I lovingly refer to Tsui Wah as the Denny's of Hong Kong. And I mean that in the most endearing of…read moreways.
Tsui Wah is a chain that is peppered throughout Hong Kong and Kowloon and is one of the most reliable places in town; there is something for everyone here. Even though my relatives laugh at me when I say this is one of my favorite places in HK, I have to say, I really appreciate that this place is welcoming of all people, especially us foreigners. The entire menu is in Chinese and English with pictures of all of the items.This means anyone and everyone can come in and taste iconic Hong Kong dishes and not be intimidated. There is something to be said about that.
The time of day is irrelevant here, the menu remains the same all day and you can order whatever you want, whenever you want.
The most important thing to get here is the milk tea, it is iconic HK and the TW version is one of the best. The hot version comes in a signature TW cup (which I wish they sold, I really want one!). If you're feeling fancy, you can even order it in a champagne-like bottle, appropriately set in a bucket of ice. Their other iconic item on the menu is the pineapple bun (bolo bao) with a thick slice of butter, which comes out nice and hot so the edges of the butter start to melt... mmm!
My favorites are the fish ball vermicelli noodle soups w/tom yum soup base, thick toast with butter & condensed milk, their signature chow mein (a perfect mix of savory gravy soaked noodles and nest of crispy edges, they do it well here), baked spaghetti bolognese, and their sizzling combo meat platter (which my sister has referred to as the viking platter due to the pile of meat). If there are too many options and you can't decide, the first two pages show you all of their bestsellers so choose from there and you are good to go. On occasion, they do change and update their menu items but the staples are always there. Almost everything is under $100 HKD (the sizzling platters are just above $100 HKD) and even if you order a dish + drink, you'll still be under $100 HKD. They previously only accepted cash & octopus cards, but now accept credit cards.
The staff at this location deserves five stars! There can often be a line outside the door, but they can get people in/out pretty fast, even the food comes out really fast. We always ask for a booth and they are happy to have us stand aside to let others get seated first while we wait for a a booth. Whenever I try to order, they patiently accept my limited Cantonese, pointing at the menu, googling pictures of what I mean to say on my phone, hand gestures and requests for no bean sprouts. Hey, I try my best! And they do not judge me, so thank you! If you are ordering to-go and they notice you've been waiting for awhile, they will come check your ticket number and follow up w/the status of your order. Really nice people here.
Perfect for a late night bite or cheap eats all over town.