Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After a whirlwind July and August (at least the first half of August), things are finally settling down a bit at work. I still have an unbelievable number of meetings to attend every month, but at least there are fewer high-pressure situations than during our peak months. After an early-morning training session, I decided to stop by Australia Dairy Company (澳洲牛奶公司) for a quick lunch. I thought I haven't eaten there in years.

To my pleasant surprise, there were only two people in line at the famous Jordan cha chaan teng. Today must be my lucky day.

Fried egg, ham and buttered toast — Simple, but always satisfying. It arrived at my table less than a minute after I ordered. How cool is that?

Macaroni with barbecued pork — I wasn’t particularly hungry this afternoon, so something simple like this did the trick.

Iced milk tea — And, of course, one of my favorite milk teas in town to wash it all down. This is usually the first item to arrive, but I guess the drinks counter was especially busy during the lunch rush.

That was a quick 15-minute lunch. Time to head back to the office and finish up some work, cuz I’m flying out solo to Seoul tomorrow. Yeah finally, some me time in one of my favorite cities in the world. Looking forward to it!

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: G/F, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Jordan
Tel: +852 2730-1356
Opening Hours: 7:30am - 10:00pm (Fri - Wed)

Lin Man Kee 連文記冰室 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I'm back at Lin Man Kee (連文記冰室), my neighborhood cha chaa teng for the first time since I moved into the area more than a decade ago. This morning, I have brought mom along as my breakfast partner. She's a newbie to the neighhorhood.

My colleagues at work have been raving about the rice noodles in rich fish maw broth for a while but it's not on the breakfast menu so I had to look at other options.

Iced milk tea — The tea flavor was a little light, but the generous amount of milk made it silky smooth enough for a pleasant mouthfeel.

Instant noodle with chicken steak — This was much better than last time. The broth was still a little light for my liking, but the noodles, pan-fried chicken steak, and egg were all reasonably good.

If they could improve the milk tea, I might find myself coming here more often.

Food Rating: 4.8/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop A, 1/F, Cheung Lung Industrial Building, 10 Cheung Yee Street, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 3188-0027

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 8:30pm (Mon - Sat)

Tiffany Restaurant 名寶石餐廳 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It wasn’t an easy decision, but we finally said goodbye to our family apartment after  it has served us for 40+ years. I was there for more than half of it. Now that it’s gone, I can only hope mom finds comfort in being a little closer to me and little nugget. I hope she settled into our peaceful, cozy neighborhood.

And interestingly enough, we’re back in mom’s old area this afternoon for little nugget’s lessons. For nostalgia’s sake, I decided to go back to Tiffany Restaurant (名寶石餐廳) for our late lunch. It felt like the perfect little detour — a trip down memory lane.

As far as I could remember, Tiffany Restaurant used to be called “Ruby Restaurant” (紅寶石餐廳). Back then, the group had a few branches across Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Dad used to love visiting the one near our home. He wasn’t the kind of man who splurged on fancy meals often, so we mostly came on special occasions.

I had a strange feeling the moment we walked in this afternoon. Everything looked the same — the decor, the menu, even the familiar faces from the service team. But deep down, I could feel something different inside me. This no longer felt like our “hood”.

The tea tasted just as strong as it did twenty years ago. It was that particular kind of boldness you don’t normally get from a Hong Kong-style soy sauce western restaurant.

I ordered the deep-fried grouper fillet like I always do. Even though Tiffany Restaurant is a Hong Kong-style soy sauce western restaurant, they always seemed to use high-quality ingredients. Maybe that’s why the old patrons keep coming back. 

The thick slice of grouper fillet was again pretty delicious again — crispy on the outside, tender and satisfying within. Newer generations of soy sauce western restaurants probably wouldn’t bother with produce like this, at these kinds of prices.

And just as we were settling in, this guy arrived in time for dessert.

I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to visit again. But I truly hope they’ll keep thriving so we can return from time to time, and let a little nostalgia find us once more.

Food Rating: 5.7/10
Price: $$$
Address: 148 Prince Edward Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Prince Edward
Tel: +852 2381-1516

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 11:30pm daily

Jus (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I had a leisurely walk around Central and Sheung Wan and almost missed lunch completely. By the time I finally stopped to take stock, it was already around 4 pm, and I found myself pretty fairly close to PMQ. That’s when a certain noodle bar suddenly came to mind.

Brought to us by the folks behind Big JJ Seafood Hotpot (珍姐海鮮火鍋飯店), Jus is a sleek, minimalist noodle bar on the corner of Staunton Street and Aberdeen Street, especially known for its dan dan noodles and noodles mixed with beef fat and sweet soy sauce (牛油拌麵).

Noodles mixed with beef fat and soy sauce (牛油拌麵) ($168) — The dish name literally translates to “butter beef noodles,” but what you get here is beef fat — not butter.

The set came with a small bowl of cold bean sprouts.

And a small bowl of beef consommé, which I saved for after I finished the noodles for a final sip.

The housemade noodles were known for their elastic texture, and it showed. I liked the buttery noodles although the sweetness from the soy sauce wasn’t quite as pronounced as I expected based on the color alone.

The beef char siu (牛叉燒) was an interesting touch. The slices were meltingly tender, and for a moment I actually thought it might be pork. But to me, it had a deeper and richer flavor than typical pork char siu.

For me, though, the real star was the thin-sliced beef tongue (牛舌). It was exceptionally tender, buttery, and melt-in-your-mouth soft delivering a gentle, satisfying bite. I do wonder if it would taste even better with a thicker cut.

Lastly, the beef tendon (牛筋凍). The jelly was likely made with beef consommé but the flavors were very light, with the tendon tucked inside. This was OK.

After the meal, I spent some time walking around Soho. This part of Soho is one of my favorite corners of the city. There are so many picture-worthy spots.

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: $$$$

Address: G/F, 60 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 9:00pm (Wed - Sun)

Jervois Cafe Sheung Wan 蘇杭冰室 上環店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I’m back in Sheung Wan, looking for my deep-fried chicken (upper) thigh fix (生炸雞脾🍗) this afternoon. Mid-August is fast approaching, and I still haven’t made it to Jervois Café (蘇杭冰室) for my favorite deep-fried chicken thigh in town. This might be my last chance to go before our long trip to Europe in a few days.

The iced milk tea here has always been a nice complement to their hearty dishes and it proved to be just as good this afternoon.

The main event. The chicken thigh was pretty tasty as always, and it was perfectly matched by that runny scrambled egg. So good but it’ll be at least early September before I can get another crack at it.

Food Rating: 5.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 3 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sheung Wan

Tel: +852 2352-7778

Opening Hours: 7:30am - 9:00pm daily

Cafe de Papa Lai Chi Kok 一樂冰室 荔枝角店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I heard about this new cha chaan teng opening at Hoi Lai Shopping Centre (海麗商場) a couple of weeks ago. It’s a little far for me, but if they have a good iced milk tea, I won’t mind walking a mile for it.

Apparently, this Cafe de Papa (一樂冰室) chain has around ten branches across Hong Kong, mostly in residential areas. I bet it’s great news for people living here but they already have Seasons Cafe (四季餐廳) in the same mall.

Iced milk tea — The tea flavor wasn’t strong or robust, but you wouldn’t know it just from looking at the color. It was creamy and velvety smooth, though — and that’s what matters most.

Macaroni in tomato soup with grilled pork chop — The macaroni and tomato soup were quite decent. I could’ve done without the thick pork chop, which was a little on the hard side. Perhaps they didn't pound it properly on the chopping board?

Scrambled egg and butter toast — The scrambled eggs could've been more runny. The toast was fine.



I don’t see this as an upgrade or a downgrade from Seasons Cafe, which is almost right next to it. I guess it serves as a serviceable alternative.

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 5-6, G/F, Hoi Lai Shopping Centre, 100 Sham Mong Road, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 3514-6346

Cheung Hong Yuen Kai Tak Sports Park 祥香園餐廳 啟德店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We didn’t have much planned for this long weekend since little nugget was down and out after his surgery. For the most part, we’re staying at home, except for this morning when I have an early pickleball game at Kai Tak Sports Park (啟德體育園).

I didn’t know much about the pickleball facility at the sports park until last week, when we had a gathering with our friends here. A friend escorted me around the venue, and after dinner, I even got to visit the outdoor pickleball courts. To my pleasant surprise, the courts are actually cheaper than the private ones at industrial/commercial buildings and better yet, there were open slots even on the weekends. We ended up booking an hour slot to test it out this weekend.

To be brutally honest, I haven’t woken up for a game this early since high school but I have to admit it was a lot of fun despite the tremendous heat. The outdoor courts being under a roof helped a little, but we were still sweating it out within 10 minutes.

After the game, our friend took us to Cheung Hong Yuen (祥香園餐廳), a local cha chaan teng just a short walk from the sports park, for breakfast.

Iced milk tea (凍奶茶) — I learned from their Lai Chi Kok outpost that Cheung Hong Yuen always has a very strong, robust milk tea. I’ll give them that. The tea was creamy again today. A nice way to start the day for my tummy!

Butter pineapple bun (菠蘿油) — Somehow, I never had the pleasure of trying their pineapple bun. The thick slab of frozen butter was the best companion for the bun and to my surprise, it actually came with some scrambled eggs. Not bad.

Noodle soup with satay beef (沙爹牛肉麵) — The noodles were OK but the broth could have been more flavorful. The beef was a little rubbery today, but with the outstanding iced milk tea, I wasn’t complaining.

I’m starting to like the Kai Tak sports facilities more and more. And the fact that they have a dedicated mobile app for booking makes everything so much easier. Perhaps we should do more pickleball games like this from now on.

Food Rating: 5.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 1, G/F, Kai Yan Court, 6 Muk Lai Street, Kowloon City, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kai Tak

Tel: +852 5975-4011

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 9:30pm daily

Akita Café Lai Chi Kok 秋田冰室 荔枝角店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

The dining scene in my hood has gotten a little more exciting these days, thanks to the soft opening of Akita Café (秋田冰室) a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t heard of it before, I hadn’t either! But once I finally did a quick background check online, I found out that the café is actually part of the same F&B group as Milk Café (牛奶冰室). Reason for excitement? 🤔🤔

Apparently, my neighbors all thought it’s worth the optimism. And the result was that the place has been full almost every night since opening. After patiently waiting things out for a few days, I finally went for the kill.

Iced milk tea (凍奶茶) — More on the milky side. Tea flavor wasn’t pronounced but it was just rich enough to balance out the heavy condensed milk, resulting in a smooth finish.

Noodle soup with barbecued pork (叉燒湯麵) — They have a booth dedicated to their barbecued meats so of course, it would be uncivilized not to check it off the list.

I thought the broth and noodles were quite decent. The barbecued pork? Slightly disappointing. While my cut was more on the lean side, but the bigger issue was that the meat was all bunched together and not sliced into individual pieces. Not ideal!

Food Rating: 4.6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 123, 1/F, Liberte Place, Liberte, 833 Lai Chi Kok Road, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 2698-7898

Opening Hours: 6:00am - 11:00pm daily

YLK Restaurant KOLOUR Tsuen Wan 椰林閣 千色匯店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It looks like YLK Restaurant ("Yeh Lam Kwok Restaurant" 椰林閣) is making a comeback in 2026! In case you never heard of YLK before, it’s a classic Hong Kong-style “soy sauce Western” restaurant chain that originally gained massive popularity in the 1990s. Known for its casual, nostalgic diner atmosphere and affordable pricing, the chain is a staple of local childhood memories. It’s also famous for generous portions, especially its steak, curry dishes, and stir-fried noodles/rice.

I don’t recall ever visiting the chain as a kid (it probably wasn’t around yet). But I distinctly remember being a frequent customer when I started working in Hong Kong after the SARS outbreak. Back then, that was all I could remember about YLK.

Starting in 2026, news broke and YLK was opening new branches again in New Territories and up to this point, there were already 10 branches around town. I decided to stop by its new Tsuen Wan outpost at KOLOUR (千色匯) this afternoon, hoping to re-capture the magic.

Iced milk tea — The tea flavor was a little weak. It was close but not yet rich or robust enough.

Deep-fried chicken thigh with fried egg and rice — A cha chaan teng classic so I had to give it a shot.

The deep-fried chicken thigh itself wasn’t bad, but disappointingly, the onion sauce was poured all over it, making the crispy skin go soggy and ruining the dish almost instantly.

All in all, it was great to finally make a nostalgic return to YLK after its year-long hiatus. I really need to take a closer look at their char kway teow soon. It used to be my favorite dish around here.

Food Rating: 4.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 2031, 2/F, KOLOUR • Tsuen Wan I, 68 Chung On Street, Tsuen Wan, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsuen Wan

Tel: +852 6469-0422

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 9:30pm daily

Sister Wah Beef Brisket 華姐清湯腩 COCO Park 店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I wrote about Sister Wah Beef Brisket (華姐清湯腩) opening in Shenzhen back in April after I stumbled upon its (then-future) One Avenue (卓悅中心) outpost. This new location should save diehard fans some serious headaches, considering the long queues in front of their Tin Hau (天后) flagship. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I saw a Facebook post somewhere mentioning a certain Hong Kong mogul lining up there like us ordinary citizens. It really spoke volumes about the quality of Sister Wah — but my main question was whether they could maintain the same standard with ventures across the border.

I was running errands near Coco Park in Shenzhen this afternoon, and what I didn’t realize was that, apart from One Avenue, they were also opening another branch there. Guess I gotta find out about their beef brisket after all.

To my major disappointment, a few of their signatures were unavailable this afternoon including my favorite skirt steak (崩沙腩)!

Beef brisket in clear broth (清湯腩) — My consolation prize.

I have chosen egg noodles instead of flat noodles and it worked beautifully with the clear broth.

To my pleasant surprise, the beef brisket was much fattier than I thought. Even the meat wasn’t rough and chewy like I had first feared. Not bad.

The chilled cucumber was packed with a surprise extra kick (chili?).

Sister Wah Beef Brisket wasn’t my first choice to begin with but I was glad I unexpectedly bumped into its new location at Coco Park. Crossing it off my list didn’t even break a sweat.

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: B1F COCO Park, 268 Fuhua Road 3rd, Futian, Shenzhen, China

深圳市福田区福华三路268号星河COCO Park 一期负1楼 B1

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 13265884747

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/a8/14TM 

So Kee Coffee & Milk Tea 蘇記咖啡、奶茶 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

So Kee Coffee & Milk Tea (蘇記咖啡、奶茶) is a highly popular traditional Hong Kong–style stall located on the 2nd floor of the Tai Po Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre (大埔墟街市及熟食中心). It’s a favorite with locals for its exceptionally smooth milk tea and its robust ginger soup beef macaroni.

My team and I are in Tai Po for some business engagement and decided to stop by So Kee for its signature milk tea.

Once we found a table in the corner, we finally got served our iced milk tea. It was made from a custom blend of several tea leaves, and the result was incredibly silky and aromatic. Unfortunately, there wasn’t quite enough condensed milk to deliver that perfect creamy finish.

Still, it was a great moment — just enough time to enjoy a sip of tea before we got back to work.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$

Address: Shop CFS37, 2/F, Tai Po Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre, 8 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tai Po Market

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 2:30pm (Tue - Sun)