Honolulu Cafe Serves Affordable Hong Kong-Style Fare in Sanlitun

I have long been a fan of the branch of Honolulu Cafe in the basement food court of Parkview Green (next to Du Hsiao Yueh), so much so that I have refrained from writing about it at the risk of making it even harder to get a table at lunch. With the opening of a second branch on Xindong Lu, on the north side of the Jingkelong, I feel there is enough over-spill to make it safe enough to give away one of my regular quick lunch spots.

Honolulu Cafe specializes in cheap and cheerful dishes of the sort you will find on the menu of any Hong Kong cha chaan teng – wonton noodle soup, roast pork or duck with rice, slow braised curries, shrimp and egg foo young. they also have an extensive selection of dim sum, including eggs tarts and pineapple buns, which they justifiably promote as one of their specialties. All this ties in nicely with the (slightly ersatz) Hong-Kong-in-the-1960s diner decor.
 

The daily changing menu of set lunches offer exceptional value, at just RMB 39 (add RMB 9 for a hot or cold drink, including Hong Kong's signature yuanyang coffee-tea). On any given day you might find dishes such as beef curry with rice, stir-fried egg with cha siu pork, or stir-fried noodles, but whatever day it is you will always be able to order the Hong Kong-style roast meats with rice, my personal favorite (pictured above with crispy pork belly, soy sauce chicken, and a substitution of thin egg noodles for rice). These deals should make Honolulu Cafe pretty popular with the office workers surrounding Sanlitun. 

The food errs on the salty side, as some early Dianping reviews have pointed out, but for an occasional treat I don't mind too much (it's nothing that an iced lemon tea can't fix, anyway). And while Honolulu Cafe might not serve Beijing's most authentic Cantonese cuisine, it's a worthy addition to the Sanlitun lunch scene.

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Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Robynne Tindall