Hong Kong Cafe — Restaurant in Monterey Park

A lot of nostalgia whenever I find Cantonese spots for their Hong Kong breakfast. There's only a limited amount of places in the 626 area that has these types of restaurants. Though not as good as those back in Hong Kong, these will have to do whenever I crave Cantonese breakfast. I came with my mom on a Saturday morning and they're quite busy at that time but the wait was about 5 minutes for the two of us. It's a small place with limited seats so bigger parties will need to wait longer.

Their breakfast specials are pretty good deal, especially Option A. Comes with porridge, and an option of either noodles, rice noodles or coconut bread/pineapple bun with butter. Their chow mein wasn't that great and their rice noodle was literally drowning in sauce, which I dislike. I would've preferred they put their sauce on the side had I known. My favorite was their porridge and Hong Kong Milk Tea. I upgraded my plain porridge to their Preserved Egg and Pork porridge for $2.50 more, but much but still a deal for 3 items and a drink. My mom ordered Option B with Egg & Spam Macaroni Soup with the pineapple butter bun. Macaroni Soup was filling but the pineapple bun was lacking in freshness. Overall, it was a great meal but still not as good as OG...

Service:

My experience with the staff was mixed—while the two female servers were friendly and efficient, the two male staff members appeared disinterested and unresponsive.

Hong Kong Milk Tea:

A major letdown. The tea was overpoweringly bitter, likely due to stale, low-grade leaves and improper brewing. Even after adding extra evaporated milk or condensed milk, the harsh, over-steeped taste remained, so strong it left my stomach unsettled. At this price point, I expected a smooth, authentic blend, not this poorly executed version.

Food:

Beef Steak & Pork Chops: Tough, bland, and made with subpar cuts of meat.

Egg Sandwich: The sole decent item, though the unnecessary mayonnaise made it stray from traditional Cha Chaan Teng simplicity.

Inconsistent quality across both service and dishes, with most offerings failing to justify the cost. This restaurant misses the mark for genuine Hong Kong café standards.

Won’t...

It is one of the top Hong Kong style cafes in the area. The menu is sort of limited since the location is small. But the food tastes awesome, and the quality control is good.

It's located in a small corner, so people tend to miss it if they just drive by. But it's a popular location among the locals and tends to get really crowded during lunch and dinner rush.

They have a small parking lot right behind the restaurant, but the spaces are limite. So if you come during rush hours, it's going to be hard to find parking.

The staff are generally pretty friendly, but it's going to be hard to get their attention when it's busy. Pricing is a bit above average, but it's nothing crazy.

If you want a more complete menu, they do have a bigger location on Atlantic Blvd right off the 10 freeway. It's in the same plaza as the AMC right next to the 24 Hour...