Mr.Wong's Restaurant - A unique restaurant in Mong Kok - Hong Kong

Cha Chaan Teng is one of the most popular type of restaurant in Hong Kong for locals. After the 2nd World War, Hong Kong people were influenced by Western eating cultures, so many cafes popped up. At the beginning cafes only serve things like coffee, milk tea, sandwiches, toast, pineapple bun and egg tart, a kind of Chinese version of Western snack food. They charge less than proper western restaurants so its more affordable for low to middle class people. As time went by, they offered more variety of food and nowadays include proper main dishes and this is how it became Chan Chaan Teng - Tea cafe.

Most Cha Chaan Teng open early, around 5-6am so they can serve people breakfast. Some Cha Chaan Teng close in the early evening but there are also others that do night time trade as well. In Hong Kong you can also find Cha Chaan Teng that are open 24-hours.

Cha Chaan Teng are more like a fast eating restaurant. You go in there, find a seat, order your food, eat then you pay at the cashier and go. Their price is usually quite cheap and they don't require tips. I also believe Cha Chaan Tang are the most frequently visited restaurants for Hongkies. Usually working class people go there in the morning to grab a sandwiches, a bowl of noodles or a Chinese style pasta in soup with a cup of hot milk tea/coffee to start their day. At lunch time, groups of workers or students gather together and go there for lunch, to eat mainly rice or noodles from the daily set menus. At night time, families and friends will also go there for dinner. Cha Chaan Teng have became part of Hong Kong culture, which has even been exported to other countries like China, UK, Germany, Taiwan, Canada, etc.

The one that I'm about to introduce - Mr. Wong's Restaurant is, I think, one of the very rarest Cha Chaan Teng in Hong Kong because it provides so much warmth, friendliness, humour and fun in this fast moving city (especially since most Hongkies are usually fairly reserved). This restaurant's name is actually called ' 康樂茶餐廳 Hong Lok Cha Chaan Teng '; Hong Lok means healthy and happy but if you look it up on internet, you can't find any English review about Hong Lok Cha Chaan Teng unless you change the search to Mr.Wong restaurant. I guess that's easier for foreign customers to remember in this way because the owner here is called, surprise, surprise, Mr.Wong, a fellow that's so friendly, passionate, cares about Hong Kong and the city's younger generation and loves to joke and laugh.

I wouldn't say its the food that attracted us to come here again and again. It's more about the unique atmosphere, the homey feeling, the service and of course, the soul of this restaurant as well as the staff. They are all very nice indeed.

The first time we went there was about a year and half ago. One night my boyfriend and I were wondering if there's any fun restaurant to try and so we had a search. There's almost no reviews about Mr. Wong from the locals but many from expats and tourists! They described this place like a small Lan Kwai Fong, its full of people from everywhere in the world, lots of cultures and the restaurant does all you can eat Chinese food and beer for a really cheap price!

We went there 3 times already and every time we left with a very full stomach and a smiley face. What I learnt about this place is, during the day time, its just a traditional Cha Chaan Teng just like the rest, but at night time, Mr.Wong makes it into a kind of bar and restaurant.

He offers a really good package deal for foreigners: For only HKD 80 ( US$10.25 ), you will be served with unlimited food and beer with no time limit! Local food in Hong Kong isn't expensive unless you want delicacies or fine dining, but having a beer at pubs would probably costs you HKD 70- 90 (US$7.8 - 11.53) or HKD 20-35 (US$2.56-4.49) for a big bottle at a Cha Chaan Teng. This prevents tourists that are on budget or Uni students who want to have a good time, from drink as much as they would like, but you won't have to worry about this at Mr. Wong's.

So, now you must be wondering what kind of food does he serve? If you are a newcomer, Mr. Wong will just order you a few different dishes that are available, such as broccoli, sweet & sour fish, fried rice etc. After we went there a few times, I realised that they are making the same few kinds of food every night, so if you remember what you like from the last time, you can order the same food again.

The first dish he brought was a dumpling, Chinese Samosa and Spring roll platter. Inside the dumpling is some seasoned mince pork and chopped vegetable, wrapped with dumpling pastry and deep fried. Its similar to the other two but the Samosa is with mild curry flavour.

He will also bring you some sauces for dipping such as soy sauce for saltiness, chilli sauce (top left) is normally applied to stir fried noodles and is spicy with a mild sourness. The chilli sauce on the right is sweet & spicy sauce and is commonly used in Thailand and good for dipping with deep fried food.

I think this is the only vegetable dish that I ate there, it's stir fried broccoli with some glazed salty sauce with some peanuts and Chinese spicy bean paste on top.

This one is a very typical Chinese dish that you can find in most Cha Chann Teng - black pepper sauce stir fry with slice beef and onion. It has a very strong peppery taste and the sliced beef is usually marinated with corn scratch so it remains tender.

I think this one is Portuguese-style curry chicken. It has a coconut taste balanced with the spiciness from the curry.

Sweet & sour fish: They will coat the fish with potato starch and then deep fry it. It is then stir fried with onion and pineapple. Sometimes people also add bell peppers and finally tomato sauce, sugar and vinegar is added to make that sweetness and sourness, which is also very commonly applied to pork spareribs.

Fried rice with egg.

Stir fried flat rice noodles with sliced beef and sprouts with some added light & dark soy sauce to give colouring and flavour.

The inside area of this restaurant looks more or less like other Cha Chaan Teng but with a slight international flavour.

The rear seating area is the most fun bit. It has a more social pub-like vibe than other HK Cha Chaan Teng and is a bit like some drinking places in other South East Asian countries. It was a Tuesday night when I took this photo but it was still packed with foreigners even on a weekday! Mr. Wong always likes to know where are his customers come from and I even heard that sometimes he would introduce different groups and people to others from the same nation.

As mentioned earlier, Mr. Wong not only serve unlimited food but also beer! They have a fridge at the rear that's stored with heaps of beer! YES! you can drink as much as you want! If you are sitting at the outside area, you are also welcome to serve yourself and go get as many beers as you like!

Just remember, this is not fine dining, this is Cheap & Cheerful! The unique point about this place is it gives lots of happiness and memories to its customers especially for tourists and expats. I think it is the most fun Cha Chann Teng I've ever been in my life and I will definitely go back there again!

Information

Mr. Wong’s Restaurant No.10 Shamchun Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon +852 2384 6833

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