Morning Brunch & Cafe — Restaurant in New York

Today is my 3rd time coming here in the past 2 weeks! I really want this café to succeed since the food around the neighborhood is usually more of a miss for me rather than a hit. You walk in and it just smells like a divine kitchen at work.

Came here twice on a weekend and once on a weekday. The food quality remains good every time I come—below is a detailed breakdown of my experiences.

First visit (weekend late afternoon): • I tried the tomato beef over rice. This was very good, delicious and aromatic. On the sweeter side if you’ve never had a tomato based canto dish before. I found the sauce to be too thick, and the employee asked me for my feedback so I let her know—but this is a personal preference • Soy milk was really good and not too sweet

Second visit (weekday lunch time): • I tried the breakfast set that comes with 2 things—macaroni and a bagel. Tomato beef macaroni and a pork floss egg and cheese bagel • Macaroni was rich, tender beef and very thick broth. I didn’t mind the thicker broth for the macaroni compared to the rice I had the other day • The pork floss egg and cheese was soft and had a unique flavour profile. It’s similar to a McGriddle. I liked it a lot, it was surprising! • Strawberry latte was the star of the show for me. With the strawberry bits, the creaminess and subtle strawberry flavouring made it an addictive coffee for me • Black tea espresso latte was SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD

Third visit (Sunday lunch): • Came here at 12:40pm on a Sunday, was told they were on a break until 1pm. This didn’t matter to me because I went to grab some groceries in the mart next door • Came back and ordered at 1:01pm, but I noticed a lot of people after me were being told to wait as well. It seemed to me they were understaffed • I tried the curry beef rice which was good, it’s more of a Japanese curry! I thought it was slightly salty but my husband liked it. Again, seems like it’s a personal preference • Ginger chicken over rice was good. Chicken was tender AF, egg was literally spiced to perfection. A homey dish! • Strawberry latte today tasted different to the first time—it was a bit watered down and coffee taste not as strong. I was told the usual barista wasn’t there, which I inferred to why my latte tasted a bit different today • Tomato beef over rice today for me was PERFECT! The sauce wasn’t as thick and I just really enjoyed eating it today

Overall, I love coming here. The vibe is beautiful, the food is solid, they’re always looking for feedback. They seem to be working out kinks with operations and foot traffic during rush hour which I think a smaller menu would help. I didn’t need to wait or was told to come back later until today, but just know it’s a possibility while they smooth things out.

A lot of people left today because they didn’t want to wait, so I hate seeing them lose out on business and people disappointed not being able to try it.

The owner has so much heart (look at all his responses to the reviews here) and I hope the...

I wanted to update my rating. After the previous 2-star review, I made a decision not to ever come back. oh how wrong I was. I accidentally had a bite of the race ball someone else ordered. It's super good and it's a great deal. For $8-$9 you get a delicious combo of carbs, protein, and veggie, and you will be full.

I went back a couple of times and ordered different options. They were all great. The soup dumpling here is even better than the "nanxiang xiaolongbao" in Flushing.

I also noticed that the services have been moderately improved. However, the burnt smell issue is still there. I don't think it will ever be fixed as it probably comes with the construction.

Anyway, hopefully they will keep improving and be a unique spot in the community.

Food is ok. There aren't many Asian breakfast/Dim Sum spots in LIC, so high-five to the owner for that. But I’m not sure why they like to overcook things: the pan-fried pancake is over-fried, and same with the fried egg that came with the pancake or the bagel. I could taste a bit of bitter, burnt taste every time.

The bigger issue is the service and overall atmosphere. Because things are often overcooked, the smell of burnt food fills the room. It’s not pleasant. Everytime I walked out there I smelled like burnt thanksgiving turkey.

The actual service issue is not about bad attitude or rude staff. I just sense that the owner hasn't fully thought through how to serve customers right. I’ve had multiple times where I waited 20+ minutes in a short line of 5–6 people. I’ve also come during peak hours only to be told they were on break.

I get that there might be legit reasons for these situations. But the bottomline is that you can't make your customers suffer, no matter what your excuses are. The place is already hitting customers with an unpleasant smell, it gotta make up for it with a better experience. Unfortunately, that’s not happening here.

Please prioritize customer experiences...

Such a shame that while the food at this spot is delicious, the service and customer experience is subpar. First, the hours are never consistent — my partner and I found ourselves at the storefront multiple times during their advertised hours, only to find that either they were not yet opened or that they were away. Another day, they did not have all the items that were advertised on their breakfast menu at 9:30am, telling us that to come back in an hour.

During their morning rush, we also noticed that breakfast orders were taking upwards of 20 min to be ready— including a line of delivery drivers waiting at the door for their orders. I’m assuming they weren’t able to keep up with the orders as I overheard one staff member telling another to turn off their delivery apps. All of this occurred at around 9am in the morning, and from what we saw, the cafe was still mostly empty at this point. It would be a little alarming if they were unable to handle the volume of orders less than two hours into opening, and the staff also seemed to be quite frazzled — which should say a lot. The same day, we noticed that 3 of the items in our order were missing after our 20 minute wait. Luckily, we checked our order and were able to turn back immediately. While the front of the house girls were nice and seemed apologetic, I have to say I’m very disappointed with the service. We used to be regulars here but have noticed more and more issues each time we return. Not sure if they’re understaffed or if the current staff has never received proper training but I can definitely see this affecting the business and number of returning local customers in the long run. Would not recommend anyone on a time crunch coming here as the wait time can vary...