U2 Cafe & BBQ 港式西餐/庸記燒臘 — Restaurant in Alhambra

I have been coming to this place since long time ago, and never had an issue until 10/1/2022. My cousin is in town visiting, so I took him to enjoy some authentic Hong Kong style food. We were seated by a waiter who I am familiar with, and he was friendly and nice as usual.

A waitress came over and took our order. We ordered via Cantonese (I am fluent by the way). My cousin ordered an udon, and I ordered chicken steak. The waitress asked me if I want rice or pasta in Cantonese. I asked if I can have French fries. She gave me an attitude and said “I already asked if you want French fries (she said French fries in English).” I was shocked as she was bit rude. She then turned and walked away.

The udon was pretty bad. The broth is very watery. It is like udon in hot water, not even with the MSG packet.

The chicken steak was good as usual that the chicken skin was very crispy. It was tender and flavorful. Two stars for the chicken steak.

After we paid our bill, I asked the same waitress for some tape (in cantonese, I know it is odd) because my cousin needed to tape something in his car. She pointed to the other side “ask them!” I told her that someone directed me to come ask her. The waitress sounded very annoyed “what do you need again (in Cantonese)?” I told her tape in Cantonese. She said, “what?” The nice waiter brought me the tape patiently. The waitress then said “oh, tape (in English).”

I wonder if I should start speaking English when I come to this authentic Hong Kong style restaurant next time. I do not mind speaking English if that will make the ordering process easier. The waitress will definitely benefit in some training as she could have ask me to speak to her in English. I also would like to give her benefit of the doubt as she might have a bad day. Hope she will have a better day, when I...

One of my favorite place around Alhambra, come almost weekly. For those not familiar with Hong Kong style café, they serve Chinese food with food that is an interpretation of Western(American) food. The menu varies by restaurant but you can usually find spam with eggs, in soup and various version of American sandwiches with different meats and cheese, and usually a type of Club Sandwich, though it might not have the meats and cheeses you might expect. Also, most places have French Toast, usually very good. A little crisp on the outside, soft center, with butter and maple syrup. Careful, sometimes they might have peanut butter or red bean inside(not at U2)! U2 also serves a variety of grilled meats with American style veggies and a choice of steamed rice or spaghetti with a tomato sauce(not really Italian). Their chef has always cooked our meats perfectly(Filet Mignon, Pork Chop, & Chicken Breast). Big portions so usually share with a friend. Great ice tea(with lemon or orange), pre-sweetened or not. They have a café menu and a full Chinese dishes menu that you'll have to ask for if you don't sit in the BBQ section. Oh, the restaurant has 2 sections, Café or BBQ. They have great cream soups for about $7.50. Like the Cream with Mushroom and the Cream with Sweet Corn & Chicken. Everything is pretty much excellent. Cold beer around $5 and great service from the waitresses and...

Another HK cafe reopened for outdoor dining. Went there today for lunch. A lot of people there and we had to wait for 20 minutes before were seated. The seats are setup with dividers between tables under a big tent. All staffs are wearing masks and face shield. They do sanitize tables between customers.

They have all the Cantonese dishes that would expect a HK cafe. But the taste of the dishes are ordinary. Portions are small too. Prices are medium to high compared to other HK cafes down the street.

One thing stood out was their egg waffle. They did a good job on this one. The taste is very similar to the ones in HK. Other dishes are not too bad but not outstanding giving the portions are relatively small. The fried noodle with seafood was a bit fishy smell. Didn’t know how this dish was done. Normally, the smell is fresh and full of Wok Hei. The curry is not too bad, the only things was that the dish had very few beef briskets and beef tendons.

Finally, the milk tea, this was done right, not too bad. Overall, I was not impressed. Other people must be impressed since the restaurant was crowded during lunch time when we were there...