Hello Kitty Chinese Cuisine (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★☆☆☆☆

OK, let's get the facts straight first. I am really not a Hello Kitty fan. Just happened to be walking past the neighborhood when I saw this modest lineup in front of the relatively new Hello Kitty Chinese Cuisine restaurant. One thing led to another before we decided to line up as well. What a poor idea that was!



Kudos to Hello Kitty Team for their fantastic idea of starting a Hello Kitty Chinese restaurant here in Hong Kong. That would really do the local fans proud. Just when everybody is crazy about the Hello Kitty cafés in Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo, we actually have a restaurant. How cool is that!?



But soon we realized how big of a gimmick it was (but not before waiting for an hour). The menu says it all. Apart from a number of dim sum's with Hello Kitty inspiration, everything else is nothing more than char chan teng (茶餐廳) food.




Hello Kitty Shrimp dumplings ($68) - this is very cute but apart from the decoration, there's really nothing special about these dumplings at all.



Chinese donut with shrimp paste ($98) - this tasted surprisingly similar to the Thai-style shrimp cakes which was odd. I did like the honey dip inside the "tomato" container though.



Hello Kitty stir-fried glutinous rice in a chinese bamboo steamer ($128) - A Hello Kitty shaped stir-fried glutinous rice, how adorable! But unfortunately it tasted real bland and without the naturally exciting bite one would expect from stir-fried glutinous rice.



Hello Kitty Ma Lai Go (steamed Chinese Sponge Cake) ($48) - Initially, we went for their lotus seed buns (蓮蓉包) but they messed up our order and when we managed to find out, it was already too late. Everything was sold out from Hello Kitty lotus seed buns to egg yolk custard buns (流沙包). Needless to say, our complaints didn't go anywhere.

We ended up getting this as a replacement which tasted more like a cupcake.

(The curious part being - how in the world could all your bread and butter be sold out at 6:30pm when diners lining up for the second-round were still out there fighting the heat?)



Sautéed kale with dried fish and garlic ($88) - OK but a bit oily. Definitely one of the better dish of the night.



This was definitely one of the most disappointing meal we had in 2015 by a country mile. I didn't expect much from the kitchen but turned out service was the culprit here - missing orders, forgetting about our bill, giving us someone else's bill.....this was truly an "unforgettable" experience.


Food Rating: 3/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop A-C, G/F, Lee Loy Mansion, 332-338 Canton Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Jordan
Tel: +852 8202-8203