Hong Kong Restaurant — Restaurant in Elgin

Sometime in the first part of July 2017, the restaurant came under new management. I decided that I would give them a chance. I loved the previous staff; the service and food was always great, but I was definitely open. My first experience was me going in and sitting at a table. The people at the counter hollered at me to come up there to order. I went to the counter, had to stand there and look at the menu, then order. The order taker had no idea about what any of the food was, so that was definitely a bad sign. I ordered water and was told to go over to a different counter to get it...they were kind enough to ask if I wanted ice, though. Anyway, so I paid for my meal with a credit card, so I didn’t leave a tip(it was apparent there was NO service, but I had cash just in case I needed to leave a tip). I was given a number, I got my water, then sat down at my table. Less than 10 minutes later, from behind the counter, they holler my number. So I went to the counter again to get my food...it was served on a flimsy, warped plastic tray with plate and bowl. I went back to my table, praying that the tray didn’t fold and my food go flying. The food portion seemed a little bit less than with the previous management, but still acceptable. The food was also acceptable/good. I had to get up and go get my own water refills several times because the water glasses are probably 10oz glasses.

I also have an issue with the hot mustard and sweet & sour sauce dispensers. I’m not sure how they are stored, but I don’t think they are stored correctly. I tried to squirt some hot mustard out and a big glob of dried hot mustard shot out.

Overall, I’m very disappointed. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 is because the food was acceptable. There is NO service whatsoever. I do not go here to have to walk around and serve myself. I guess on the plus side, I save money on tips because there is absolutely no service. The prices are also fair. I will probably go back,...

My first impression when sitting down was that everything seemed rather expensive, especially compared 1:1 to another place like Pho Yes just down the road that offers basically all the same food, but I hoped the cost would be counter-balanced by quality and/or quantity. Unfortunately, neither was the case.

The first two things we tried to order off the menu were out of stock. Great start. We ordered other food, and while it came out at a reasonable speed, my wife and I both agreed that everything tasted exceptionally bland and tasteless. And on all orders, they really skimped out on meat, clearly cutting costs by plating as little meat as possible to reasonably get away with. Again, compared to another very similar place like Pho Yes (which we had just visited the other week so it was fresh in our minds), the lack of taste and especially lack of meat was very apparent.

The spring rolls were an obvious example, where we're used to meat being wrapped around the interior of the roll with thick cuts, but here it was two small pieces of meat on a single side per roll, so little that we couldn't even taste the meat, the spring rolls tasting just like the vegetable filling (so basically just the bland taste of water/air).

The entrées didn't fair much better, with little meat, little sauce, and little flavor. Neither of us could finish our meals just because they tasted so empty and hollow. We took them home and tried to revive the meals later by adding more homecooked meat so the ratios were somewhat correct, and adding much-needed seasoning and sauce. But the base we were working with was still rather mediocre, and at that rate we might as well just stayed home.

Very disappointing experience. Waste of time, a drive, and especially money (I spent like $75 on this crap), when we have gotten the exact same meal elsewhere at a much higher quality for...

TL~DR version: ignore the few one star reviews. The food here is fantastically delicious. If you like Vietnamese or Chinese food, do not hesitate to stop in.

If this was the first time I had been to Hong Kong, I would likely have given them a 4-star rating. But I have been there several times since the ownership changed, and they have been consistently excellent every time! You will not find better Pho than this east of Austin (unless you go all the way east to Houston), and I feel it is substantially better than several places I have been IN Austin. (I'm looking at you Pho Thaison) The meat selection is not as wide as some places, but they have all the mainstays, including tendon!

In addition to the pho, the Bahn Mi is incredible! So fresh tasting and served on an excellent roll!

I feel I need to stress this: I am not saying this is good Vietnamese for a small town in Texas, it's just down right delicious Vietnamese!

I was sad to learn they stopped making their Hue-style soup. It was my favorite, and this was the only place I have found that served it.

While I have not tried many of the Chinese dishes since the ownership changed, my friends who have had nothing but good things to say about everything they tried. Ignore the haters. This is food worth...