Opened for operations slightly more than half a year ago, those who love travelling to Hongkong should not be stranger to the popular HK tea chain known for its famous egg tarts!
On the Honolulu Cafe Singapore's Facebook page, it's hard not to notice the low star rating with a respectable 136 reviews; most of which centred on bad customer service. I agree that the service was lacking but not horrendous in our visit a week ago; nevertheless, there was still plenty of room for improvement.
However, i would hesitate to bring my family as they allocate a much higher priority to service when it comes to food. For me, food is more important and i thought pricing was rather reasonable given its fame and location within a shopping mall along Orchard road.
Milk Tea - i have never been keen in Hongkong style hot beverages and always prefer the teh and kopi from our local kopitiams. As expected, i didn't like the milk tea; it was thin and tasted siap. Nothing like the milky, aromatic richness from our local teh with milk.
French Toast - the type of French toast i absolutely adore; it was nicely cut up into four pieces which means a bigger surface area to indulge in that addictive egg batter topped with butter and sweet syrup!
Are you the type of diner who hates to find an empty middle when you dig into French toast?! I am and i was secretly pleased to find a buttery middle when i sliced through the soft toast; simple pleasures of life. :P
Pork Chop Bun - just the other day, i was complaining about the pork chop bun from Tai Lei Lok Kei and i thought my love for the signature Portuguese bun would be lost for good. It didn't take long to rekindle the love although it was a pork chop bun from another dining establishment; yes, the one at honolulu cafe!
Bread was toasted to a crisp and the entire combination was just perfect; the sweetness of the bread, the juicy savouriness from the pork, the freshness of just-about-the-right-amount-of lettuce and that thin layer of mayonnaise. Don't belittle the salad at the side; it was as delicious as the cold platter prawn salad served in Chinese weddings, sans the prawns.
Pineapple Bun - Another bun but one that i would try as there was a period of time i literally lived in the boluo (another word for pineapple) buns from Crystal Jade! Now, let's check out the one from the cafe.
Like the french toast, there was a buttery middle even though the quantity was a lot more; my friend complained it wasn't salty enough while i was quite comfortable with what i had. As a whole, it didn't disappoint with a big and nice flaky top and a fluffy bottom.
Egg Tart - the icon of Honolulu cafe; i think Asian styled tarts are the recent fad in Singapore. In addition to Honolulu cafe, there was also the craze on hokkaido cheese tarts, the tai cheong egg tarts in just 2016 alone! Said to boast 192 layers, my taste buds are not refined enough to taste the differences in the pastry bowl housing the wobbly egg custard.
It was flaky alright yet i was more taken aback by the fact that the pastry wasn't overwhelming despite the number of layers! Many a time, i actually discarded excessive pastry in exchange for a better egg-pastry ratio. The egg middle appealed to me (and likely my mom) as it wasn't overly sweet and in all, the egg tart actually tasted pretty good, especially when served hot.
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Location
176 Orchard Road,
#01-33F/G, The Centrepoint,
Singapore 238843
Map
As above. Nearest MRT station would be Somerset of the red North-South line.
Menu
As above.
Pricing
Milk Tea - S$3.20
French Toast - S$3.20
Pork Chop Bun - S$5.50
Pineapple Bun - S$2.00
Egg Tart - S$1.80 each
(Subject to GST and Service Charge)
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