Hong Kong Cafe

If you’re looking for a friendly place, do not come here. Was just asked to leave as I made the mistake of stopping in for just a cup of tea.

Last week I told the owner that business looked slow — He got mad as H$&& and said Governor Walker has ruined business. Not a friendly man at all.
Tonight I ordered sweet and sour pork. Pork and the rest of the meal tasted sour. I complained and they said I’d get a free meal. I told them I’d like to take some of the meat home so I could have it tested in case it gave me food poisoning. The owner really got mad and came over to my table and said in a loud voice — Leave this place and don’t come back. He got hopping mad and brought out a camera to take my photograph and told me he was going to call the police. Very bad experience — Will never go back there again — Owner has a big problem with Anger. Perhaps the business is failing?

My go-​to Chinese in Madison always fresh and tasty and during the New Year giant delicious Japanese scallops in the Pepper Shrimp & Scallops!

Solid Chinese food standby. Usually we get delivery & tonight we dined in the restaurant. It was bright, spotless, & cheery with an unexpected vintage diner feel. Service was wonderful; we had a friendly server who was super patient with my dietary questions/​requests. The food was perfect. I got the Governor’s Combo — a spicy dish with peanuts, pork, and seafood. Just saucy enough and just spicy enough. Kiddo loved her egg drop soup and fried rice. We’ll be switching up our delivery for the eat-​in experience frequently from now on.

The only good thing about this place was the fast delivery.
I’m not sure if I just ordered the wrong thing, but the General Tso’s Chicken was horrendous. I couldn’t even eat it. I also ordered Rangoons and they weren’t even good. They were soggy. Perhaps it’s more of a dine in sort of place, but I don’t think I’m interested in doing that after this experience.
Nam’s is way better and across the street.

I have been here a few times now, and it’s been pretty good!
We always order the appetizer platter — shrimp toast is to die for according to my sister! I also ordered the hot and sour soup tonight, which was delicious! The bits of tofu and bamboo shoots are my favorite.
I wasn’t overly hungry this visit and more so just tagged along for company. I did pick off others plates however :), and the sesame chicken is tasty. It was ordered hot on the spice level, and hot it was! Everything was nice and fresh, and portions are filling with a little left over to take home.
The service is always beyond exceptional! Staff is super friendly, funny, and accommodating. Our waitress tonight was super cute and funny. It took a little bit to get water and soda refills, but since the food was so good we weren’t too concerned.
Will keep returning :) sweet staff and delicious food!

If Hong Kong Café were in another part of town, like Atwood or Hilldale or Willy, then I would never bother making a trip to eat there. However, it’s in Regent, which makes a pretty short walk from my office. And since my other options for Asian cuisine in the area are Ginger Root and QQ Express (See my reviews on those (spoiler: I think they both suck really bad)), it automatically gets some ups for being edible.
There’s a lot of decent options for lunch (although a lot of them are similar), it’s a good size portion, it’s pretty quick (for a sit down place), and the entrees for lunch are all pretty cheap, at $ 6-​$ 8 each. I don’t really need much more than that when it comes to getting a quick lunch during work. But they could be better. I can tell that the vegetables aren’t of the best quality, and their menu is very traditional, so just expect the classics with no twists or frills. If they did something that would make it more a destination spot, then I’d visit more often for sure. But for now, the location is what keeps me coming here on occasion, and bumps my score from a 2.5 to a 3.5.

I love this place! As a Madison native this restaurant is filled with nostalgia of the same family running it for as long as I can remember (early 90’s). I love their egg drop soup they put smaller chopped water chestnuts in it. Everything is pretty standard for a Chinese restaurant and very tasty. Their sweet and sour sauce at the table is divine! The wontons are tasty too! The service is always wonderful and they are genuinely always happy to see you!