Cha Chan Tang

I also want a good cup of milktea when i go to Chinatown, and Cha Chan Tang by far has the best milktea… especially the cold one! Instead of putting ice in it, they chill it in the bottle and serve with ice on the outside… i bit pricy, but taste rich and not water down…
Food selection is wide, but taste ok… i do like their baked rice or spaghetti… make me feel like i was back in HK…

hk milk tea fire af. food is bomb. staff is bomb. atmosphere… bomb (wi-​fi !). fast service and fun restaurant with a poppin karaōke bar downstairs to wind down after you kill your meal. if you want legit hong kong food pull through to this place.
must-​trys:
— hk milk tea (obviously)
— curry fish balls
— house special toast with yummy condensed milk and chunky peanut butter over fluffy & puffy thick toast
— all of the baked dishes

Horrible. horrible… horrible… not even worth trying. the food was not cooked properly. soggy noodles, tasteless.

Came out of the cold and decided to just have a nice HK style tea (no food) to warm up. The service is prompt (guess they want you to order, eat, and leave). The HK style tea was okay. Strong but not as smooth and silky as Marathon’s in Toronto. I prefer if it was piping hot as this was just hot. Will try their noodle dishes next time.

Cool spot, and we got a spacious booth in the corner. We had the:
condensed milk and butter toast: yum to butter, haha
black and white HK style tea: I liked this, plus it’s cute to have your tea in a mini ice bucket: P
fried rice noodle with beef and soy: pretty standard and the portions for pretty much all of their main entrees are huge!
Good times.

Not really sure how this place is still holding a solid 3.5 stars…
Pretty damn terrible service — the people who work there obviously don’t want to be there, and have no interest in serving you. It took them about a good 15 minutes to even come to our table to take our orders after flagging them down!
Food is seriously very sub-​par. Their bubble tea is also atrociously bad… the tapioca balls are way overcooked, mushy, and tasteless. Please do yourself a favor and go to kung fu tea for real bubble tea with quality milk/​tea/​honey tapioca.
I guess if you’re waiting for someone in Chinatown, trying to kill time, or have a larger group, you can come here, but that’s about it. They have a decent sized space, not sure why they don’t upgrade their space/​menu and food.
I miss tearriffic (not MUCH better, but definitely better!!!).

They need to update their menu inserts. It’s a little too raggedy. Wasn’t sure about flipping through them.
Other than that, I really liked their Hong Kong style soup with noodles. I got it in instant noodles and with ham and egg. I got the hot strawberry black tea that tasted like what I think paradise would taste like. I had to save it and take it to go.
I’d come back here when I’m in the area to grab a quick bite again.

A-​OK, eatable but not preferable in between a ²⁄₃. The food here is not as good as other Hong Kong Style cafes. I was hoping their dishes would have improve over these two years but I guess it still does not suit my taste. The first time I came here was two years ago and that was when my friend recommended me their HK style milk tea which at that time I already felt that the HK milk tea was so-​so, I had better from the Chinese bakery other than fancy presentation.
Their decoration is pretty neat with cups stacked in one of the seating area, they have people in Hong Kong printed by wall to the bathroom. The two bathroom is unisex and they windows with a screen inside of recordings of Hong Kong Streets at night. I didn’t like the menus because the sleeves that is protecting the menu is a bit old and it was a bit hard for me read the menu from the scratches and reflection of the sleeve.
Their menu have a large variety of choices from breakfast menu to baked rices, spaghetti, macaroni to fried rices and noodles to soup noodle and drinks. It’s inexpensive compare to many other places but food looks better than how it taste. Everything we ordered tasted so plain even the baked the rice. We ordered the Baked Ham & Chicken baked cream with spaghetti and it just so plain other than the tasteless cream on the rice, after mixing the spaghetti it didn’t like taste creamy but instead just like plain spaghetti.
I was not too surprise from my pervious experience here and I looked forward to the appetizers so even choosing a type of chicken wings to order did not work out for us since they did not have a specialty, so we ordered the chicken wings with coke? We were we thinking? there was like 3 – 5 other chicken wings in the menu. It tasted nothing like coke, more like water down «lo shu» chicken wings. Lo shu is a type of Chinese marination which is like cooking the sauce for the second time or reusing the sauce which don’t get me wrong because some lo shu food is delicious but that is not what I was expecting from Chicken wings with coke. The soups was okay, the mushroom and Creamy corn soup and HK Style Shark Fin Soup was a bit water down, luckily the red vinegar gave the HK Style Shark Fin Soup some taste. I’d also give them some credit for the Fried Bun since that was the only one that tasted ON POINT. But hey Fried Bun is just fried bun dipped with condensed milk so it’s not that hard to make, hopefully no Cantonese cafes/​restaurants would get that wrong.
Overall, the service was not that good, some of the waiters seem like they were PMSING. Do men even get their periods? The nicest one was the waitress who was curious why we did not pack the spaghetti to go since it was barely touched. I probably wouldn’t come back anytime soon since there’s so much better options I can think of right off my head nearby !

After 3 years of not coming to this place I came back here a week ago with my friend Gabby S. We ordered an assortment of things ranging from a leafy vegetable dish, to baked chicken spaghetti and a condensed mantou (friend bread). All of it was very standard HK styled food. Would I come back? Yeah if I’m around the area and craving a baked dish. It’s not AMAZING but it’s definitely a staple for when you don’t want a too traditional Chinese food meal.

Came here on a Sunday afternoon, there was a wait but wasn’t long since it was just my mom and I.
I ordered the Baked Chicken Portuguese style with the spaghetti. Ever since a friend introduce me to this, I always have to have it at least once while I was in NY. It wasn’t bad but I had better. I wish it had more noodles than sauce but it was still enough to fill me up. I think I prefer the one Hk Tea and Sushi on 86 street…

Get:
1. Chilled HK Ice Tea
2. Rice Vermecelli with Pork and Shrimp Dumpling. Fish broth is amazing.

Every time I come here I always get the special Hong Kong ice tea and the baked pork chop with spaghetti and tomato sauce. It satisfies my Chinese pasta fix! But the service sucks, every damn freakin time! Everyone there looks bored and hate their job. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of the waitstaff smile before. It’s really depressing.
The food just gets dump on the table when it’s ready, and they give you an attitude when you ask for something. I still go back once every few months but if your looking for service and hospitality, steer clear of this place. And if your like me who just eats and get out, then come through by all means.

Considering how many food choices they have in their menu and the food prices, I’d give Cha Chan Tang a 4-​star for being to do it fairly well. Don’t come here expecting their dish to be spectacular, but if you’re missing some Cantonese cha chan tang food options, this place is as good as it gets in New York.
Curry Fish Balls (4): These appetizers are so good I wish it was cheaper or they gave more!
Tomato & Beef on Rice (4.5): My bf grew up in HK and every time he comes to Cha Chan Tang, this is what he orders. I’d say it’s slightly on the sweeter side, but I think it really reminds him of home. The portion sizes are huge and they gave quite a bit of meat.
Seafood Crispy Noodle (4): Cha Chan Tang have seafood wide rice noodles but I always have this swap out into the cantonese crispy noodles (liang mian huang). Great portion size, lots of seafood although it’s usually a bit more sauce than I like so the noodles gets a bit soggy. But regardless, it’s a really cheap option instead of having to order it in dim sum restaurants for 3 times the price!

[written in 2012]
OK, Cha Chan Tang has semi-​redeemed itself. After 2 years, I returned for a second try and decided to give them a passing grade this time. Overall, the food/​drinks/​service are not bad, acceptable, but still not the best that I’ve had. So there you have it, 2.5 STARS given this time.
[DRINKS]
I tried the Special Cold Hong Kong Style Milk Tea (inside a glass bottle with no ice) because my sister saw the pictures posted on Unilocal.It was actually ok — a bit of a sugar overdose though. I like my HK milktea rich and strong with a only hint of sugar. Therefore, Cha Chan Tang’s HK milktea only statisfied 70% of my expectation.
[FOOD]
Food-​wise, it is still ehhhhh mediocre. I just cannot understand why their Hong Kong style food do not stand out and what their food is lacking. Maybe they have to go and do an in-​depth analyzation on this one. I wonder if the famous chef, Gordon Ramsay, could help them?!
[SERVICE]
Finally, the food does not take an HOUR or so to arrive at our table this time. Finally, the food comes out warm, not cold, and I get to have the food in my stomach in peace. And finally, my boyfriend does not have to get frustrated at the waiters.
Note: Honestly, I’d rather go over to M Star Café just for Hong Kong style food.

The condensed milk and peanut butter toast (really a crustless sandwich) hit the spot on a weekday afternoon, but there are numerous Hong Kong style cafes serving that in Chinatown. I didn’t see anything else that I felt tempted to order, since the rest of the menu consists of basic Asian fast food dishes like curry, fried meats over rice, and turnip cake. Hong Kong fusion staples like macaroni soup and tomato sauce don’t really sound appetizing to me. I tried a pineapple bun with sliced butter for the first time and felt the added richness of the butter was overkill. Prices are a little higher than restaurants with similar food, since it aims for a hip café atmosphere. The workers were very slow to take our order and bring out the food, despite the restaurant being mostly empty.

The staff team are very sociable and conversational.
Their prices are a bit high for their basic/​simple food, however I’m satisfied. I always get their small sandwiches and fried dumplings on the side. I love how easy it is for them to understand my complicated orders. I always crave food that isn’t on their menu so I always customize my lunch.
I do recommend getting their drinks. Their drinks are amazing! Especially their varieties of teas with tapioca. The interior design is adorable & neat. I never eat in, I always take out. However I will eat in one day when I have the chance to.
* will edit this when I eat in *

The best thing to order here is the milk tea. Their food is mediocre. The quality and the wait really depends on the time and who’s working.
I always get some kind of baked rice from here. Sometimes the wait is kind of ridiculous even though there is only a handful of customers including myself.
Today’s food came pretty quickly and the soup was pretty good. I’m not a big fan of the seasoning that was thrown on top though.

If you’re in the mood for hk style eats, this place will do just fine. I prefer this place over Cutting Board around the block.
Menu is pretty extensive with cheap street style eats, noodles rice dishes and tons of drinks. The signature hk style tea is not to be missed and comes in a cute bottle over ice.
My go to dish is the baked pork chop over rice with tomato sauce. I don’t know where they get this sauce but it is so flavorful. I always forget to ask them to put more on my order. Pork chop is nice and juicy as well. It’s a pretty heavy dish but I somehow/​easily finish the whole thing. I’ve also sampled their Portuguese baked spaghetti, which isn’t as good. It looks so appetizing but is extremely bland. Pass.
Small plates — curry fishballs, fried squid. Decent. Taste as expected.
Service is hit or miss. Affordable, hearty fare though so check it out anyway!

I like this little HK style café. Prices are good, and portions aren’t bad either!
HK Style Iced Tea: It tastes like regular milk tea but with a stronger tea flavor. It’s sweetened and has creamer/​milk. It tastes pretty good!
Fried Spaghetti with Pepper Steak: Oily and tasty! I really enjoyed these noodles. They’re a bit salty, It’s literally spaghetti that’s sauteed like lo mein.
Fried Spaghetti with Spam: This dish is pretty similar to the one above except the sauce is different and has spam. This sauce didn’t taste as good as the pepper steak one. Also pretty salty because of the spam.
Ramen Soup with Egg and Ham: This dish is very, very light. It’s just ramen, egg, and ham in a light broth. It’s good for people who don’t like really salty dishes.
Curry Beef: The curry is typical chinese curry flavor. The beef is very chewy and had a lot of chewy parts. The dish also had some onion, carrots, and potato. I don’t recommend this dish here.
Chicken and Salty Fish Fried Rice: I enjoyed this fried rice. Although it didn’t have much chicken and didn’t notice the fish at all, the flavor was really good. It’s not a soy sauce based fried rice.

So tonight, my friends and I couldn’t decide on where to eat for dinner so unfortunately, we ended up here. I’ve already been here a handful of times and I’d say my experiences here were mediocre at best.
Today, we came here for a quick and inexpensive dinner after hanging out. I had the fish fillet casserole with cream sauce and spaghetti. While my two other friends ordered a chicken cutlet with curry sauce/​fried egg and spaghetti and pork chop with tomato sauce and spaghetti. My friend that ordered the chicken cutlet with curry sauce got it with tomato sauce instead. Our waiter should’ve repeated the order after we placed it to clear any miscommunications. But no, he failed to do so. When it was my time to order, I asked for a fish fillet casserole. He said ok. I thought he asked «together or separate» (in reference to the spaghetti and fish being on different plates). Turns out he was asking «spaghetti or rice». Maybe if he wasn’t mumbling, I would’ve understood him.
My friend’s orders took about 5 minutes to come out, while mine took about 15 – 20. When it did come, it tasted horrible. The fish had no flavor whatsoever, all I tasted was an overpowering cheesy flavor, and the whole dish tasted and smelled like chocolate. Yes, chocolate. Not to mention the portion sizes of everything has gotten a lot smaller compared to my previous times here. The food also tasted microwaved. I wouldn’t even be surprised if it was.
The waiters also didn’t even bothered to refill our waters. They were all chilling and relaxing at the register at the front of the restaurant and goofing off. When we asked for the check, one of the waitresses simply threw the receipt on the table. We tipped 75 cents each. Even then, I think that’s more than they deserved.
Would I come back? Why would I? Horrible food and horrible service.