Hongkong’s oldest tea house is in the house! Established in 1940, Honolulu HK Cafe, formerly known as Honolulu Ice Parlour which serves delicious and most famous egg tarts is finally here in Manila.
First off, the restaurant is not that big but well lit, clean and the staff is friendly and accommodating.
The most important part of this review is, of course, the food. So let us now go to their dishes.
For starters, they served us their flaky, and deliriously creamy egg tart, Honolulu Bo Lo Bun with butter, and their savory pork bun. Since I am a sweet tooth, I really loved the Bo Lo Bun with butter which kinda melted in my mouth. I paired it with hot Yuan Yang ( Mixed Tea and Coffee with Condensed Milk). Just perfect!
Among all the food they served, four of them caught my discriminating palate. Number one on my list is the Beef Brisket which is bathed in flavorful curry sauce. You just cannot eat this one without rice, promise! It is so good! Next in line is the Stir-fried flat rice noodles with Beef. We really thought its Beef Hofan. The smoky noodles with chives and sesame seeds plus the crunchy bean sprouts with thin layers of Beef are just heavenly! Next is the Deep-fried Prawn with Thousand Island which reminded me of Sweet & Sour Fish. Tangy and syrupy sweet which also has to be devoured with rice. Last but definitely not the least is the Hongkong Style Dried Noodle with Pork Chop in Spring Onion Sauce. It’s like our Pancit Canton with a smoky taste and your choice of meat as a topping.
We also got the chance to taste the Steamed Rice in Chicken and Mushroom Casserole which is best shared, the Baked Rice with Minced Beef Bolognaise, Baked Rice and Spaghetti with Pork Chop, Steamed Rice with Chinese Sausage and wind-dried Meat in Casserole, and Hongkong Style Noodle Soup with Fried Egg. Did I mention that we also had Curry Fish Balls and Deep Fried Spare Ribs for appetizers?
Goodness, gracious! And so I said goodbye to my diet just for Honolulu HK Cafe.
Is this restaurant worth coming back to? Definitely YES! It’s budget friendly too. Better than going to Hongkong just to have a bite of their best-sellers right?
Location: LG Floor, SM Aura Premier, 26th Street, Corner McKinley Pkwy, Taguig
11 a.m. to 10 p.m.