Food Review: Honolulu Café Singapore in Orchard Road | Famous Hong Kong Egg tart and Cha Chaan Teng opens in The CentrePoint

Posted on May 2, 2016 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place Meet Honolulu Café Singapore, which will be opening in The Centrepoint Singapore in early May 2016. Are you a fan of egg tarts and traditional Hong Kong teahouse, better known as ‘Cha Chaan Teng’? Yes, another famous Hong Kong F&B brand is opening in Singapore. Famous for its baked goods such as Egg Tarts and Pineapple Bun, as well as their Hong Kong Milk Tea, Honolulu Café has a long history in this business, founded in 1940s to be exact by the late Mr Yeung Jin Hei. There are currently nine outlets In Hong Kong and China, this is Honolulu Café’s first international outlet.

Located at level one in Centrepoint, the interior of Honolulu Cafe Singapore has a casual-retro vibe, with a counter at the front displaying its glorious egg tarts and pastries.

The food We are always sceptical of quality control whenever an overseas brand opens in Singapore, but we were assured that the Singapore branch is helmed by Chefs from Honolulu Café Hong Kong. We have tried the egg tarts previously while in Hong Kong, and we daresay it is one of the best we have! Talking about precision, Honolulu Café’s egg tarts utilizes a time-tested method by freezing the dough overnight to fold 192 layers for a crispy and flaky shell.

The Honolulu Egg Tart ($1.70 each) has a wobbly and flaky texture, just the way I like it to be. All the egg tarts are freshly baked daily, while stocks last! We overheard someone quipped that this is nicer than the Honk Kong’s version, don’t quote us.

Besides Egg Tarts and Hong Kong Milk Tea, there will be many popular items from its existing Hong Kong menu for a more authentic Cha Chaan Teng experience. Look forward to dishes such as Curry Fish Ball ($3), Scrambled Eggs ($2), Instant Noodle with a variety of toppings such as Ham/Luncheon Meat/BBQ Pork ($5), Chicken Wings with Swiss Sauce ($6), Baked Pork Chop in Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti/Rice ($7.80) and other popular Cha Chaan Teng delights.

My other favourite dish other than the egg tart is the Honolulu Pineapple Bun with Butter ($2 each). It sounds sinful but I actually love the thick slab of butter within the thick, crisp bun!

The Curry Fish Ball ($3) stays true to the ‘Yu Dan’ we had in Hong Kong, with a ‘QQ’ texture and a tasty curry sauce.

The Pork Chop Bun ($5) fell short of our expectations. The bun was good, but the pork chop seemed to lack marination and was slightly on the bland side. Hopefully this is just a teething issue.

The Chicken Wings with Swiss Sauce ($6) is a nice snack to go with some rice. The sauce might be on the salty side, but the tender chicken meat was a delight to indulge in.

The Sweet and Sour Pork ($7.80) was passable, not a main highlight here so order it unless you run out of items to eat.

Rants If you do not patronise Centrepoint often, you may get lost in the new wings of the mall, where Honolulu Cafe is located. Size wise, it will definitely be better if it is much bigger.

Will I Return Again? The truth is that we do not have many authentic Hong Kong style teahouses in Singapore, sorry that I do not count Xing Wang Cafe as one. Honolulu Cafe is one of the closest I can get to savouring a taste of Hong Kong without the need to jet off. While not all the dishes I tried are memorable, you can still count on the classics such as the egg tart and pineapple bun – which we will definitely return for.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 3/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5