Mochi Cafe    萬豚屋  

Used to crave for their udon every week but that was a long time ago. The quality has gone down I believe. Undon didn't taste as good, more soggy now, perhaps over cooked. Soup base isn't as fragrant. I used to able to taste pork distinctively, but now it seems like it's just any random soup and lacking flavor. I gave it another chance after one bad undon tasting and decided: nope, the previous time wasn't a fluke, this place isn't what it used to be.

Those who gave it disappointing reviews, you have missed the time when it was amazing!

This restaurant was SUCH a disappointment! I'm not a person with extremely high expectations but, honestly! I have not been to such a bad restaurant for such a long time, absolutely rubbish!

A colleague of mine introduced me to this restaurant in 2010, and back then, the udon was great. I ordered the beef udon, and ever since, I fell in love with it. It USED TO BE nice, soft chewy udon, soup was hot, full of flavor. You could tell they put in a lot of heart and effort into their udon. From then on, I became a usual

2012: went there with a friend, a cue was expected, we both thought it would be worth it. Once we entered, the waiter was rude, throwing the menus on the table and then walked back to their little waiter-group gossiping instead of serving. I ordered the beef udon and my friend ordered the pork udon. Pork udon arrived: the soup was not boiling in its stone bowl like its suppose to; could barely find any pieces of pork; udon was served separately, COLD; and where was the egg; my friend tried to look for it, could not and asked the waiter to provide us with another bowl, the waiter tried to look for it in front of it, found some egg white with no yolk and STILL did not want to give us a new bowl! She then asked her manager to come, and manager suggested US to add $3 for another egg. I mean, $3 is no big deal but of course by then my friend was put off from her bowl of udon and just cancelled it, the manager had absolutely no intention in keeping her customer... what kind of restaurant is this!!

The beef udon was a disaster as well, warm instead of their famous boiling hot soup; commercialized udon, not the soft chewy udon they used to make. With the beef begin served as raw beef, that was the only thing right about my whole bowl of udon. The proportion was obviously scaled down from our previous encounters.

Price wise, their udon used to be $50-$60 and of course with the price increase a price rise was well expected. But for a $72 bowl of udon for rubbish I could of bought a packet of $8 instant udon and it could've easily been better than their udon!

During my horrible encounter inside this restaurant, I went off to the restaurant bathroom, had to wait for 10 minutes for one of their staff to come out, but while I was waiting along the sticky dirty corridor (theres a corridor between the kitchen and the toilet) I had a good peek into their kitchen: I'm not going to say much, all I'm going to say is, that it was off-putting. If ANYONE decides to go to this restaurant, make sure u walk through this corridor and peek into their kitchen first before you order, it'll put u off for good ;)

In conclusion: d i s s a p o i n t m e n t !!!!

I don't like this place as if you haven't notice yet. I came here because of many smiley faces and many people said the udon was chewy. Nope, uh ah, uh ah, it was not, it was not, it was not ! I arrived here at 5:45pm since I wanted to make sure I get in line before they opened at 6pm. There was really no line, we were the second group in line. When they finally opened at 6pm I told them 2 people and they said "give back the table in 1 hour" (in chinese of course) Sure no problem, 1 hour is plenty of time. I looked at the menu and had trouble deciding what to get because I was expecting to see more traditional udon such as with dashi and big juicy fried tofu. They didn't have any of the traditional udon soup. I ended up getting the cold udon with soft bone pork. My friend got the cold udon with seafood. When the food came I first tasted the udon by dipping it into the sauce. I bit into it and I almost spit it back out! ( I kid you not, it was true) I was utterly disappointed! At that moment I re-evaluated myself to make sure I did not set my expectations high due to the great reviews. In this case, I did not set my expectations high, rather I came here with an open mind. The fact that I was so upset was because it was not cheap. The udons were $65-$75 per order. If it was about $40 I would not be as angry. The food was not worth that price! The udon was too soft, barely had a bite, not al dente, not QQ. The seafood was just terrible, the clams had a weird, chili, sour, sweet sauce. Krab was well KRAB with a 'K'! The only thing good was the soft bone pork. I just don't know what kind of people are reviewing here on Openrice or what they ate at this establishment.

This is my 1st time to visit this restaurent. My friend highly recommended me to try either Hot Pot Udon or Cold Udon. I'm definitely a Udon lover, and so it is a MUST to try. We've ordered Beef Cold Udon and Chicken Wings. Beef & Udon was soooooooooooo delicious. Chicken Wings a bit disappointed me. This restaurant already in my to go list next time.

Came at 5:45pm, opens at 6pm. Waited in line..lots of people. Right at 6pm, got seated right away, can only stay one hour****

Ordered pork ramen , after 10% service charge, each person will pay 69$. You order by marking the piece of paper at your table.

The hand made udon was delicious!!!!!!!! The soup tasted a bit bland, but looked very oily but I appreciate the taste, you can taste the soup but it's not too salty. I can't say enough good things about how the noodle was very easy to chew and very fresh! My soup came out like 3 mins after my friends, and we ordered the same time..my udon that came in a separate bowl came another 3 mins later....The pork was delicious, the tea was too. But they don't come around to check on you , so you have to wave them down!!

When we left at 7pm there were at least 10 parties waiting in line outside to get in!!

The tables were very close to each other, so I can definitely just listen to what my neighbor was talking about..

My wife and I have been there for lunch 3 or 4 times in the past few months. I always get either the beef or black pork curry udon and she varies her order.

The food here is good as most of the reviews say. The black pork melts in your mouth , and the fried black sesame encrusted pork chop is excellent .

The only real problem here is the service. The staff here seem pretty casual about their jobs and the food is served whenever the cook gets around to making it. I was halfway finished with my noodles before my wife got hers. Also, I don't mind being told that we can only have the table for 1 hour, but when it takes 30 minutes to get your food, this can become a problem. This is especially so when your soup is served boiling hot in a stone bowl that takes 10 minutes to cool down enough to eat!

Come here for the great food, not the service.

I've read some good reviews about Mochi Cafe in Openrice so I wanted to try this restaurant when I visit HK.

I was staying in a TST hotel nearby, so I bought takeaway for dinner. We went to Mochi Cafe around 8pm, there was a small queue waiting for dine-in and we just needed to wait for about 15-20mins for our takeaway. We've ordered 豚肉烏冬 and Deep Fried Chicken Udon and by the time we reached our hotel which is about 3 mins away from Mochi Cafe, the Udon was still very hot and Deep Fried Chicken was still crispy.

Both 豚肉烏冬 and Deep Fried Chicken Udon were delicious! It's the best Udon I've ever had! The Udon are very 彈牙, you can tell that they are freshly made. The Deep Fried Chicken is very Crispy outside and not rough inside, well done! and the soup I must say it's very tasty!

If you are working or staying in a hotel nearby and don't like to wait on the queue, I would recommend you to buy takeaway!

For the waitress service, I don't think they are rude. They are just slow and not sure what they are doing. If you don't mind their poor service, then I would highly recommend Mochi Cafe.

PS. they only accept takeaway on Mon to Fri.

Sometimes, all we need is a little comfort. Food included. On a cold and wet day, there's nothing more comforting than a piping hot bowl of noodles. Udon in this case. Hand-pulled udon.

I guess there's a little cult status with this little joint tucked away in what is to me, an obscure part of TST, and across from the Kenjo on Hart Avenue. Puts it in good company, I suppose, although I haven't chomped there.

Everything at Mochi Cafe is centered around their udon. There are 3 soup bases to choose from - Tonkotsu (soup based garnered from hours of putting pork bones on the boil for hours and hours), a spicy miso Tonkotsu and Curry. The other variable is the sides of pork (braised; deep fried with bread crumbs or sesame), beef, eel, etc. A wide enough selection to make it possible to eat here often enough but not so wide as to make it difficult for the small kitchen.

豬骨湯底豚肉烏冬 Udon in Tonkotsu broth with braised pork
On my first visit, I had the classic Tonkotsu broth with braised pork. Served in a stone pot so that it is still bubbling for a couple of minutes at the table, it is hearty at sight. A thick bubbling soup, with chunks of braised pork peeking from under the surface alongside a raw egg that's just been cracked into it before serving, then garnished with a generous handful of Japanese alfalfa. The main event of the Udon however is coyly ticked under all that paraphernalia.

The udon was what won it for me. Despite the heat, it managed to keep its springy texture throughout the whole experience. There was no lumpiness or overt flour taste. This was good on its own. As the weather warms up, a serving of chilled udon would be fantastic.

The Tonkotsu broth was decent enough, with a meaty fragrance and sweetness from the bones. The raw egg when stirred into the broth adds substance and taste. Instead of the usual vegetables served in udon soups, the use of raw alfalfa adds crunch but without interfering too much with each spoonful since it isn't too fibrous. With the exception of the braised pork which was overly chunky, a tad bland and tough, this was an enjoyable bowl of noodles.

So on my second visit (within the same week, mind you), I tried the curry udon with Sukiyaki-thin slices of beef. The heartiness factor here goes up a notch, and like most Japanese curries, there's enough spice but no heat so that even the faint-hearted can enjoy. And the thin slices of beef are much easier to enjoy than the pork chunks. An overall "yums". It's a nice alternative to the ramen frenzy.

Word of advice: since it's a small place, avoid the usual meal rush hours. Go early or late so you don't have to queue. On the 2 occasions I went for lunch, I was told to vacate my seat within an hour. So I suppose that even if you had to queue, you shouldn't have to do so for more than an hour. For me, it's probably worth up to a 20 minute wait, if you had to..

For the original post, visit edeats.blogspot.com

I read about this place at OpenRice and also at WOMGuide, so I decided to pop in and give it a try.

Firstly, since I had read the reviews, I came shortly after 18:00, so there were still plenty of empty tables inside. No waiting in a queue or running out of seafood for me. However, by the end of my meal (around 16:30), the place was already full, so make sure you come early!

Atmosphere: The interior of the restaurant was very well-decorated and pleasant - not lavish, but comfortable - fitting the title of "cafe", complete with customers' pictures and testimonials on the walls. As a minor note, the tea was also very good (I think they had some mint in there?), and was also free.

Not feeling particularly famished, I ordered:

1. Stuffed Pumpkin Tempura - $32
2. Mixed Seafood Spicy Red Miso Udon - $72
(+10% service charge)

1 = The tempura turned out to be less stuffed pumpkin than pig stuffed *with* pumpkin. Slices of pumpkin were wrapped in strips of decent-quality ham and bacon with a seasoned mayonnaise then tempura-fried. Though clearly not what I had anticipated, and a bit on the artery-clogging side for my taste, it was nonetheless a very delicious fusion-style appetizer. The tiny salad bed and side dip (mayonnaise sprinkled with spices) were nice touches.

2 = The udon was everything the reviews said it would be: just the right amount of elastic and oh so satisfying. The seafood (shrimp, mussels, and crab stick) was also great (not rave-worthy quality, but still very good), and the soup itself was extremely delicious - just the right amount of spicy, so that you get a kick and a sniffle but not a burning tongue or weeping nose. The garnish (fresh sprouts and finely shredded onion) was also a good addition, adding to both flavor and presentation.

Though I am not an expert on Japanese cuisine, I would venture a guess that the food here is quite authentic, if not so much traditional - aside from the udon soup, most of the menu looked like fusion-style. And in any case, the food is delicious!

Price-wise, I would say that it is good value. I was definitely very full by the end of the meal, and I would prefer to split the appetizer with friends next time!

Due perhaps to my early timing, the service was timely and attentive, but also very friendly and helpful - which I don't think had much to do with the timing.

If you are in TST and craving something other than Chinese BBQ for the night, definitely give Mochi Cafe a try!

After Little Fockers, we both feel pretty cold and hungry again! So we gotta go for a dinner ~

About 7:20pm, we headed to this popular udon restaurant and there were like 10 sth lining up~

We waited for 30mins and here we go, we finally got into it. We ordered:

stir-fried mushroom and bacon in butter sauce: just ok, not really impressive, could skip that
Udon with jap. pork: served really hottttttt, could see bubbles popping vigorously, pork is a bit light in taste, but udon is nice and so crystalize!
Udon with sweetened pork: i prefer this, so sweet

With a big crowd waiting outside, each table could serve only an hour, so better hurry up to this authentic one~

To all of you fans of open rice:
At the lonely night I was being to myself in TST , I read this restaurant and liked to try.
I never be think about it was so difficult to get the seat as One person, most of the time it was quick to get in and out...no chat to delay for giving back the table. After a long line-up about 45 mins. Yes, 45 mins. on the street..! I get a call finally from the waitress to get in at 20:45; but just before I almost get in the seat, they asked me out according to their mistake of such table was being reserved at 21:00. I am really piss off as you know. (everybody does if in my situation)
Well...I am quite polite to ask them again after 5 mins wait to see they can let me to have a quick dinner of Udon that I know what I want. They said it is not enough time to cook it (usually more than 15 mins..) and finish it before their customer come. As I see there is no other table be reserved in the whole cafe. Be honest, everyone may know even if you booked at the time, still there is a chance to wait for some mins. They are totally ignore how people get upset, disappointed feeling after the long lasting line to waut. They are not helpful at all to me.
After I check its rating today, It is not totally worth for a wait. Even you want to go, pls make reservation if you can. As I know, there has so many alike out there you can try than this!! (like in Cheung Sha Wan) Good luck you guys!

Date Dined: Saturday 9th Oct 9pm

Ordered: 稻庭豚肉烏冬 & 石鍋豚肉手打鳥冬

Taste: 石鍋豚肉手打鳥冬 was sizzling hot when it came to the table. A fairly big pot. Smelled really good, but the whole restaurant smelt lke the soup anyway. I tasted the sup first and it was delicious. You can tell the soup was rich and creamy by its colour, it was milky white. It was so nice I could have just drank the soup without the udon. The udon was thick and chewy but it was sightly over cooked, but it tasted so good anyway. The udon here is thicker than the udon in 稻庭烏冬 and I prefer that. The thick cut pork was lean with abit of fatness that melts in your mouth. It tastes abit like the pork in the soup your mum cooks but with abit more taste. I liked it. My egg was fully cooked and pretty tasteless so I wasn't too impressed.

稻庭豚肉烏冬: The udon came seperately in another bowl and I do not know the reason why, but the soup bowl was bubbling hot, bubbling dramatically. Put the udon in immediately and ended up being very mushy, not as good. The udon is much thinner than the udon in 石鍋豚肉手打鳥冬 and the soup is different to my surprise. It was less rich in flavour and not as creamy. I prefered the other one. The pork was TOO chewy but I liked the sweetcorn and the green veg. Again the egg was overcooked.

Conclusion: I have been eating alot of ramen and wanted abit of a change so decided to this 'forever queuing' udon restaurant. We got there at 9pm and there was still a queue. We queued up for 25 mins to be seated and when we left, there was still people trying to queue up and eat. One thing, you do not need to get a ticket. Just line up behind the people and someone will eventually come out and ask how many there are of you.
The udon was good and probably the best in HK, but not in Japan. I love how rich and creamy their soup is and it is not like ramen soup, where it is rich but gets too salty after too many sips. But my udo was abit too soft which ruined it.
One thing, I saw many cockroaches outside the restaurant, coming out from the crack on side of the restaurant which did not realy impress me. But the soup is definately very good, and I would recommend the 石鍋豚肉手打鳥冬

Nice little place.

Arrived just before 7pm so no waiting time for a table.

Went for the classic soft bone pork udon and the premier pork udon.

Came in a stone hotpot that kept the soup bubbling hot for ages. Got to be careful not to touch the pot.

Very creamy and tasty soup.

The udon texture was the best we've ever tasted.

Came here before and brought my friend here because of the nice udon I had. Unfortunately, we were both very disappointed and I felt bad bringing my friend here.

They were out of my favourite 稻亭烏冬by 7pm!!! by 7pm!!! holy ~ so we were forced to switch to the hot-pot beef udon. Well, while I understand that it is some 30+degrees outside, I would expect something served in a "hot-pot" would be sizzling hot. Sorry, none of that. I mean, the soup wasn't lukewarm but just not hot enough. My egg didn't get cooked at all and the beef stayed half cooked the whole way which made my soup somewhat red!! Even though the texture of the udon was good, the soup just spoiled it.

Anyway ~ the two of us ordered two udons and gyoza. But honestly, even though I am not a big eater, I didn't find myself full at all after that dinner. And nothing else on the menu seemed appealing to us.

It was sad to see the long line-ups when we were leaving. Is this place really that good?
Is it just me? I am afraid I won't be back for a long long time...

Mochi Cafe is a 5 stars restaurant in my record!!. I like their hand-made udon. Every udon serve with hot stone bowl which keep the udon hot and tasty in every moment. Their udon is elastic, not too soft, no too hard. Altough the pork looks so fat, you don't feel this when you eat this. The taste of soup is strong enough, which is super tasty.

It is good that make a booking before you go there to eat. If not, you must wait for around 30 min for a table.

I think it is a restaurant which keeping forward and improvement. Next time, I must order some snack to try!!