of mojitos and other madness: cha chan teng

the hong kong cafe is probably one of the first cha chan tengs to open shop in singapore and is arguably still the best. having tried the xin wang chain after my sister and cousin claimed that they have really good peanut toast, i sincerely beg to differ and really honestly rate xin wang 0.5 out of 5 scoopies. a total waste of calories! if you really want good hong kong fare, the hong kong cafe at east coast road would make those calories worth it. my sis was really excited when we suggested heading over for dinner on monday. having always wanted to try the food but never having the chance too (they only open for dinner till late), she was really keen to see if her sister was any good in her reviews.

the menu always seems to be growing every time we head over to eat. orders ranged from the good old tried and tested favourites of thick peanut toast, borsch soup, stewed beef brisket noodles and baked pork chop and spaghetti to new orders of pork chop hong kong rice with shanghai sauce and deep fried sotong in salt and pepper. the toast, in my book, still remains the ultimate treat. thick soft bread, smothered with homemade peanut butter (think the kind that sticks to the roof of your mouth!) with drizzles of condensed milk. it was so good that my nephew, who already had his dinner, managed to polish half of the toast all by himself!

g's baked spaghetti continued to hit the spot whilst the borsch soup, well could have been slightly thicker. still good though if you ask me. the pork chop rice wasn't bad...only let down was in the choice of sauce but the staff were nice enough to provide a bowl of tomato sauce on request which pretty much made the dish quite complete. my sister's friend highly recommended the sotong and we were all in total agreement the moment we all had one. we were almost instantly reaching out for more! well done sotong coated in yummy batter seasoned with salt, pepper and lots and lots of garlic. yum!

we left satisfied (proof from the satisfied look on my nephew's face!) with take away orders of curry pork chop rice, durian pudding (very good according to my dad the durian guru!) and a refreshing mango and pomelo drink.

ho geng ah! we will be back!

hong kong cafe