Kam Wah Cafe     金華冰廳  

'Bo Lo Yau' (菠蘿油)Contrary to what the name suggested, this popular sweet pastry widely available in Chinese bakeries contains no pineapple fruit at all. The sugary tasting crust on the top of the bun is supposedly made to resemble the epicarp of a pineapple, with a dough similar to that used to make sugar cookies, commonly consisting of sugar, eggs, flour and lard. The bread underneath is the same used in Chinese style Western bread, which is a softer and sweeter dough compared to Western breads. The name of the pastry is therefore pretty much derived according to its appearance.

The 'bo lo yau' tried at Kam Wah has a slight variation, though commonly served in cha chaan tengs in Hong Kong, with a large slab of butter in between the halves of the bun. The bo lo bau was served straight from the oven, feeling slightly warm. The slab of butter was applied at room temperature and the heat from the bun made it melt instantly. The top crust was slightly stiff and tasted very well toasted albeit it tasting slightly sweet. Being served straight from the oven, the fresh bun tasted light, fluffy and airy on the inside, which contrasted almost perfectly with the hardened sweet crust.You would fall in love with Kam Wah's version of bo lo bau if you are a fan of toast. What would probably be the icing on the cake would literally be the appearance of the crust. Ideally, it should resemble the epicarp of the pineapple, though in this instance, it was nowhere close.

Verdict: 8.0/10

Hong Kong style French ToastThe Hong Kong version of the French Toast is probably a more calories-loaded serving compared to its original counterpart. Served with a thin slab of butter, the surface of the sandwich had been deep fried to golden brown, leaving it a crisp texture but certainly greasy. The traditional way of enjoying this sandwich is to drizzle honey over the toast, though upon the first bite, we realised that something was amiss.

There was no peanut butter in the sandwich! Well it is not exactly a standard spread expected when one orders the French Toast in Hong Kong, though majority of the cha chaan tengs around would probably serve their toasts with a generous layer of peanut butter before deep-frying it. The toast however was exuding a rich fragrance of butter flavour with a fluffy soft interior, leaving us craving for another bite after the first. If there was any consolation to this, it tasted oily but at least it was not overwhelming.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Puff Pastry Egg TartsPriced individually, the puff pastry egg tarts were a 'must order' since my other half is a huge fan of it. The buttery crust was thin and crumbled easily, so have your plate close by! This was contrasted with a generous serving of the egg filling which was very soft and tender, literally melting in your mouth. There was a very subtle sweetness to the filling, enough to please the palate. There was a strong egg flavour to it (interpret it in a positive manner) and the filling had a solid strong yellow colour tone to it, which probably meant that good quality eggs were being used. Some might prefer the thin crust, though personally we would have enjoyed it better if the crust was slightly thicker, to give a balance to the plentiful filling. Likewise, the base of the tart was a tad too thin for our liking, though it must be said that the crust had a strong buttery taste and flavour to it.

Verdict: 8.0/10

Mexico BreadAs we were leaving the cafe, there was a tray of freshly baked 'Mexico bread' being brought to the front of the cafe, where takeaway orders are being served. It would be close to impossible to resist against piping hot freshly baked bread of any sort really. The Mexico bread was light and fluffy on the inside (the classic airy inside) and a slightly crisp toast to the surface of the bun, filled with sweetened crust, similar to that of the bo lo bun. It was not too sweet either, which suited our palate. Overall, it was another must-try, just be careful of the crumbling crust that might fall all over you.

Verdict: 8.0/10

Chicken PieAnother takeaway order, but this simple looking and widely available chicken pie tasted pretty extraordinary to say the least. Despite a rather thick layer of buttered pastry on the top of the pie, it did not taste overly greasy nor overwhelming. The filling was simple and not excessive, but the rich flavours of the buttery pastry more than compensated the somewhat lacking chicken chunks filling.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Things are no longer terrific and amazing
First, I want to talk abt the set lunch...
The noodles with beef or roasted pork is horrible, it is too tasteless.........
Then, the signature MILKTEA is reall really bitter....coz the tea is laid for a inapprpiate time

LASTLY, the thing carried my fury to a high point is the service of the BOSS.
This is redicilous that she gave the wrong change to me but she can still prsented implotely liike" It is not a problem if we had a problem to change the less, but a problem if we had changed too much for the customers."

O mouth LOL

I love the egg tarts here!!! The crust is not too thin and not too thick. The egg custard was "eggy" and not too sweet. Only $4 each!!! I also go bo lo bao which I thought was just ok. I notice the bread part was not a sweet type so it was kind of bland. Maybe it was meant to go with butter, but I don't like bo lo yau.

I was actually looking for another cha chaan teng in the same area as this one but found that it was no longer there.

So... we went into this place for lunch instead. It was very busy in there. We ordered some fried rice and hot milk tea. Food tasted good but they were a bit stingy with the ingredients.
My milk tea was great though.

Oh I was a bit naughty and ordered a bo lo baau. I loved it. It was really really good. I can just go to this place for their bo lo baau again. It's a must have!

Looking on OpenRice for a cha chan teng in MK, I came across this restaurant with dozens of pictures of pineapple buns with butter, or "bolo yau". I really like these buns, so I decided I'd go there for a bun and have lunch as well.

If you've ever been to an overhyped restaurant in HK on a Sunday, you will have an idea of how packed this was. When we were given a table, I couldn't help from saying "are you kidding?". It was a table for 4 (and even then it was really small) with 4 people already seated. My seat was so close to the booth behind me, I had to get in and out of my seat several times during my meal to let people in and out.

But again, this is to be expected when you go somewhere when there is a lot of hype behind it ;)

This isn't a restaurant you visit to sit and chat and enjoy the atmosphere, or to celebrate with friends, or even to enjoy a meal. You are to go in, get your bun, drink your drink, and leave.

But I was stubborn and hungry, so I ordered a dish from the extensive 'cha chan teng' style menu. I had a curry pork chop, which came with a cold drink for $29. I'll post my picture, which speaks for itself. The pork chop was tiny, about 3 bites, and the curry was bland and tasted like it came from a can.

The milk tea was mediocre at best - you could tell it was real 'hong kong style milk tea' but it was quite bland.

But thankfully, the hilariously small meal left enough room for a bolo yau, so I ordered one. As expected, it was piping hot, straight from the oven. Unfortunately this had the effect of melting the butter quickly (and there wasn't enough butter either - although other strangers at our table got more on theirs so I guess it varies). The top was crispy, and didn't create the mess often associated with pineapple buns. The dough was melt-in-your-mouth fresh, almost like a Krispy Kream donut. There was a hint of flavour you might not find in other buns - it was like lemon zest or extract. It gave it a unique flavour that I enjoyed.

We also had an egg tart, and it was good.

So go for the buns (they are well-priced, only $5 each. Compare that to Tsui Wah which charges $9 for a bolo yau) and that's it. Go on a weekday if possible.

As far as service, it met both extremes for me. On one hand, the owner of the place was extra kind (seeing that I was a foreigner, she probably assumed I was a tourist) and helpful with the menu (by the way, all the main menus are stuck under the glass, which in our case was covered by the plates of all the stangers at our tables, so we couldn't really move their dishes around to see the menu).

On the other hand, you had this other guy with a 90's hair cut SCREAMING the entire time. I know that's a "hong kong thing" but damn does it wear thin fast. There is NO way to have a conversation.

So like I said: go there, get your bun, and get the hell out of there as soon as you can.

In my last review - I thought that the Egg Tarts here were very good too, as well as their Pineapple Buns... Well another visit during Winter in November 2009 was quite disappointing.

The Milk Tea wasn't too bad, it was very acceptable. OK.
The Pineapple Bun was fresh and warm, with butter, its always been pretty good so no complaints!
The Egg Tarts on this occasion however smelled strongly of under-baked Soda Powder or something similar, the pastries weren't even baked properly and still raw - something which seems to happen more with restaurant versions. The eggs meanwhile were already way over-cooked.... I guess this happens because unlike French Pastries, Chinese people don't bother baking the pastry shells separately first before pouring in the egg custard mixture to sychronise the cooking-baking process...! This Egg Tart really smelled and tasted strange, it was left unfinished...... it was disgusting!

I'm actually starting to find that its really difficult to buy really really good 酥皮蛋撻 anywhere - so far, everything's been a '4' but not a '5'. There are quite a few types of different 酥皮's, some are really pappery, some are really oily, some are more 酥 - yet, even the best ones of these seem to miss that all important Egginess in the custard. You could say I'm being picky, but I don't understand why 泰昌蛋撻 can do this on a pretty consistently good basis and has set the standard - but the 酥皮 versions everywhere can never get this part right, even if the pastries are perfect! Ok, I know the biscuity-based crust egg-tart versions are probably easier to make though....

I was always filled with longing to try the Polo bun at Kum Wah Coffee Shop and my dream finally came true! On that particular morning when I got up early to prepare for my very first Disneyland tour, I hopped on the MTR at Yau Ma Tei Station to Mongkok Station and alighted at the exit the nearest to Bute Street. Took a leisure stroll down Sai Yeong Choi Street to reach Kum Wah coffee shop at Bute Street.

Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the buttery aroma of bread products from Kum Wah. The temptation was so great. I just couldn't be bothered by the crowd and I made a beeline for any unoccupied seats to place my order before the buns were all snapped. Mum and I had one plain Polo bun, one Polo bun with a slab of butter and an egg tart of course.

The food arrived at summer lightning's speed. We couldn't wait to savour the bun the moment it appeared before us. I grabbed the bun in hand and bit into it, ignoring the presence (and function) of the fork completely. Oh, Mamma Mia! The Polo Bun was fantastic! The crust was extraordinary crunchy! Where else on earth can I ever get such good food if it wasn't for you, KUM WAH! Trust me, I'm not exaggerating, it's the best I've ever tried. Imagine when the cold butter melts lightly in the hot crusty bun and followed by the melting of both the crust and butter inside your mouth, how heavenly it is......

As for the highly-acclaimed egg tart, it was quite tasty too but not the type that worth too much of a mention. When I returned to Malaysia, I just couldn't help thinking of the Polo Bun over and over again. I wish I could be there once more to have another helping, be it just a single bite or a satisfying one...

it was five something-we went to this famous 冰廳 to escape from the suffocating heat outside. i ordered an iced milk tea and a 菠蘿包 to share with my parents, and asked the waiter to help us cut into quarters.

the milk tea was good, not as milky as what i had at tsui wah but more natural. yum.
as for the 菠蘿包-it was really good. for any ordinary 菠蘿包, the pastry crust on top is always so fragile that it will break when you give it a gentle touch, not to mention a big bite or a cruel cut by a knife or whatsoever, and that can be really annoying because the crumb will make a mess on your clothes. yet this 菠蘿包 is just so different. the crust is thin, very crispy, very very tasty and yet NOT fragile. at all. it survived over the knife and even when my mom further torn the quarter into a small bite, the crust didnt break off or whatsoever. it was really good, especially when eaten warm.

if only i could have such 菠蘿包 for breakfast every morning...i dont mind gaining a few pounds back because its just so worth it.

You know what - I reckon this shop is kinda awkardly situated in a sense, as its half-way between 太子 & 旺角 MTR stations. But that doesn't deter me from walking to here and buy their famous 菠蘿油!!

菠蘿油 - Its almost quite 'disturbing' to find that the pineapple-skinned-bun here only sells for $4.0 takeaway. Note that the take-out version doesn't come with the butter by default but its still great nonetheless. I think this is simply too big bargain as the shop doesn't make much money from it despite the hard work! The top lardy-sugary layer is so aromatic and crunchy, and the bread below is slightly sweetish and fluffy. I wish I could have this for afternoon tea all the time! Simply addictive.
酥皮蛋撻 - I have fallen in love with the Egg Tarts here, also only $4.0. I would sometimes wait until the fresh batch is released and in my opinion this is arguably the no.1 Egg Tart I've devoured in Hong Kong by far, although the Central's 泰昌餅家 is very good too but with a different biscuity skin, not unlike St Honore Bakery!
Here the layers of pastries are kind of flaky but in a soft 鬆化 way rather than like papery filo-pastries like those served in restaurants, yet it manages to prevent itself from being all clumped together like a blob of lardy fat. It strikes the perfect middle-ground in a sense.
The egg custard is also quite good, with a good eggy taste without being too custard powerder like - Central's 泰昌餅家 on the very best day is slightly better in terms of the egg filling taste but that shop also has its off-days. 金華冰廳's egg tarts are simply unbeatable everyday!

PS: Not very sure about the other food inside the restaurant though - I only come here for these two amazing creations and its enough to keep me satisfied and rejuvenated for the week!

I think that is a really expensive restaurant! I had lunch and it costed around 40 bucks with cold drink?! let me tell you what I had

MSG chinese soup
pork chop rice wit soy sause ( 1 piece of pork chop) .. o well. with one piece of veggie thoug
iced lemon tea

I don't think MSG soup is worth commenting; Pork chop is just another frozen pork chop. Rice is hard; iced lemon tea can't be any special....

I wonder why it's that expensive?? But I more wonder why people saying it's good

金華冰廳 has every reason to rejoice its popularity -- the lone lines and people travelling across town to pay a visit (myself included) mean SOMETHING. Located in the beating heart of the "goldfish market" in Prince Edward, 金華 serves up local fare with no jacked up prices or pretentious marketing stunts. While space is limited, like many "Cha Chaan Tang", it is crucial to acknowledge the fact that the comfort focused on in 金華 shouold be of and in and stomach, not quite everywhere else.

As you squeeze your way into the busy joint, you'll find yourself fitting in, scanning through the tables and instantly sit down, order, and eat. That's about it. The routine is simple and needed no one to show you how. You'll see people having breakfast sets with hot tea with milk in the morning, or Wings with noodles mid-afternoon. The combos are of great value, but what stole my attention everytime seem to be the goods that's been blessed by the ovens here at 金華.

"Pineapple" bun is a classic here. It's so popular that you often must wait for it, as you see waitstaff lifting metal trays after metal trays (above everyone's heads) of freshly baked pineapple buns, filling the entire room with the sweet buttery aroma, you'll know it's ready. A bite into the plain pineapple bun will take you to cloud nine. The crisscrossing of the buttery crust was SO CRISPY without the cloying sweetness you taste in some not-as-good breeds. The crust remains crispy even after the bun has reached room temperature...only if it lasted this long, on your hands, or in the shop. My favorite was the "Pineapple bun with butter" -- which is made by one of the staff with a pair of kitchen shears spliting the bun crosswise but not through. A cold slab of butter is then stuffed inside the steaming hot bun, sandwiching. Taking a bite requires some skill -- open your mouth wide and bite the entire bun (crust to butter filling to the bottom) and fill the interchanging contrast of hot bun and cold butter. Now you'll be in competition with time and manners (don't let the butter melt and start dripping down your chin)...I've never had such a more enjoyable time having a Pineapple Bun with Butter.

"Mexico" bun (not pictured) is a Pineapple bun kin, except the crust was made without egg wash and sweeter as well. Almost flaky but with a sugary texture, there is nowhere that serves a Mexico Bun better than the one here. I've had it twice this year already, and that's not counting the times where the shop has sold out its stock or simple "not making Mexico today"...Custard Tarts are bulging with wobbly custards as they come out of the oven. Waiting to cool down, the entire streetcorner is filled with eggy sweetness and buttery aroma throughout. The pastry part of the tart is sweet and appropriately buttery (without that over-greasy aftertaste you get from Milk Tea, a standard local item, fares well in 金華. The tea is a stronger blend than joints like 祥利 and 金鳳, but the proportion between milk and tea is balanced and tasted just right.

Don't mind the limited space and tight seating, or overlapping conversations across the space. 金華 is every bit a local representation of locals' high appreciation of scrumptious indulgences like Pineapple Bun with butter and Custard Tarts.

whao, it's the best pineapple butter bun i have ever tasted. some suggest it's owned by same persons as another quite famous cantonese restaurant nearby, but i think this one tastes much better though latter not bad. the superior taste so distinct from ordinary ones that it's worthwhile travelling there specially for one.


they sliced butter from fridge on ordering. thus hot bun with cold butter inside. butter thick enuh to give satisfying taste, rich flavour but not too salty or artificial but with fresh feeling. bun heavy showing much ingredients used with substance yet soft. & pineapple crust appealing too not easily falling off. btw the woman sales quite nice eagering promoting & introducing various bakery to customers. & i saw her v helpful to elders.