Cheong Kee     昌記  

I live in Happy Valley and I'm one of a few Westerners who dines here in the evening, probably because the ambiance is underwhelming but if you can't look past the crummy decor, then you are missing out. The best way to eat here is to get together with a large group of friends so you can order a lot of dishes. The restaurant is deservedly famous for its roasted chicken as well as seafood. Adding seafood to the order will bring the prices to regular restaurant prices but if you skip the shellfish you can have a feast for a great price. I love every tofu dish that they serve and have enjoyed every local dish that I have ordered.

I'm not usually around home in the middle of the day but today I was in the neighborhood so I stopped by to see what they had for takeaway. I was amazed to see how cheap the food is for lunch. Almost everything was under $50.

I will admit that I am mostly illiterate but I was able to figure out a few dishes. The lady working there was happy to help me out but I didn't want to bother her since she looked busy and besides, I was quite proud that I could read a few things on my own. As soon as I saw it, I immediately knew that I must order the char siu with egg and rice. It is what I would consider an ultimate 'comfort food' in Hong Kong. The char siu was decent, but the perfect amount of sauce and perfectly cooked egg (hard whites and runny yolk) made it perfect. I couldn't stop eating until I had finished every savory, sweet, yolky bite. If I am ever in the neighborhood at lunchtime again, I will definitely be eating more of the offerings. I deciphered a pepper chicken noodle dish that sounds promising for my next visit.

Dining in the market can never be the most enjoyable dining experience ever...Especially when all the food stalls are in competition with one another to nab the next customer
The first few minutes of trying to pick a place to sit was quite traumatizing as the stall next to Cheong kee was yelling at us to sit at one of their tables...Luckily we knew better and sat down in the right section

The owner was laid back and friendly and allowed us some time to look at the menu to decide what to eat

We ordered a Beef satay w/ instant noodles, pork chop w/ instant noodles and instant noodles w/ egg and sausage
and their famous "Yau Sa Duo'' - Thick toast with butter and sugar
This is by far the thickest thick toast i've ever had, the outer parts are crispy whilst the middle is slightly soft. The waft of buttery sweetness made the person sat next to me take notice and ordered one right after

We learn a lot from reading. Recently I've learned a phrase I have yet to know how to use -- "xxxxx called to me as I picked it up". "xxxxx" being some kind of food, and it hit me. The food itself doesn't speak any languages, but somehow it managed to 'called' to our attention. That's what writers do, they play with their language and makes it fun to read. Sometimes people like it, sometimes they don't. It's not a matter of humour, it's just the matter of how you take it. Only until a few weeks ago did I come across an occasion to use another phrase of its kind -- Bite Me!

This location in Happy Valley has always been a popular dining spot. It has everything, and yet by convenience I must stop by for Cheong Kee's specialties one afternoon. (I was in HV for work, and here I was, 30 minutes to kill) The MILK TEA (HOT) and a signature THICK TOAST (Butter and Sugar) can be simplest combination to make it big. The milk tea arrived in a rush. The staff had three milk teas in his hand, all boiling hot. The rimless glass trembled slightly as he edged across the floor. One of them landed in front of me, not spilling one drop. Bearing the promising smell of a hot brew, the milk tea was smooth, as I found 1 spoonful of granulated did the trick to offer enough sweetness to the tea itself. It slid down smoothly and easily.

The sight of the THICK TOAST stunned me into silence -- a white hunk of bread toasted on both sides, with the glamorous golden coat of butter victoriously slid across the lightly toasted surface. Upon the buttered layer was a thin blizzard of sparkling sugar sprinkled from edge to edge -- I felt as if the toast was speaking to me, calling my name in the simplest invitation -- "Bite Me!" It said. I looked at it for a second, followed by a comment from one of the staff -- "Eat, what are you waiting for, it's gonna get cold soon" before I could locate the source the person disappeared into the crowd yet again. I took out a quartered piece of thick toast and let my teeth sunk into it. They met the sugar-encrusted surface with resistance. Going deeper, the simple sweetness and the buttery richness is met by the pillowy softness of a perfect piece of white bread. And then, another bite, and another. It needed no welcome invitation from anyone to bite into a piece of toast. It came so naturally, as the sight of something so scrumptiously good proved to be too much of an indulgence not to consume it in due time. For all those times I convinced myself I could never finish that piece of toast, I proved myself wrong to engulf the piece within 5 minutes. For 5 whole minutes I allowed myself to realize that I could do just that, indulging into the simple pleasures that places like Cheong Kee can offer. And for 5 minutes, all my worries went away, diminishing into the thin air and into my stomach.

I paid the bill with residue butter and sugar in my hand, feeling slightly queasy with it, I wiped my mouth one last time, brushing off the stray sugar granules from my clothes and my bag. I walked out of the market feeling the unusually sunny afternoon, feeling every drop of golden sun landing onto my shoulders, shining my journey ahead.

Pork chop noodles perfume !!!!,! Fu Fu Jesus literally just cooked noodles, really bomb teeth Oh, praise! Chops a little fat, so eat more sliding down, marinated with black pepper, plus were golden fried taste

Fu noodles are delicious when the wolf, the oil sand and more sent to, really good thick but why were both sides of the different me in color?! Recite the living area to enjoy the sweet fresh buried toast, suddenly pretty sister Anita crystal with its a knock on my table talk : toast to hot food, cold food left do not attempt to frame! (Oh!)

Truly thick toast, crisp outside soft texture of bread net real good too! Shatang Do not add butter, although they should eat, but the chemistry is really good, sweet land into pieces of toast is delicious, then praise!

Friday night... after a wonderful dinner, my eyes are closing as I'm looking towards the weekend. Saturday routine will begin with a late start, and of course a trip to Cheong Kee for lunch. Try not to wrestle with me for their favourites, please.

I never make it early enough for macaroni, stewed chicken wings and sometimes their glorious and purportedly first-to-market thick toast with spreads of your choice. Their staples are butter and sugar crystals, a wondrous combination and guilty but good from the first bite. The equally guilty and in my book, a better one is the peanut butter and condensed milk version.

So I think I will stick to my usual tomorrow.. a bittergourd omelette paired with chicken chop or (battered fish fillet - see below).

Or should I have the corned beef omelette and pan fried fish cake.. or if I feel a sore throat coming, the snow vegetable and pork slivers with vermicelli... oh dear, decisions decisions.

But you know what? Whatever you order, it's going to be darn tasty. Biggest difference, their supplies are top notch and their chefs are so well trained that the foods are not greasy at all. I mean, which cha chan tang uses imported eggs from the US, and that's just the start of it.

So don't fight with me and order something else please. And let there be seats so I don't have to wait too long.

See you tomorrow! Can't wait.

Musings from edeats.blogspot.com

Having been in Happy Valley for 9 years, I have visited this local cafe many times. I have not been there for over 1/2 year. With the recent TV feature, I went back - it is still very crowded during the day, starting from the morning to late afternoon - a very busy local cafe. It has been famous with its toast - all different variety, except kaya toast - it is no longer served/available here as the cafe does not get the source/supply anymore. Anyway, I learned the cafe got an interesting type of toast called Butter Toast with loads of sugar 油沙多 - I ordered it and asked for the thick toast 厚多. After waiting for about 5 minutes, it came - it was gorgeous - it was really thick and it was delicious. Highly recommended and I would go back.

i really like to have breakfast here as i like their thick toast very much
果占厚麥多全食(sorry' i was too hungry that i didnt take a pic of it=P)：this is my favorite!!! the toast was so thick and was crispy outside but soft inside;] the jam on top was more than enough (to me), the thing that i appreciated most is that the thickness of the toast has never changed. Once you have tried their toast, you then realized what THICK TOAST truly is.

We were truly impressed with this small char charn ting which had already gained quite a bit of reputation for its simple comfort food. Don't be fooled by its appearance - the place may look shabby but the taste is great. The must-order items include the iconic "super-thick" toasts - with crunchy top and soft centre, topped with various goodies like condensed milk, peanut butter etc, freshly prepared from the kitchen, it is hardly surprising that the dish has now become quite a signature item for this place Another star item on the menu is of course, the rice vermicelli with pork and "suet-choi" (a kind of salted mustard seed plant); with fresh prepared "suet-choi", and a silky texture to the rice vermicelli (you can ask them to give you additional items such as chicken wings, fried pork chop, fried eggs etc), this classic char charn ting item never tasted so good before Portions were generous, and the milk tea that came with the meal was great as well. With the price so reasonable, what more could you ask for ? This is one place that we will definitely come back again every now and then when we feel the need for "comfy" food. Highly recommended.

This is a belated review. Went to this place on 2 May, the day that I moved to Happy Valley.
It was lunch time, my hubby and I were busy unpacking, and we need a quick bite. As this place was only a few block away, I decided to give it a try.
We ordered the lunch set, which included noodle, toast, and drink. Great bargain for $24. To tired to think, we had the same food: noodle with snow in red, thick toast and coke.
When the thick toast arrived we were really shocked by its look. 2 inches thick! Amazing! Luckily it was rather soft, so no need to open the mouth widely . It was not bad, but they were too stingy with the spread (we had peanut butter and sugar), and therefore a bit dry.
The noodle was only average, nothing special. One good thing was, they didn't put too much MSG in the broth.
I really cannot understand why this place should receive so many rave review at Openrice. It is certainly value for money and may be one should not be too demanging. Think if you live in this area, it is OK for a quick and cheap meal. Otherwise there is no need to come from afar.