Hong Kong Cha Kee (Food Junction @ Westgate)

There seems to be quite a fair bit happening around the food court scene these days — while Food Republic has been giving some of its locations a revamp, the Food Junction location at Westgate has also seen the opening of a new tenant within its premises in recent times as well. For folks whom have been following the happenings of the local F&B scene for a while, Hong Kong Cha Kee 香港茶記 might be a name that sounds familiar to some — being an independent establishment located in Novena, these folks was once known as Hong Kong Day. Cha Kee, but had since changed their name to Hong Kong Cha Kee instead. This is their very first foray into food court operations — it can also be described that the Westgate location of Hong Kong Cha Kee is that of an “express” outlet. With that in mind, the food menu at Hong Kong Cha Kee at its Westgate location is of a limited selection of what they offer at Novena — the menu is being split into sections dedicated to Scrambled Egg series, Baked Rice / Spaghetti series, Mains, Claypot and Curry. There are also items such as Bolo Buns and Egg Tarts available at their Westgate location; all of them being stocked in the display warmer places atop the counter.

The Tomato Pork Chop Spaghetti is a dish that is being listed on the Baked Rice / Spaghetti series section of the menu — there are two main variants of baked rice and spaghetti being served here; one that features a tomato-based sauce and one that features a cream-based sauce, with each variant coming with various meat options to go along such as the likes of pork chop, chicken chop, seafood and fish fillet. For those whom fancy rice over noodles, baked rice is also available here. Considering how this is a baked rice item, do expect a waiting time of around 15 minutes for the item to be served. The Tomato Pork Chop Spaghetti is pretty decent here though there isn’t much to shout about in terms of its execution — those whom are slightly more picky about their food might note how the layer of melted cheese doesn’t cover the entire dish completely, leaving some strands of the pasta exposed. That being said, the dish still comes with a stringy cheese pull from the melted cheese that blankets both the spaghetti and the pork chop. The pasta is done just about right being al-dente, whilst being tossed in a tomato-based sauce that comes withs a slight tang, though the flavours are less pronounced that that of the pastas that employs the use of tomato puree — one can also find some shreds of onions within the sauce as well. The pork chop wasn’t much to shout about; some areas also being a little more difficult to chew than others.

These folks were running an opening promotion when we made our visit to their Westgate location, and we found ourselves having a complimentary serving of their Curry Fishballs which they were giving out for every single main dish that was being ordered. The fish balls here do come all bouncy, while the curry gravy here carries a rich note despite being one that doesn’t seem to come with coconut milk; likely involving only the use of curry powder and turmeric — very fragrant on its own. We also managed to try the Egg Tart during the same visit as well — the Egg Tart from Hong Kong Cha Kee comes with a cookie crust and egg curd filled within. Despite coming with a cookie crust that looked relatively thick, the cookie crust had barely got the structural integrity to hold up the egg curd above. The egg curd also came with a slight hint of egginess which we found not to be too sweet overall.

We did recall that Hong Kong Cha Kee’s offerings were decent but nothing too out-of-the-world when we gave them a go at their Novena location. This seems to still remain true with our experience of the brand at their Westgate location, though we did find it albeit more acceptable considering how they are operating within a food court this time round. The prices of their food offerings are pretty wallet-friendly and matches to that of the environment that they are operating in — with prices of their individually-sized mains starting from $6.80 for the Luncheon Meat Rice from the Scrambled Egg series, the priciest items are listed at $9.80 being the dishes from the Claypot section of the menu. Whilst Hong Kong Cha Kee isn’t the spot that we will make an out-of-the-way visit for, its Westgate outlet does provide a more convenient location for their regulars from the West to head to to resolve their cravings for their fare or those whom are residing in the West whom are interested in them but yet to have given them a go at their Novena location. With all said, they do certainly add on as an interesting dining choice in the West.