Hong Kong Cafe 香港茶餐厅 — Restaurant in City of Industry

What a disappointment of a restaurant. Was excited when I had heard they opened one up in Rowland. The decor and interior is nice, but it doesn’t make up for the staff and food. As someone who’s been to other locations, this place is soulless and nothing like some of the other HK cafe around. Go to the one on Atlantic, and you’ll have a much better experience.

To start off, service is horrible. You walk in, no one greets you. No one is in the front, just staying in the back. Staff are sitting and refilling condiments, they turn around, see you, and turn back to continue what they were doing. When someone finally greets you, they just point to a random table then leave you alone forgetting to take your order until you have call someone over. Even for water refills, there’s just an attitude with the staff.

The food itself was not even worth it. Got the chef’s special fatty beef with xo sauce. Watered down, 5 or 6 pieces of beef and mostly been sprouts and some green onions. Nothing special about it. Food came out decently fast though, but bad timing between the first and last dish coming out.

Fried squid with calamari was a pretty small portions, especially if you compare to the other locations. Not well seasoned. Some are salt bombs where others have no flavor.

Pork chop was nice and tender, but that’s pretty much the only positives with the food

Go to other places in Rowland Heights, this place will just leave you dissatisfied. If I want to go to HK Cafe, I’ll stick to the one...

My wife and I had a chance to check out the new Hong Kong Cafe in Rowland Heights, a cha chaan teng-style spot that seems to have hit the ground running with the local crowd. We stopped by for lunch after a morning hike at La Sierra Headtrail in Chino Hills, and it was busy enough that we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table. While we waited, I took a look around at the decor-it's got that classic HK cafe vibe feel. Neon lights, retro-style dining sets, and even a red phone booth out front that's straight out of a Hong Kong street scene. It's a fun, nostalgic touch.

The menu's straightforward, just a single page front and back packed with all the HK cafe staples you'd expect. We went with the black pepper beef and the pineapple curry fried rice. The beef was solid — tender, with a good kick of flavor from the black pepper sauce. The fried rice, though, was a little disappointing; it came out drier than l'd hoped, and the curry flavor didn't quite pop as much as I wanted. On the bright side, the ice lemon tea was a winner-refreshing and not overly sweet, which was perfect after the hike.

Service was decent, nothing standout but no complaints either. Prices felt reasonable for what you get, though if you're used to the San Gabriel Valley spots, you might notice it's a tad pricier here. All in all, it's a cool addition to Rowland Heights, especially if you're into that HK cafe experience. I'd probably stop by again if I'm in the area, maybe try something...

Tried this place hoping for an authentic Hong Kong-style café experience, but unfortunately, it fell short in several key areas.

We ordered the Beef Tongue Rice ($18), listed as one of their specialties, and the Baked Pork Chop Rice ($14). Both were major letdowns.

The Baked Pork Chop came smothered in an American-style marinara sauce, completely different from the traditional Hong Kong-style ketchup-based tomato sauce. It felt like a different dish altogether—not what you'd expect from a HK café.

The Beef Tongue Rice was equally disappointing. Instead of thick, tender cuts, the beef tongue was sliced thin and lacked substance. Even worse, it was served with a teriyaki sauce—again, not at all in line with classic Hong Kong flavors. To make matters worse, the portion size was very small, especially for something labeled a house specialty.

Then there’s the Hong Kong milk tea, which was a total letdown. Proper HK milk tea is made with strong, full-bodied Sri Lankan black tea, giving it that rich, smooth depth. What we got was weak, bland, and surprisingly bitter—completely missing the mark.

Overall, this place is misleadingly labeled as a Hong Kong-style café. If you're looking for authentic flavors, I suggest...