M Star Cafe — Restaurant in New York

M Star Cafe is my family’s go-to Hong Kong cafe in Chinatown. We also love S Wan Cafe (洋紫荊) but they have limited seatings and close on Sundays.

I won’t rave about their food but they are up to par. Their HK style milk tea is a standout compared to most HK cafes in NYC, but it is not the best.

Iykyk the service is 100% authentic. The whole atmosphere, from the food, service, customers to interior, it transports me back to Hong Kong. They messed up about half of our order this time, but I wasn't mad about it lol.

While I’ve heard some say the quality has gone downhill in recent years, the food still tastes authentic to me, and very affordable. The portion size is so big that I almost always end up packing leftovers.

＊Faux Shark Fin Soup 碗仔翅 $4 I was shocked when my boyfriend told me he’d never had this before lol. It’s such a classic street snack in Hong Kong, made with low-cost ingredients like bamboo, fungus, dried mushrooms, and vermicelli to imitate the taste of shark fin soup.

It is usually enjoyed with red vinegar and white pepper. The flavor here was spot-on and instantly transported me back in HK—so nostalgic.

＊Corned Beef and Egg Sandwich 蛋牛治 $4 As usual, I ordered the corned beef and egg sandwich. It was massive—I could only finish half. The scrambled eggs were soft, fluffy, and packed with corned beef.

＊Satay Beef Over Rice 沙爹牛肉飯 $10.25 My boyfriend got the satay beef over rice, which also came in a huge portion. We were offended to see “三色豆” (peas) in the dish lol. The beef itself was tasty, though the flavor wasn’t the classic HK-style satay with that peanuty sauce. This version had a much spicier kick to it.

＊Rice Roll with Mixed Peanut Sauces 混醬腸粉 $4* Not sure why it isn’t on the menu but this is apparently what they’re known for. Everyone ordered their mixed peanut sauce rice rolls when we went, and I also get it every time. The steamed rice rolls texture is perfect. Unpopular opinion: I wished they put less sauces.

＊Beef Curry Rice 咖哩牛腩飯 $8.5* In Hong Kong, we describe HK style curry rice as “neon curry” lol. This one 100% matched my expectation. They didn’t skimp on the beef so it was super filling. The curry sauce was spicy and flavorful. I shared with my boyfriend and we couldn’t finish, given he has a big appetite.

＊Russian Macaroni 羅宋湯通粉 $7.5 We were skeptical at first but changed our mind after we tried. It reminded me of the taste of classic HK breakfast macaroni. Very comforting.

＊Beef Flat Noodle Stir Fry 乾炒牛河 $12.5 You really can’t go wrong with beef flat noodle stir fry at HK cafes. I’ve never tried a bad one in NYC so far.

＊HK Style Milk Tea 港式奶茶 $2.65** Well balance of ceylon tea and evaporated milk. Not too bitter (I found the milk tea at Kong Sihk Tong very bitter and overpriced). I usually order it...

Oh my goodness gracious, this is a marvelous representation and demonstration of what NOT to do when running a restaurant, not to mention that this piece of land shouldnt be considered a restaurant at all. This café demonstrates the equivalent of what the holocaust was, except the food industry - not letting customers leave until they pay an enormous tip worthy of a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, chasing after you and ambushing customers outside and holding you hostage until you pay the requested tip, and providing the worst possible service ever imaginable. I beg humanity to stay away from this place; if you do go in with foolish and a stupidly stubborn mindset, enter at your own risk, as you may not make it out at the hands of the evil waiter.

During my stay in New York, my family and I decided to visit this old style hole in the wall HK Cafe in the Brooklyn Chinatown.

Upon arrival I was shocked and disgusted by eating out of plastic bowls, plates, cups and utensils that degraded and melted upon contact with hot liquids; we weren't even served water or any type of beverage upon arrival! Absolutely appaling and absurdly atrocious. The food was mediocre but not up to standard - many other HK cafés would absolutely laugh and mock this one for even existing, not to mention we had to ask for water 10 times before the server even had the audacity to spill an entire tsunami on the table without any regard, but comparing to the other horrific things he did and the impressively disastrous service, this is not such a big deal.

Atleast the guy remembered our order (after seving other customers that came after us, of course) and surprusingly, out of all odds exceeded the now non-existent expectations and got it right (somehow) and brought it out without throwing and spilling the food on our heads! Hooray!

Then comes the worst part, which was that the service was so uncivilized that it was unwelcoming, unpleasant, uncaring and downright rude. Horrible service.

At the end of the meal upon paying the male waiter forced us to pay more tips when we already gave him a good amount of tips considering how bad the service was. Ridiculous. So it's not much more we are on vacation so whatever we just gave it. Who in the right mind does he think he deserves more tips like he's a Michelin star when he gives such bad horrible service like its almost no service and also serves mediocre food below acceptable standards out of a shady hole in the wall.

Restaurant, Owner and staff need a reality...

Sunday brunch.

Place is packed but wait was pretty quick at 10:45am.

Service is fast and efficient. The waiter and waitresses have pretty good memory. When my party ordered, the waitress didn't write one thing down! After taking our orders, I was very worried that she would mess something up, and watching her go to another table to take another order made me worry even more.

When the food came to my table, everything we ordered and added extra was made to perfection and executed like a hit man. Damn this waitress had good memory, I only wished my memory was as good as her.

Ordered from the breakfast special (morning -11am) combo A toast and spam omelet. You can get a cup of coffee with the combo, or add $1 for ice coffee/milk tea, and ordered a side dish of HK style steams rice noodles (soy and peanut sauce). Friends ordered Combo D- Ramen and toast, and french toast. Even if the place is packed, the food came quick. Food tasted really great. It definitely tasted like authentic Hong Kong style brunch and high tea time meals.

Decor of the place reminded me of some authentic spots in Hong Kong. Called M Star cafe, they were trying to copy an actual restaurant in Hong Kong owned by movie stars. Not sure if this has any connection, but their decor is painted with popular HK pop and movie stars. I can see that they started their wall of celebrities who have came to visit. I can only hope more movie stars come to visit...