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Like most people out there, I get weird cravings from time to time. A few weeks ago I was dying for some HK style cafe food. For those of you who don’t know, HK style cafe serves chinese interpretations of western dishes such as spaghetti bolognese, baked pork chop etc. One of the best in town is alleluia cafe, which is located across the street from Richmond public market on Westminster highway. What sets alleluia apart from other HK cafes is nice ambiance and refillable drinks.
We ordered one appetizer and 2 entrees. Both entrees came with a free drink, so CL got the lemon iced tea and I got iced “mixed” tea, which is essentially half milk tea and half coffee ( don’t judge until you try it!). The lemon iced tea was good but was nothing special. On the other hand, the mixed tea was rich and creamy. Combined with the free refills it was perfect.
The first item to arrive was the Malay Roti with Curry Sauce. This version of famous malaysian dish was very doughy and dense. There were almost no layers within the pastry and the curry dipping sauce was rather watery. Not the best way to start a meal but we were willing to look past it since HK cafes aren’t known for their south east Asian cuisine.
Next to arrive was my Combination Dinner. I got to choose two meats from a big list of options and the meats were accompanies by spaghetti, veggies and black pepper sauce. I chose the chicken thighs and beef steak. The chicken was cooked very well, being golden on the outside and juicy on the inside. The steaks here were tenderized with baking soda before cooking, which meant the meat had almost no beef flavor. This is a common practice at HK cafes and I didn’t mind it because the meat was extremely tender. The accompanying black pepper sauce had a good kick from the abundance of black pepper and the spaghetti were a bit over cooked.
CL’s Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Onions Sauce arrived shortly after my entree. If you look at the picture, you can see the portion size was huge. The two giant pork chops were tender and juicy, and the accompanying onion gravy was rich and flavorful. At $6.95 (late night), this dish was a bargain.
The food at alleluia was nothing to write home about but the value was incredible. The portions were huge and the refillable drinks were a great added bonus. All this combined with friendly service (for a Chinese restaurant) and decent ambiance, we got ourselves one of the best HK style cafes in the GVRD.
Ambiance 7/10
Service 7/10
Food 8.5/10
Overall 7.5/10
