Hometown Cafe

let me tell yal somethin, if you are in the area and you are hungry, stop in and try this place out. I am certain you will not be disappointed, I have been stopping for a to go plate for several years now and every single time the food is fresh, taste delicious, great value, friendly staff, The whole experience keeps me coming back for more, over and over again.

The original gang is back! I have been eating here for over 10 years and been through all their iterations. Good to have them back in the area. Food is cheap and delicious. The boba teas are great as always. This is a great spot for when you’re craving everything or absolutely nothing. They have you covered.

Overall (4 stars composite score): Tasty, affordable Chinese food that’s fast to boot. Offerings have fantastic variety and is a great option for people on the go who want a home style meal.
Food/​Drink (90% 1.5 star total):
I love cafeteria style dining. You just point and choose. No muss, no fuss. All the items taste great and it has a nice home style flavor to everything. The noodle bowls are delicious and we are big fans of the green onion pancake.
Service (80% of 1.5 star total): Everyone is nice and tries their best to ensure that your experience is a good one. Best times to come for lunch is before 1 PM. They begin refreshing the food line for dinner at 4 PM and your should come here before 6:30 PM to get it fresher.
Value (100% of 1 star total):
The value is very impressive. $ 6 gets you 3 entrees, rice and bottomless soup. The food tastes great and there’s plenty of it. Ordering non plate items off the menu gives you some great results too.
Atmosphere (50% of 1 star total): Dining room is functional, although the furnitire is somewhat worn out. Bathrooms are a bit run down. Baby changing tables are needed since I’d consider this a family restaurant.

I come here pretty often because the deal is too good to pass up on and super convenient. (Cash Only)
6 dollars for 3 sides and rice + soup if you eat in.
The sides to choose from are often the same with some variety every now and then. The food is a bit oily then if it was served normally at a restaurant but I suspect they reuse their wok’s to make food and the oil piles up.
You get huge servings of each side and you will never leave hungry. My favorite 2 sides to get are San Bei Ji (Three Cup Chicken) and Cu Gua (Bitter Melon).
I have had negative experiences with under cooked food, but this has occurred very seldomly.
It is self serve.

You know the place is authentic when 98% of the people, including customers and workers, are Chinese! But actually, there was like one non-​Asian person there. Hopefully the wonders of Unilocal can expose even more people to yummy food like that found at Hometown Café!
The food is fresh, authentic, and seriously yummy. You can get food cafeteria style, order menu-​style dishes to eat family style, or even get traditional Chinese breakfast (like you tiao and dou jiang, yum!) Regardless of which route of deliciousness you choose to take, they also offer free unlimited soup, usually an egg drop tomato or broth with mushrooms and daikon)! I usually get food cafeteria style: they pile 3 entrees of your choice plus two heaping spoonfuls of white rice onto a old school style metal lunch tray. They have a huge variety of entrees: spicy and not, fish, beef, chicken, pork, veggies, tofu, whatever you want! Food can be a bit on the oilier side, though.
Oh, and all that is only $ 6 total. I also get two meals out of it every time since they give you so much food. Wow such a good deal: D
Cash only!

Cheap good Taiwanese food. Always ready when you arrive and you get to pick 3 entrees with two scoops of rice. Been going here since I was 14 (23 now) when it was Taiwan café. Still delicious as ever.
My go to meals are egg tomato and the Kung pao chicken. Delicious!

Previously known as TC2 and «sisters» with the taiwan café in Plano. I honestly didnt know the difference between after this place had its restaurant makeover. Although, this location may seem cleaner and nicer compared to the taiwan café in Plano, I would definitely prefer to go to the one in Plano.
The food options were basically the same every time I come and there wasnt much variety. The dishes in Plano had more variety with the different types of meats as well as vegetables dishes. My sister told me that ordering any of the noodle dishes separate from the already prepared food was a complete disaster. I would think that they would try to put more of an effort due to the fact that chinese food being pretty competitive in the Richardson area. The complimentary soup was bland and pretty much forgetable.
On the positive side, two scoops of white rice and the options of having three sides all for $ 6 is very affordable. Maybe I shouldnt complain too much about it. Its definitely a great deal.
Overall: I would only come back as a last resort. I dont think anyone actually craves this type of chinese food. There are sooo may other options within a walking distance. I personally wouldnt recommend coming here unless you’re broke and in need of a good deal.

Too good to be true! Six dollar buffet/​cafeteria line lunch includes rice and three sides. You can choose meat, veggies, or more carbs like noodles. Water cups provided, as is complimentary soup. Personally I find the soup is basically chicken broth, but everyone else had a bowl or two anyway.
Be sure to try the pork belly and the eggplant. The place is clean and has a better atmosphere than a lot of full service restaurants. Definitely adding this place to the weekly rotation. Seriously, the entire six dollar plate feeds both me and the bf. That makes it cheaper than going out to fast food or fast casual. Plus it tastes like good home cooking.

Had been here before when it was the other owner.
From Unilocal,looks like it’s worthy place to try. Came here last weekend as my mom is still in town… not sure when she’s leaving yet.
Thought she would like it as we’re from Taiwan originally. Had high expectaion with all the reviews.
We got here on a Sunday around 12:30p. There were few people in front of us ordering. The lady (owner I assumed) was a bit intimidating as she was hurrying everyone in line asking what do you want out loud. As it was our first time, we had no idea on what to order. Anyway, we ended up ordering 5 plate lunch (3 sides and rice for $ 6), and chicken chow mein and 2 onion pancakes.
I originally wanted beef noodle soup, but they were out? Really?
My daughter wanted the chicken chow mein, which for whatever reason took a long time as they may have forgotten. We were almost finishing the lunch when it finally came out, so it was about 20min wait. The taste was bland and had lots of onions and other vegies that my daughter didn’t care for. The taste was very basic, as in very Americanized, something you would find at Panda Express. So for a tradional Chinese restaurant, it was disappointing.
Because they didn’t have beef noodle soup, I ordered a plate lunch as with the rest of my family. Again, we had 5 of them of varioud choices to try. Overall, the food was just OK. I recall the spare ribs was very sweet, which is odd.
The only thing that was really good was their onion pancakes as they were very cripy and tasty. Along with your meal, you can also help yourself with free soup. They had 2 flavors, but both were basic and bland. But hey, they were free, so don’t expect too much.
Overall, the value is good as for $ 6, you do get a decent meal. It’s just unfortunate they took 20min to cook up chicken chow mein. A litlte smile would go a long way from the owner. If I go back, I’ll probably just get the onion pancakes to go.

I’m so glad this place has been reincarnated! I cried when the old one closed down. Good homestyle Taiwan cuisine for cheap! And I think the quality of the new place is higher than that of the old. Let’s hope they keep it up.

Delicous and fresh– love this place! Authentic Chinese cuisine served in cafeteria-​style layout… the Kung-​Pao chicken is my fave, and don’t forget to try the Bubble Tea!

Good restaurant. Very convenient and cheap. Various dishes you can choose. For $ 6 you can stuff yourself or have nice meal for two. My favorite is the short rib:)

This place was okay! One plus is that the meal plate is 50 cents cheaper. However, the food was dry and you could tell it was sitting out for a while. It was not very warm either. Whenever I ordered, they also gave us smaller portions than usual. I was expecting more out of Hometown Café because it is similar to Taiwan Café. I do, however, want you all to have some lenience towards this place because they are a relatively new restaurant. Might come back in a few months to try it out again.

Excited to try out this «new» restaurant! It is essentially a reincarnation of «Taiwan Café II», cousin to the Taiwan Café in Plano.
Highlights are: Decent food, fast service, amazing prices
This restaurant serves cafeteria style Chinese/​Taiwanese food that is fairly authentic. It is good for a casual meal or grabbing a box to-​go. It’s the best in its category, though you obviously can’t be comparing it to fancy-​shmancy places.

Average food, but a lot to choose from.3 choices of meat with rice for $ 6, what can you expect. CASH ONLY !!