Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe 壹仟香港茶餐厅

Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe 壹仟香港茶餐厅 was a place that was pretty much of a surprise find for us — situated at The Rail Mall, we noticed the shop whilst whizzing past The Rail Mall on public transport. Since we are usually quite excited on the finding of new Hong Kong cafes all across the island, we had made a mental note to drop by Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe some day. Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe is located right beside Maeklong Kitchen at The Rail Mall; the row of shophouses which it is being situated at is where other F&B tenants such as the outlets of EAT., The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf as well as BakersField & Co are also at. For those whom find the name of Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe familiar, this is because Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe is by the same folks that had brought us Yi Qian Private Dining 壹仟私厨 that is located within Thye Hong Industrial Centre just a short distance away from Redhill MRT Station. Whilst Yi Qian Private Dining is more of a formal concept, Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe deviates quite a fair bit from what Yi Qian Private Dining is — this is more of a casual establishment which one can pop by for a fuss-free meal. The interior is decked almost in the same way that one would expect a Hong Kong-style tea room would be in Hong Kong; this includes the use of wooden panels, pastel-coloured walls, marble-esque table tops with cushioned stools and booth seating to evoke such vibes. Being of a Hong Kong-style tea room, Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe’s menu features a good variety of items categorised into Dim Sum, Deep-fried Dim Sum, Baked Dim Sum, Vermicelli Rice Roll, Congee, Chef’s Specialty (mainly comprising of Gong Zai Mian and Shrimp Wanton / Dumpling Noodle (Soup), and Roast Meat Rice / Noodle. Beverages available at Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe includes Hong Kong Style Milk Tea, Iced Lemon Tea and canned drinks to name a few, though they also do offer desserts like the Mango Sago with Pomelo and Lemongrass Jelly as well.

Whilst they do carry quite a good variety of Dim Sum on the menu, we had visited Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe during a weekend dinner service and thus were also craving for something that was a little bit more substantial than simply just dim sum to share around the table. There are not many individually-sized dishes that would make for a decent sized meal for one that is available at Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe; the main categories of dishes to go for would be from the Congee, Chef’s Specialty and the Roasted Meat Rice / Noodle sections of the menu. It was needless to say that our choice was to go for an item from the Roasted Meat Rice / Noodle section of the menu — we went for the Twin BBQ Combination Noodle which allows patrons to opt for two different types of Hong Kong-style roasted meat. Our choice of Hong Kong-style roasted meat would be the Barbecued Pork and Roasted Duck; other Hong Kong-style roasted meat options which patrons can opt for includes Roasted Chicken and Roasted Pork. The Twin BBQ Combination Noodle sees the meat being served separately from the noodles in its own platter, while the order also comes accompanied with a bowl of soup on the side. We were actually rather surprised with the generous portion of meat that came with our order of the Twin BBQ Combination Noodle — between the two, our favourite was the Barbecued Pork considering how there was a good combination of fatty and lean parts that gave it a melt-in-the-mouth texture that did not require much effort to chew through. The Roasted Duck on the other hand felt pedestrian; a little tough and on the drier side though we did notice how the flesh wasn’t too grainy. That being said, despite its limp skin, we actually quite liked the savoury sauce for the roasted duck with a sweet undertone that was absolutely flavoursome — would have worked well with rice on its own. The noodles tasted pretty authentic to that of Hong Kong-style dry wanton noodles; a little alkaline-y and with small pieces of lard and blanched greens, though the noodles were a little hard for our liking.

Whilst we have heard quite a number of rave reviews when it comes to Yi Qian Private Dining over their Cantonese / Teochew fare, we found ourselves very much sitting on the fence when it comes to Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe — the highlight for us did feel like it was the execution of the Barbecued Pork and that sauce that accompanies the Braised Duck in our order of the Twin BBQ Combination Noodle, though there wasn’t anything else that stood out particularly for us aside from that. We had tried a couple of other items; mostly from its Dim Sum section of the menu — this would include items like the Steamed Crystal Shrimp Dumpling 'Har Kao', Steamed Spare Rib with Black Bean Sauce, Radish Cake and Barbecued Pork Buns. Most of these dishes can be described as forgettable with nothing much left to be remembered. The Barbecued Pork Buns were decent though average; the bun itself being a little thick though does carry a good fragrance of Chinese mantous — the barbecue pork filling did came slightly savoury from the use of XO sauce amidst the sweetness, though the flavours of the sauce didn’t come through enough and the cut of the chunks of meat in the bun were not particularly notable. The Radish Cake did come with a crisp surface; whilst being soft and observed to come with strips of radish and bit of sausages in between, we felt that the flavours lacked complexity despite the use of multiple elements in the dish. Overall, it does seem that the direction that Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe was to be a casual establishment that attempts to please the masses — nothing too over-the-top, nor are they trying to break boundaries; probably around to give residents as well as the folks visiting the Green Corridor yet another dining option to consider. Prices of the Dim Sum across all categories of such fare (i.e. including Dim Sum, deep-fried Dim Sum and baked Dim Sum) range between $4 to $6.80, while the individually-sized dishes such as Congee, Chef’s Specialty and Roasted Meat Rice / Noodles with a single choice of Hong Kong-style roasted meat are priced from $3.80 to $8.80 — it is needless to say that having Dim Sum at Yi Qian Hong Kong Cafe is a pricier choice after all …