Cube Cafe

If you haven’t been here for breakfast, what are you waiting for?
This has to be the best and most delicious deal in town! For $ 2.50 I had a bowl of meat congee– so delicious and, yes and a cup of something called Milo which is a hot malty-​chocolate beverage, though I could have chosen coffee or tea, and they serve La Colombe coffee!
The place is spare, and not especially cosy, but the people are really nice.
I’ve also had the waffles which are fun to eat and yummy too.

I found this place on Unilocal and knew instantly that my boyfriend and I had to try it during our trip in Philadelphia.
Small spot with some seating and limited air conditioning and has Hong Kong Style treats, breakfasts, lunch, and beverages. There was only one girl that was working behind the counter and she was super nice! I found out that Cube Café had the Hong Kong Style Egg Waffles so I knew i just had to get it and I did! The egg waffles came in four flavors — original, sesame, green tea, and chocolate. I got the green tea and my boyfriend got the chocolate one. Both of them were tasty and adorable! It’s under $ 3.00. I really enjoyed these and if only they had these flavors in NYC.
We also picked up two drinks since we were there and there was a heatwave. I got the Iced Jasmine Green Tea Latte was magnificent! I was really impressed by it because of the Jasmine taste and it was just really refreshing. My boyfriend got the iced caramel latte. I didn’t really like the taste of it.
I am definitely going to be returning to Cube Café especially for those egg waffle cakes!

I’ve only had the Eggettes here. It has always been a favorite of mine, but I hated that I had to go to NY for a good, cheap fix whenever I craved it. Another store had opened before cube café was around, and the eggettes were borderline awful, and it was still raw in the middle. I was so disappointed that ny seemed to be the only good place to get eggettes. Then cube café came around, and I was so happy because the eggettes were so good! Sure, they were more expensive than in the street sells in NY, but they also had a stronger egg flavor and were bigger in portions.
Next time I’ll have to try other things, since I’ve always wanted what HK offered (As a kid); cafes that had breakfasts and lunches that you would make at home. I used to think it was so cool, but now it just doesn’t seem feasible. To pay for someone even you could make. But I’d try it just for the heck of it haha.
The interior gives off a cafeteria feel, but it was nice as they don’t try to shoo you out if you sit too long chatting with friends but didn’t order much.

Cute but small, spartan place with just a handful of tables.
Cons:
–Hours are a little unaccommodating. For instance, it closes on Saturdays at 7 PM. We wandered over just after 7 PM to find the store dark and empty.
–As I mentioned, the interior is kind of spartan and the chairs hard and not superbly comfortable.
Pros:
–They have shaved ice! My dad really wanted to try it since he hasn’t had it in years and for some reason, we had trouble finding it elsewhere. The bowl ($ 6.95) was a generous size and we asked for all the fruits available. It was a tiny bit on the sweet side for me but tasted great on a hot day.
–They had Hong Kong egg waffle! If you’ve ever had this before, you’ll want it again. I like that it’s freshly made, inexpensive (starts at less than $ 3), and is not overly sweet.
–The two girls behind the counter were helpful and nice. Maybe a little on the clueless side — I asked one girl what the address of the store was (so as to find my way back here) — and she didn’t even know the address. Still nice though.
They also offer bubble tea ($ 3.50) but with so many other places serving that nearby for cheaper, I wouldn’t necessarily have to come here for that. I’ll be back for more egg waffles (they also have a «buy 2, get 1 waffle free» deal) and shaved ice.

Cube café has an interesting variety of foods ranging from Taiwanese snacks to Malaysian and Korean meals.
The café has large tables and decent lighting, and provides free Wi-​Fi and several outlets, making it a convenient place for students to study. They could use a bit of work on their interior design.
I tried their (egg waffle), which comes in four flavors and hot milk tea. I thought the egg waffle were a bit on the heavier side, but still decent. I can’t complain about their milk tea.

Must get– Kimchi Fried Rice and Hawaiian Fried Rice!
Everything is better with spam!
I’ve done a few takeouts here using Living Social and it is really convenient. I want to try their breakfast here next time I take a morning stroll to the terminal market.

I came to this café specifically for the Hong Kong Style Egg Waffles. I ordered half green tea and half original. It was handed to me wrapped in wax paper in a little brown paper bag. The smell was wonderful. After taking the first bite I was kind of disappointed because it wasn’t what I expected. The texture was different and the size was diminutive. I was expecting it to be dense in the middle and fluffy around it like the ones in NYC but it wasn’t. It was just sweet and soft.
But I liked the original more than the green tea flavor. There was something about the green tea flavor that I just didn’t like and I threw it away.
Well since this isn’t NYC the option are limited. It isn’t bad but isn’t that great. I will return whenever I am craving for those snacks.

The boyfriend and I order the congee (around $ 1) every morning before work. It is topped with minced beef, peanuts, and scallions. It’s not only good, it’s super cheap, too! Can’t possibly beat that. Macaroni soup is another thing I get, too.
However, Nasil Lemak and Kim Chee Fried Rice were not good at all. I’m not sure if it’s the rice they use or just my different taste, but I won’t be ordering any rice items from here anymore.
Haven’t tried the HK waffles just yet, but hopefully I’ll get around to trying that when we go back to get our morning congee.

Still good.
Went there yesterday with my best friend so she/​we could try the green tea HK waffles (since I didn’t try them last time). We got the chocolate and green tea HK waffles as well as the shaved ice with Mango.
Shaved ice– MEH. 2.5 maybe 3 stars at most. It’s teeny. Think of a small little sundae serving cup. It comes in that. The mango was ripe, but the milk sauce (not condensed milk. it’s some house sauce — the owner told us) was a bit too sweet. They barely put any red bean on it either. For $ 2.99 yes it’s quite cheap, and if you’re just craving a little bit, this will get your craving underway. But you get what you pay for.
HK waffles — 4 stars. Still delicious! Chocolate was OK. But the greentea I really enjoyed. The texture was still spot on for both of them. Nice and crunchy on the outside. It was warm too since she had just made it. And the inside is nice and squishy and a great cake like texture. It’s almost like ripping each bubble off a bubble wrap and eating them. Quite amusing. You can really taste the green tea in the waffle, so I enjoyed that. Yum!

Meh experience all around — not helped by the lack of AC and the solitary fan in front.
They have fruit flavored jasmine green teas that sounded intriguing and delicious, however they might as well have just been jasmine green teas, because the «fruit» came from a syrup that coagulated at the bottom so that you never tasted it until the end, despite constant stirring and shaking. On the plus side, the jasmine green tea was delicious on its own.
We tried their japchae and pad thai for reasons I honestly cannot explain now. I don’t know why we thought non-​Canto food would be good here, but I guess our hearts/​cravings got the best of us that night. The japchae was pretty awful (way overcooked, the pork was entirely dried out) but the pad thai was ok. Decent portions for $ 5.
The shaved ice was small but I actually didn’t mind this, as there is only so much sweetness and iciness I can handle in one sitting. Fresh fruit and a healthy drizzle of condensed milk all over makes for a nommable dessert indeed.

No mangoes. The service was slow. The viet noodles actually weren’t too bad, but no one else liked what they ordered. I think the noodles were good cause it’s just boiling noodles, pickled stuff, some chicken, and fish sauce. they don’t make the fish sauce. Whatever brand it was, it was purchased well.
I ordered the single serve ‘tiny’ shaved ice with 1 topping. I wanted mango, the person before me got the last one. So I had to get crappy strawberry, then the people after me got mango and they cut new ones for them

OMG the egg waffles are sooooo good. Ok, I must preface that the only thing I tried are those darn tasty little egg waffles, but that really is enough for me to give this place four stars. Even if they only sell egg waffles, I would be happily visiting this little café on an almost daily basis. Egg waffles are like comfort food for me when I lived in Taiwan. When I first walked in to the café, I was a little skeptical. I’ve tried failed egg waffles before. Ones were the exterior and interior are both too crispy or hard or just didn’t get the right slight hint of sweetness. One bite into it, and I was hooked. My husband had to snatch the second order from my hands and tell me in his most stern, big man voice, «don’t hurt yourself»…

Tapiocas for the bubble tea were almost hard. Still intrigued by much of the food menu, though. (Then should I rate up to 3 stars?)

Cube Café is on my walk to and from work, and always provides me with a little treat to take with me on my walk home.
So far Ive tried the plain and sesame Hong Kong egg waffles. Both are pretty good, but I prefer the sesame.
I’ve tried the bubble tea which is more of a frozen consistancy, and still good. They gave me a lot of boba both times I ordered it.
I’ve also tried the iced poppy soda, which has popping boba in it. I like the bubble tea better than the poppy soda.
They offer food as well.
Can’t wait to get back to try the kimchi fried rice.

My sister suggested this for breakfast for our family group of six. It was perfect for us. It is super-​casual (order at the counter) – good because we had kids. There are vegetarian options for my sister – her udon-​like noodles with tofu, mushroom, and greens was delicious. My young nephew got eggs, beans, toast, and a hot dog; it was like they made this dish for him!
The rest of us shared a bunch of things. The porridge was delicious. I think it was rice-​based with chicken broth. The ramen-​style noodles with ham were good, too. We all tried the egg waffle, which is sweet and fun to eat. My super-​picky niece enjoyed that.
I got some La Colombe coffee. The nephew got a good fruit smoothie and my sister got some good iced coffee with boba. Both enjoyed their drinks. The bf got hot (more La Colombe) coffee with boba. Sounded odd to me, but he loved it.
Overall: everything we tried was great (and we tried a LOT). If I lived nearby, I’d eat here often.

Yum yum yum. You know how fusion restaurants invariably end up turning Asian food into Caucasian friendly mish mash? This isn’t really a fusion restaurant, but they have choice Hong Kong, Korean, and Japanese plates that is much more like comfort food for Asian people. I think the Korean and Japanese food isn’t that authentic at all and more Hong Kong-​ified, but since I grew up in a Cantonese household, it doesn’t really bother me. Of course, I also love the shaved ice and the egg waffles. They also have classic Hong Kong food, like the macaroni and ham in broth, and a toast plate.
Sidenote (mostly not serious): it rubs me the wrong way that another reviewer writes without any qualification that the restaurant is Korean owned and the egg waffles are Korean. cuz, you know, it touches that nerve in me that gets irritated when people just wrongly assume about Asian ethnicities. Those folks are speaking Cantonese and clearly serve Hong Kong classics that people who are not from Hong Kong would never think to offer. I love Korean food and Korean people but don’t try to steal glory of the egg waffles from Hong Kong ok???

Cute (and brand new — open about 5 months) Korean-​run café with bubble tea (of course) poppy-​seed shakes, Korean-​style shave-​ice (YUM and perfect in August) and unique Korean style egg waffles (I got a chocolate one — so nice — fresh of the waffle maker).
I hope they do well!

What is iced poppy soda? I have no idea but Cube Café has it! My friend (Sybil K) and I went there and they were all out of boba tea so the guy recommended iced poppy soda. I got mango and it was really tasty but I’m still trying to out online what exactly were the little translucent pearls in my drink. They popped in your mouth! Whaa?
I also got a hong kong egg waffle which was delicious and much better than the one I got a few weeks ago at Yummy Yummy. Hopefully this is a place that I will stop again very soon!

why hello there, cube café. your existence is the shining beacon of my otherwise lackluster philly asian «xiao chi» (snack) experience.
at cube café, they use REAL, FRESH ingredients in their drinks. that alone deserves 5 stars. i ordered a taro milk smoothie, and was impatiently waiting for about 4 minutes before i got it. i kept thinking. what’s taking them so long? i mean, come on, how long does it take to pour in the powder, add ice, add milk, mix and seal the cup?
when i finally got my drink, i was so pleasantly surprised. the smoothie had a thick creamy texture to it, with chunks of real taro and a rich flavor with not a hint of that sugary powder that is the claim to fame for most cafes hailing themselves as bubble tea joints.
i will admit that the prices are a bit steep compared to most of its neighboring boba tea shops. but if you pick your drinks right, (aka, don’t just settle for boba milk tea) then it’s definitely worth it. hey, you get what you pay for. you want cheap? go somewhere else for their imitation powder drinks.
the eggshell waffle also brings me back to good memories of hong kong. thanks cube café, for being one of the only places in philly that actually reminds me of street food in asia.

The only thing I like in this place are the hong kong style egg cakes. I would give those 4 stars because I love these egg cakes, which are essentially like waffle or pancake batter formed into these little egg shapes. They have more egg content I think than waffles or pancakes, so they are a little dense and chewy in the center. Quite delicious hot! And the crust gets crunchy. All the textures are lovely.
The pearl tea here was not good. We’ve tried 3 drinks and none of them were good — the coffee pearl, mango pearl and iced tea. All tasted strange. The really sad part was the pearls which were gummy instead of being chewy. Their flavor selection is not very good either. I’ve been looking for a place with passion fruit green tea… pretty much thed only flavor I like. Chinatown needs a true taiwanese style pearl tea café. Cube café tries with its toast snacks and congee, but misses the mark.