Classic and New
Hong Kong Cafe carries on traditions, with a mix of new offerings
By Jim Delmont
Katherine Mah is carrying on at the Hong Kong Café following the death of her chef-husband, Albert, over a year ago. Albert was something of a whiz with flavors, textures and saucing, and Katherine has kept his favorites on the menu, but has recently added a clutch of “New House Specialties” of her own. These tend to be low-priced – in the $6 range – and available at lunch and dinner (the restaurant also does a very good carry-out business).
Among the new dishes are Papi Chicken (diced and stir-fried in a spicy brown sauce with sliced potatoes and onions); Guangzho Noodles (a popular favorite mixing lo mein noodles with your meat choice, vegetables and mala sauce – the sauce made with various peppers and spices simmered in oil); Twice-cooked Chicken – with water chestnuts; Roasted Chicken with fried potatoes and tofu in a spicy Szechuan sauce; Thai Fried Rice with pineapple; Satay-fried rice with a brown sauce kick; and another favorite with customers, Ma Po Beef with Tofu (steamed tofu) and a Ma Po sauce (a spicy, chili-bean concoction).
One of the best of the newcomers is the Green Pepper Chicken with black-bean sauce: it’s hearty rather than hot, spicy and deep-flavored – with mushrooms, white onion and green pepper, with hints of garlic and oyster sauce. As with other dishes you can add shrimp, pork or scalloped beef at slight extra cost.
Also new are Peking wings, curry chicken noodles, and a few other items.
From the regular menu the deep-fried “Honey Glazed Chicken” would have made a good dessert for as many as four: crispy morsels of chicken in a rich, thick honey sauce made with vinegar, sugar and honey, with almonds and cashews – sweet nuggets in two plate sizes ($6.75, more than enough, or “family” size at $11.25).
Many of the best choices here are hot – and so described on the menu (“HOT”). Among them, a longtime favorite dish for me is the Hot Crispy Shrimp ($13.25 double order), a heaping marmalade of shrimp glazed with a heady tomato-chili sauce, green onions and broccoli; the same sauce is served with the Shanghai Noodles, with chicken, beef, shrimp, button mushrooms and sweet onions ($11.95, double serving). Another spicy item is the delectable Chinese Spicy Noodle Soup ($11.25, double order), a sinus-clearing classic that will heat up tongue and palate and throat – chock with crisp vegetables (including broccoli – the secret is steaming them first, then dropping them into the wok for the soup), crisp shrimp, slices of beef, chicken nubs, and thick, soft noodles. This is one terrific dish. These are house specialties in double (“family”) orders, but four other specials come in either single or double order – $6.75 for a single order. One of the latter is the orange chicken, sauteed with red peppers in an orange sauce that really has some kick.
Also hot is the Firecracker Shrimp, with cauliflower, broccoli, baby corn and snow peas ($7.15), with flecks of hot red peppers in a spicy Hunan sauce; and Kung Pao Chicken ($4.70) – diced chicken and mushrooms sauteed in a spicy brown sauce with peanuts. Not so hot is the Triple Delight – soft nubs of chicken with beef slices, shrimp, and mixed vegetables in a mild brown sauce – the vegetables including water chestnuts, bright green broccoli, snap peas, cauliflower and corn ($7.15).
Other house specialties on the extensive menu include some real treats: peanut butter chicken, deep fried; mu shu pork with crepes; spicy Szechuan scallops; Hong Kong pan-fried noodles with chicken, beef, and shrimp. There are also many standard Chinese restaurant dishes offering variations on chicken, shrimp, pork or beef – Including even a curry hot beef offering. The lo-mein combo ($7.15) offers thick sturdy noodles with meats, and there are lemon chicken, sweet and sour dishes, egg foo yung, pork chow mein, some fried rice offerings and even shrimp in lobster sauce ($7.15).
They do good appetizers, here; crispy, pan-fried or steamed dumplings Hong Kong style (eight for $4.65), with thin membranes enclosing nuggets of pungent, seasoned pork with onion – served with a dark, heady dipping sauce made from soy, wine, and spices, with scallions and peppers (steamed is probably the favored choice); tangy soups (the hot and sour is a velvety hot soup, almost syrupy – “the best in town,” with silky egg strands, chicken, soy nubs, and bamboo shoots); crunchy egg rolls with chopped cabbage, carrot and fresh chicken ($1.65 each); spring rolls (pork filling); and Peking wings (chicken is fresh and not breaded). There are no alcoholic beverages available. Table service from Manjeeta, a young woman from Nepal, was excellent.
The kitchen’s sauces are blends of multiple ingredients that may include soy, bok soy, oyster and hoison sauces, plus cooking sherry and sesame oil. Fried rice is prepared in a two-step process – first steamed partially, then tossed in a wok – this makes for a light, fluffy rice. The menu mixes Hong Kong dishes with those from other regions – Szechuan, North China, Canton. There are daily dinner specials with sides (in the $8 to $9 range) and new $5.25 all-day specials (including soup and crab Rangoon), in addition to various lunch specials, usually in the $5 range – written on a board. Albert’s touch is missed, as his personality, but the family is carrying on – and Katherine also does catering.