Life Outside the Inbox

I spent some time staring at the screen thinking of some date night restaurants to talk about but I couldn’t think of any (not any that I care to re-visit on a regular basis). So I decided to do a post on my most frequented restaurants, or “HK Cafes” that serves meals under $10 (maybe even under $5). If you haven’t been to an HK style cafe (you’re totally missing out) please keep in mind, these places are bang-for-your-buck so don’t go in expecting great service. For the speed of their service, I would care less 🙂

1. 

   My ultimate go-to restaurant (recently) is Ming’s Noodle Cafe. We had stopped going for a while because it mainly served congee, rice or (duh) noodle dishes. But they’ve recently added more Hong Kong style items on their menu. Carl’s ultimate favourite is their thick Taiwan style brick toast for afternoon tea. At at mere $4, it also comes with a drink. And of course, Carl only has that for dessert. His main course is usually the curry laksa with fish balls and dried tofu that soaks up all the soup for $5.50 a bowl with another drink that we take away.

2. 

   I can’t say City Hollywood Cafe has the best dinner offerings but their chicken wing basket is bomdiggity (great description, right?). Located outside of Market Village, parking here during mall hours can be quite difficult, which is why I only go for their happy hour past 9:30pm. They offer extra crispy garlic pepper chicken wings, not only is it heavily coated, the taste of the garlic is infused into the wings.

3. I like Kiko Cafe because they have a variety of drinks – you don’t understand, the drink is always key in each of these cafes! While Carl says the Tom Yum soup base lacks flavour, the other items I’ve tried on the menu has got me going back for more.
4. Phoenix Restaurant is another one that I wasn’t a big fan of years ago. I remember it being expensive and lacked variety but I went again recently and was impressed by the large selection and decent prices. I had their alfredo with a fluffy pastry at the top which added a great texture, their chicken wings are also freshly fried and very crispy. They also have a good dessert selection with waffles and sesame ice cream as my favourite.
5. I couldn’t for the life of me remember the English name of this cafe…I double checked the other day and its because they don’t have one. 表哥 Cafe (translates to older male cousin lol) is located in the Midland and Sheppard plaza with the huge food court (which also has decent food). They have a pretty good menu offering. I tried the meat sauce with fries, came with a drink for around $5. Not a bad option if you live in the area but I wouldn’t go out of the way for it.

This is an on going list, so feel free to send in your suggestions in the comment section below!