Ngau Kee 牛記茶室

Taking a break from this godforsaken GRE studying... was slaving around for 4 hours doing this online test and was on the last section when the internet decides to go crazy and caused the entire test to die. Now I won't know how I did.... TOO UPSET.

Will write a blog post to make myself feel better.

Y has been in Hong Kong for a decent amount of time and I appalled when I found out that no one has taken her to a Hong Kong style 茶餐廳! We haven't seen each other in ages so it was great to see her and catch up over some good cheap food. 牛記茶室 is apparently quite well known and I went on openrice to make sure I knew about some of their famous dishes. Kau Kee is actually right down the road and as you all know is famous for their beef brisket. 牛記茶室 is actually also famous for their beef brisket but they stop serving it after 5:30 pm. According to reviews, the restaurant gets pretty busy but fortunately when we went it was quiet and we were able to get a table right away. The place is nothing fancy and had a very cozy homey feeling to it. The owner was holding an adorable baby and you can tell that this is a very mom and pop place. Service was quite friendly and the food was delicious. One complaint was that the food took quite a while to make, but it was so delicious that I would definitely return again even if I had to wait for long!

Pork and Lotus Root Patty 脆皮煎肉餅
This dish was heavily featured on the Openrice page so I knew we HAD to try it. The patty had great flavor and texture, it was firm and you can tell they put decent ingredients in it. They came out piping hot and had a lovely crunchy outside that was just the perfect thinness. They went very well with some hot sauce and we happily gobbled this down. 

Salt and Pepper Squid 椒鹽鮮魷 
This is one of my favorite dishes to order when I was at Chinese restaurants in the States. I actually love it regardless, but it was one of those dishes that always tasted decent. This dish was absolutely mind-blowing. The squid was tender and encased with a golden crispy batter. This pile of glorious squid is then piled with crispy deep friend garlic. These were served with a small plate of vinegar to provide the perfect tangy acidity. YUM. 

Cha Siu with Scrambled Eggs and Chinese Chives 叉燒韭菜炒蛋
Cha siu and eggs are two of my go to favorites. The cha siu was just right, not too fat, not too lean. The egg was super silky and creamy. The chives were the perfect crunch that just topped off the whole dish. 

As you all can see, this is not some fine dining gourmet experience, and I think it's so stupid when people on Openrice complain about how the service was not polite enough etc. You need to know what kind of place you are eating with and have different expectations. This is solid good food in a humble and down to earth environment. The food was absolutely delicious and I will definitely return again next time I am in the mood for some comforting and scrumptious food. I think when I am back in the States, this will be the food that I will miss the most (apart from Mommy's cooking of course!)

Ngau Kee 牛記茶室 

3 Gough Street

Noho

Central

Hong Kong