HK Cafe — Restaurant in Portland

I will abstain from bringing up minor inconveniences because I never really care about small stuff.

I wanted to take my girlfriend out to a Dim Sum restaurant because we had never gotten Dim Sum together before, and it was her birthday. So we did today.

To begin this restaurant has been GASSED up by one of my university friends, and even my barber. "This is one of the best spots in the city." "You don't want __ restaurant, you need to go to HK Cafe." etc., etc.

I walked in with my girlfriend, hungry and ready to get some good food. However, the dining experience was just a sad disappointment.

No menus were given, so we didn't know how much anything was, and the waitress was super pushy with offering us things without having a chance to think about it.

wouldn't it be so much easier to have a checklist like in other dim sum restaurants so you didn't have to open up every single container to show us what there is to eat? Honest suggestion.

We got Xiao Long bao, Chive dumplings, pork buns, salt squid, and whatever the BBQ pork belly dish is called.

The Xiao Long Bao was cold and we weren't given spoons, I just let my girlfriend eat those because I knew that was hard to mess up. I can't remember how many there were maybe about 5 or 6 but I can't be sure.

There were three chive dumplings and they were overcooked and stuck to the dish they were served in. So you had to eat them in multiple parts because they couldn't stay together.

I was given the wrong order at one point as well, I wanted pork buns, which is what I said, and I was given BBQ pork buns.

And you might be thinking, "Well maybe they don't have that on the menu." and then I checked the menu they didn't give us online, and yes, they have the pork buns I said I wanted. The BBQ pork buns they gave me tasted undercooked and just not great.

The Pork belly dish came in two small strips and was just barely seasoned pork belly, exactly as you imagine, and on the bill it was $15+ for TWO STRIPS OF PORK BELLY, what the hell???

Finally, the squid which was just fried squid with salt and a couple of veggies was OKAY at best, which was the main thing recommended to me besides the dumplings. But it was something I could've easily made at home, and for cheaper too, because this ended up being $18+ for a small dish of squid.

The total was almost $50, and I have no words for the lunch we had. It was beyond disappointing. I was quite literally robbed of my money going there. I left angry at the waste of money, and the insult that was the food that was given.

Maybe you don't give laowai good food, but it was a horrible experience...

Don't get me wrong, I used to love the dim sum and if I were truly rating this restaurant just for that, I would give higher ratings. The service is not good either but I have referred all my friends here. But many times I got ripped off. A few times too many. They either overcharged me or they tack on a larger tip then I would give them and most times I would not find out until I get home and checked my credit card bill online. Sometimes I tip more if someone did something special for me or if I was happier with their service. Sometimes I don't tip as much if I'm disappointed in the service or food. But tipping is optional and at my discretion. The restaurant shouldn't decide. However, I let all this slide and I keep returning because there is not another dim sum restaurant that is good in Portland. Also, I don't like confrontation. The last time I was here during the pandemic and was only getting take out, I was again charged a different amount when I checked my credit card online. I didn't even get a receipt with my food. During COVID, everyone is having a difficult time already, life is tough, and the owner still does this to her customers. I am upset they feel that they can keep getting away with this. I read a lot of other reviews where this happened to other people too. Don't they feel ashamed that they have to cheat their customers?

Last 2 times we got takeout we were charged extra again, $15 and $17 extra. We had to dispute our charges. Also, now the prices have skyrocketed. Seafood dishes costing $24 barely have any seafood, just 80% tofu. Also, they must have a new inexperienced chef because one of the basics, Mongolian Beef didn't taste or look like Mongolian Beef- it had a really sweet beef sauce that was inedible. Disgusting dinner we could barely eat and threw most of it away. Will have to find a new restaurant, sick of disputing fraudulent charges and getting yucky food. If you must go here, please use cash and expect a big upcharge in the menu but with way...

Edit Aug 2023: Meh quality as of summer 2023. Still Traditional style dim sum certainly but don't expect the Hong Kong-level quality dishes they used to serve here before the pandemic. Very "average" at this point for the staple dishes like Shrimp Dumplings and Pork and Shrimp Dumplings and chicken feet. Really can't recommend this place anymore unless something changes. At least it's cheaper than other dim sum options? $6.50 per plate.

Details: Shrimp Dumplings (Har gow): gummy wrapper without any bounce at all. Uninspired Shrimp filling. pork and shrimp Dumplings (Shu Mai): Acceptable - Large chunks of shrimp save the filling but the actual pork is way too mushy and glutinous. Indicative of overmixed pork mixture. Chicken feet: Acceptable - the pieces are all there but the sauce is clearly phoned in. Tastes of chicken bullion vs the from scratch recipe it used to be. Beef chow fun: Not good - lacking wok hei. Overly salty in an obvious attempt to make the dish taste like something by adding extra soy sauce. Poorly separated, clumpy noodles in the final dish indicate insufficient prep work before cooking. Steamed pork buns (char siu bao): Good. Closest to their excellent old recipe but obvious signs of inexperience. Nitpick: Dough isn't "fine" enough so it's a bit cloying when you bite into it. Usually indicates too high of gluten in the dough whether that's because of the flour used or overkneading or overproofing. Chili oil: Yes even their chili oil is worth a mention. Still made fresh in-house which is nice but good lord is it terrible. The dry chili mix used is the highest ratio of seeds to chilis I've ever seen. Results in a very "flat" chili oil with a texture that leaves hard chili seeds in your mouth. Had to mix with lots of soy sauce to smooth it out as a...