Hong Kong 茶水攤

I Highly Recommend ☆☆☆☆☆

Taipei cafe offering: Hong Kong Tea Restaurant Food, 香港茶餐廳食品 / HK-Style French Toast, 法蘭西多士 / Pineapple Bun,  菠蘿飽 / BBQ Pork Pastry, 叉燒酥 / Coffee Milk Tea, yuān yāng, 鴛鴦奶茶 / Dim Sum / Noodles / Rice Bowls / Toast / Sandwiches / Soup / Fried Rice / Noodle Soup / Roasted Meat / Snacks / Desserts / Drinks

Address:
No. 19, Ln. 190, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106
台北市大安區敦化南路一段190巷19號
Phone: (02) 2778-6466
Hours: 11:30am - 10pm Daily
Last Reviewed: 4 May 2015


My Hong-Kong-tea-restaurant craving has been satisfied thanks to Hong Kong 茶水攤 and Michael's Kitchen
​麥記飯堂, both of which have the same owner and menu.

First let my explain what a "Hong Kong tea restaurant" is and how it differs from dim sum, and then I will cover it's interesting history. What Chinese call 茶餐廳 (chá cāntīng)(tea restaurants), Westerners would call cafes. Dim sum is a type of restaurant that serves many different small dishes -- typically only Cantonese food -- with usually three small items per plate, so that many different items can be eaten in one dining experience. Dim sum places usually have some full-sized dishes as well. I like dim sum, but I fell in love with Hong Kong tea restaurants (cafes) when I visited Hong Kong for the second time. I love soaking up the chilled, relaxed vibe -- well, chilled for Hong Kong that is -- while sipping a hot cup of coffee mixed with milk tea and shoving Hong Kong-style French toast and a pineapple bun (bōluó bǎo)(菠蘿飽) in my mouth; there are many full-sized dishes to choose from, not just breakfast and snack-like items. Also, most HK tea restaurants have some dim sum choices available, so you can get the best of both worlds at one local: small plates, full-sized dishes, Cantonese and Canto-Western food.

In early Hong Kong only high-class restaurants provided western food, and most of them did not serve local people. At that time people saw western food as a luxury item. After World War II, Hong Kong culture was influenced by British culture from being colonized. Hong Kong people started to like drinking tea and eating cake. To fulfill this desire, some of the Hong Kong people set up tea restaurants with local people being the target audience, providing different kinds of Canto-Western cuisine and drinks at reasonable prices, and became regarded as "cheap western food" or "soy sauce western food" (chǐ yóu xīcān)(豉油西餐). During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, tea restaurants became much more popular in Hong Kong because they provided cheap food that the public could afford during hard times. In April 2007, one of the Hong Kong political officers suggested that 茶餐廳 (chá cāntīng)(tea restaurants) be listed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, because of its important role in Hong Kong society.

I always ordera a hot coffee mixed with milk tea, a signature drink of HK tea restaurants. It's traditionally a mixture of three parts of coffee and seven parts of Hong Kong-style milk tea, and can be served hot or cold. In Chinese it's called 鴛鴦奶茶 (yuān yāng nǎi chá) or just simply 鴛鴦 (Mandarin duck). Mandarin ducks are a symbol of conjugal love in Chinese culture, as the birds usually appear in pairs and the male and female look very different. Also looking different is black coffee and white milk tea, but they make a perfect pair when joined. Black & White Milk (至愛黑白淡奶) is a famous condensed and evaporated milk brand used in most HK tea restaurant's milk tea drinks. The company was established in 1940. Condensed milk is milk mixed with 40-45% sugar and then heated until about 60% of the water evaporates, leaving it thicker, creamier, and sweeter. Evaporated milk is made through the same process but without the sugar. I always order my yuān yāng (coffee milk tea) hot and sugarless, so I'm drinking coffee with evaporated milk.

Now back to covering this fine restaurant. I found the dishes at Hong Kong 茶水攤 and Michael's Kitchen 麥記飯堂 ranging from being a little under to above the quality of the same dishes and drinks I had at tea restaurants in Hong Kong; I may add that very few of their items fell in the under quality comparison area, which isn't surprising since the owner, Michael Lee (李文基), is from Hong Kong, a Hongkonger or Hong Kongese. I think these restaurants are undervalued; when I read the two old Taipei Times reviews covering it, I could clearly tell from the reviews' words that the reviewers weren't familiar with Hong Kong tea restaurants, and shouldn't have been critiquing something they obviously knew nothing about. I didn't even attempt to review, only dined-in, Taipei Hong Kong tea restaurants until I had knowledge of the real thing in Hong Kong, in order to have something to compare it against and know what's authentic ... obviously. Also, most people seem to prefer dim sum, so they unfairly compare it with HK tea restaurants, thinking that tea restaurants are just low-class versions of dim sum places, when in fact they're actually a whole different type of Hong Kong restaurant. 

Now I have a place in Taipei to enjoy all my favorite items from Hong Kong tea restaurants, which I'm completely thrilled about! I almost wished their service was as bad as the service at HK tea restaurants, so that I could really feel like I was back in Hong Kong -- well, maybe not. However, I didn't mind it while in Hong Kong because it's part of the territory, it's an authentic tradition to regard your clientele with apathy or even disdain -- haha.


Vegetarian options: French Toast (NT$80), Pineapple Bun (NT$50), Coffee Milk Tea (NT$85) -- all the best things at a HK tea restaurant. Also, Imperial Concubine Quicksand Ball (NT$100), Royal French Toast (NT$110), fried noodles or rice with vegetable dishes, different kinds of toast, snacks, and desserts.

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Walkerland's Hong Kong 茶水攤 review of Nanjing E. Rd. Location
Address:
No. 19, Ln. 190, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106
台北市大安區敦化南路一段190巷19號
Phone: (02) 2778-6466
Hours: 11:30am - 10pm Daily

Chinese Menu Only, but most of the best dishes have pictures on the menu, allowing for finger-pointing ordering
Average Dish Price: NT$40-360 range, look at the menu in the picture section for a better idea
Cash Only
10% Service Charge
No Wi-Fi

Click on link below for a Google STREET VIEW (the sign has changed)
麥記飯堂 茶水攤
Address: 台北市大安區延吉街137巷6-2號
No. 6-2, Ln. 137, Yanji St., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106
Phone: (02) 2772-5252
Hours: 11:30am - 10pm Daily

Chinese Menu Only, but most of the best dishes have pictures on the menu, allowing for finger-pointing ordering
Average Dish Price: NT$40-360 range, look at the menu in the picture section for a better idea
Cash Only
10% Service Charge
No Wi-Fi

Click on link below for a Google STREET VIEW
Hong Kong 茶水攤
I haven't dined at this location, but the food was consistent at the other two locations, so this one is probably the same.

Address: 台北市中山區南京東路三段218號
No. 218, Sec. 3, Nanjing E. Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City 104
Phone: (02) 2778-7120
Hours: 11:30am - 10pm Daily

Chinese Menu Only, but most of the best dishes have pictures on the menu, allowing for finger-pointing ordering
Average Dish Price: NT$40-360 range, look at the menu in the picture section for a better idea
Cash Only
10% Service Charge
Some dishes at Hong Kong 茶水攤 can be viewed in this video. 
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