Made in Hong Kong

On our recent visit to Edinburgh we are delighted to discover this authentic Hong Kong cha chaan teng 茶餐廳, serving delicious classic dishes with a rather tongue-in-cheek menu (in the Chinese version).

Walking into this tiny 13-seater restaurant/cafe, the no frills decor and layout instantly transported me back to Hong Kong.

We sampled the honey chilli chicken wings 蜜辣雞翼 which were still steaming hot when they arrived before us, and were crispy and flavourful. The wings have already been marinated with salt and pepper marinate before being glazed with the honey and chilli. The beef brisket rice 牛腩飯 was rich and tender. The HK-style tomato, egg and beef rice 港式茄蛋牛飯 tasted just like how it is in Hong Kong - a perfect combo of sweet, savoury and sour flavours with a scrambled egg which is not over-scrambled/cooked. The highlight was the Peking sauce pork chop rice 京汁豬扒飯 - the pork was lightly battered and fried and was juicy and succulent against a zingy sauce.

The owner, who is from Hong Kong, was very friendly and attentive. He gave us wet wipes when he spotted us enjoying the chicken wings by hand, and asked if we wanted our water cold or hot (which was very Chinese).

We were rather full from the generous portions but managed to fit in a warm pineapple bun 菠蘿包，an egg tart 蛋撻 and a pastel de nata (Portuguese tart) 葡撻. They were fresh, eggy and creamy but not too sweet. I also had my sight set on the French toast but my companions, having taken one look at the size of the toast, refused to partake. Alas, that (and the HK-style black pepper chicken stir fry spaghetti) will have to wait until the next visit.

Edith Lai, 11 Jan 2023
Vice Chair, Hong Kong Business Network

62 Ratcliffe Terrace, Edinburgh
EH9 1ST