• Hong Kong cafés do draw in the crowd. Just look at the number of casual dining chains that have popped up in Singapore over the last few years. Whether it is Xin Wang Hong Kong Café or Hong Kong Kim Gary, the formula is similar – large colourful menu with an extensive selection and prices that fall within the lower mid range.
The up-and-coming C.Nai Hong Kong Cafe offer a few very attractive perks that help differentiate itself from the rest:
- Live band that plays Mandarin pop songs
- Live telecast of English football
- No service charges
Sound good? We think so, too! East Coast Park is fast becoming our favourite place to unwind (who doesn’t like the sun, the sand and the sea?) so we check out their outlet at Marine Cove. The restaurant is huge! Getting a table here poses no problem at all even during the evening chow hours.
Like Eighteen Chefs, making an order is fuss-free by means of jotting down the item numbers on the order sheet.
Fried carrot cake with XO sauceS$5.50+
Rating:
The fried carrot cake looks and sounds super tempting on paper, especially when words like “secret recipe” and “XO sauce” are thrown in the mix. Gimmicky, but it works.
The carrot cake arrives as a stack of neatly cut cubes speckled with chilli pepper flakes. Contrary to most renditions of this dish that leave you feeling heavy and stuffed, this one is really light and tasty! Yup, this simple little snack has instantly won us over.
S$13.80+
Rating:
For the baked pasta dishes, you can choose between spaghetti or rice. Ignoring its cheesy name, I go for the 3-in-1 baked spaghetti, which comprises (clockwise from top left):
– Pork chop with tomato sauce
– Seafood with cream mushroom sauce
– Portuguese chicken chop
I love baked pasta, but to be brutally honest, this is nowhere near as delicious as it sounds. The best part is the pork chop, whereas the seafood is too chewy and the chicken chop is bland. Let’s just say I’ve had better Portuguese chicken. It does come with a lot of cheese, which is great.
Then of course, there’s the mandatory Hong Kong-style milk tea for washing everything down.
S$2.30+
Rating:
This isn’t any regular milk tea, but one that is made by specially filtering tealeaves through a pantyhose or stocking! Before anyone goes “ew!”, the filter merely resembles a stocking and gives a tea a smoother texture. It’s the same way with which Ya Kun makes their coffee with a sock. That doesn’t sound so bad now, is it?
Sure enough, the tea is more thinned down, but no less fragrant, with a wonderful milky taste.
S$3.90+
Rating:
For something more indulgent, go for the milk tea float with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Are you a fan of these casual Hong Kong cafés or do you prefer the more traditional dim sum teahouses? Which is your favourite? Share with us in the comments!
Website
C.Nai Hong Kong Cafe Xpress East Coast Park
1000 East Coast Parkway
Singapore 449876
Tel: +65 6444 0123
Service:
Bus services: 13, 16, 196, 401
Nearest MRT: Eunos
Opening hours: 11:30am – 12midnight (Sun-Thur), 11:30am – 3am (Fri & Sat)
C.Nai Hong Kong Cafe Xpress East Coast Road
Singapore 428985
Tel: +65 6440 3808 / +65 6440 0083
Bus services: 10, 12, 14, 15, 32, 40, 10E, 14E
Nearest MRT: Eunos
Opening hours: 6pm – 3 am (Mon-Fri), 5pm – 3am (Sat, Sun & PH)
C.Nai Hong Kong Cafe Far East Plaza
14 Scotts Road #01-23
Singapore 228213
Bus services: 5, 54, 105, 124, 128, 132, 143, 162, 167, 171, 190, 518, 587, 590, 598, 700, NR1, NR2, NR3, 162M, 518A, 518B, 700A
Nearest MRT: Orchard
Apr 12, 2010
1
the irony is, you can’t find these same food when you visit the cafes in Hong Kong.
Apr 12, 2010
3472
That’s actually pretty funny!
Apr 21, 2010
137
Perhaps not the food, but I’m sure you can get these drinks in Hong Kong.
Apr 13, 2010
3
hi violet! c.nai is actually one of the, if not, the fore-runner(s) in the HK Cafe biz in Singapore. I’ve been patronising the east coast road branch since they opened in 2004/5 (thereabout). I think there was a change in ownership about 2 years (?) ago. The cafe was changed to Macau Cafe then eventually C.Nai Cafe. The menu remains largely intact and having tried many HK cafes, i would say they offer the best food + drinks. Therefore, I wouldn’t consider them up and coming, more like the trendsetter? =)
Apr 13, 2010
3472
Ah okay :) Thanks for clearing that up. I must admit I haven’t seen C.Nai before until they opened at East Coast Park, so I thought they’re a smaller and newer player in the market. On their website they do call themselves the one and only Hong Kong café in Singapore and have been around since 2004. Anyways their food is pretty decent and I’m definitely headed for a return visit soon!
Apr 13, 2010
3
gosh, i have no idea where violet came from. Veron, sorry! =))
Apr 13, 2010
3472
Ha ha it’s okay :) I lol-ed a little when I saw that :P People have called me Vernon before, but Violet is a first!
Apr 13, 2010
1
Fried carrot cake is my favorite in Cantonese restaurants.
Apr 14, 2010
51
fried carrot cake in XO sauce… bit pricey but yummy and nice. i can eat this everyday.
trust the Hong Kongers to come up with strange recipes like the ice milk tea float and the baked pasta. had watered down coffee with lemon once. cant say i liked it.
still, the baked pasta looks really good.
Apr 14, 2010
3472
Yes, you really can eat the fried carrot cake everyday! It’s unlike the Chai Tao Kway at hawker centres. This one is very light and you won’t feel queasy or sick of it after eating.
The baked pasta is literally an all-in-one combo. Want meat? It has both chicken and pork. Want cheese and spaghetti? There are oodles of it, too. Lacking a bit in the flavour department, I find. But then again, taste is subjective.
Apr 15, 2010
10
Yummy!
It is a mouth watering dish!
It is making me hungry.
Milk tea float with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, what a great combination!
Apr 20, 2010
1
Hong Kong Cafe in Singapore are charging way too much. I had stopped visiting them for about a year. I hope there will be more competition so the prices can come down.
Apr 21, 2010
3472
The prices are comparable with Xin Wang. It’s the “café price” range.