bowl of rice noodle. I really liked this dish! Won tons had good flavor and a good ratio of meat to the flour. I especially liked the rice noodle - soup gave it enough taste; very "healthy" dish to eat for the first meal in HK. -Beef noodle soup: This was made with flatter noodles. There was a good amount of beef and tendon in the bowl of soup. Noodles were tasty and the broth had good flavor.

Dessert: -Pineapple bun with stick of butter: Staple and MUST try if you go to HK. It's definitely best to get these fresh out of the oven, but even though I got one at a pretty late hour, it was still super tasty! Bun was so soft, and the "pineapple" shell upon biting into it was crispy and flaky. That stick of butter gave the bread that melty sweetness. Definitely not something you'd want to eat on a daily basis - but if you're on vacation, it's okay to get it once in awhile!

Service was pretty good. I think the waiter noticed my sister and I talking in English, so he tried to use some English lingo in the midst of his Cantonese. Price is definitely affordable! Total bill came out to be under $10.

tl;dr - If you can get the pineapple buns in the morning, definitely give it a try. Their food is above average, so I would not discourage people from coming here for afternoon tea or lunch/dinner! Prices are decent and there's almost always people walking in and out at any given time. I saw a few people just enjoying a drink and a bun for a nighttime snack while reading, so it's nice to know they don't discourage people from just relaxing in...

Best breakfast I have had in a while.

This morning, me and my friend went to Hong Lin Restaurant for breakfast. I ordered the satay noodles breakfast set with a sausage and an egg while she ordered a pineapple bun with hot lemon tea.

My satay noodles were good. The noodles tasted very nice. However, the beef satay didn't taste as great. I didn't taste the beef flavour from the beef (i don't know how to describe the taste). It was slightly worse compared to other local restaurants.

My friend's pineapple bun was amazing. She offered me a quarter of the bread. It tasted as warm as a loving mother's embrace and the flavour entrapped me in its delight. I felt like I was in food heaven. I had to order another one for consumption later.

The atmosphere is not bad. The restaurant provided good lighting for customers and the restaurant was kept relatively clean. However, tables are kind of cramped, most likely because of the sheer amount of customers that come in every...

A former chain, spun off by the co-creator of the now popular Tsui Wah chain of 'cha chan tengs' that is now popular with tourists. Now down to one location, Hong Lin has quite a similar menu at its core, but is more catered to locals having a quick lunch or afternoon tea.

There are a few similar dishes you'll want to try - their curry beef brisket is a standout, and they offer one of the better baked pork chops in town. Or keep it simple with a bowl of noodle soup with balls.

Be sure to try a freshly baked bun (they will declare them as they come out of the kitched), particularly "bo lo yau" or pineapple bun with butter.

Milk tea and coffee based drinks are what you would expect from a classic cha chan teng as well.

Unlike Tsui Wah, this place won't be packed with tourists with a line going out the door (it is still busy during peak times however) and the prices have yet to inflate due to...