Hero Sandwich  

Restaurant: Hero Sandwich
Cuisine: Western fast food
Meal: Lunch
Eating with: 3 people

***********************Environment / Surrounding******************************

Considering the area / location of the restaurant, you would not expect to find such a clean/proper contemporary American styled sandwich shop. The large posters of its sandwiches hangs on its large paned glass; it's quite attractive actually. The shop definitely surprises you since Tai Kok Tsui isn't really known for its western cuisine. If anything, you MIGHT only expect a chinese styled western cuisine around here.

Good first impressions, but it's not exactly convenient to get there.

Rating: 7.5/10

**********************Food******************************
Rating Scale from 1-5
I realise I am quite harsh on these, but for something to reach a 5 it has to be absolutely perfect. A 5 means la crème de la crème of its type and category; my point of view is that there is no such thing as perfect in texture, taste, presentation, smell etc and a 5 is virtually impossible.
0-1: Horrific, inedible
1-2: Will not order it again, and it's below average
2-3: Average joe food. Many places can replicate or make this.
3-4: Quite good and tasty. The higher end of 3 represents that the dish is identifiable to the restaurant and has its own distinctive taste and I will consider ordering again.
4-4.9: Very very tasty and the flavours of the dish is unique to the restaurant. In particular in the mid to higher ends to the 4, the food is almost proprietor-level good.
5: Pure bliss and so perfect that it's inexpressible.

I have been here several times, and have eaten several of their sandwiches:
(1) Rib-eye sandwich
(2) Roasted porklet sandwich
(3) Chicken Caesar sandwich
(4) Beef pastrami ham sandwich
(5) Ham and cheese sandwich

Sides
(6)Caesar Salad + Fries

In general, their sandwiches are a bit on the small side. As a male, I can eat 1.5 sandwiches easily but it's a good portion if you don't want to fall asleep at work in the afternoon!

(1) Rib-eye sandwich (2.5/5)
This was the first sandwich I had at Hero's. I tried it based on its popularity and recommendations on openrice.

To say the least, I was disappointed. I was expecting American tastes (from the construction of the sandwich, to the bread and all the way to the beef itself) like that of Cozis sandwiches or Panera bread. Those were kind of my expectations, and it took me time to realise and adjust that it was a Hong Kong sandwich afterall (despite the name of the restaurant Hero sandwich which derives from New York post 9/11 incident).

The steak itself was a little chewy, which destroyed the experience of a good rib-eye sandwich. I had to knaw on the beef and I had trouble tasting the succulent and 'beefy' taste. Instead, there was a stale roast beef/gravy sauce which overwhelmed the beef. It didn't go well with the lettuce either.

I did not ask whether the bread was baked and made by themselves, but it was decent. There was enough fibre in the bread, and the toaster had crusted it just enough but there wasn't anything too special about it.

Even if I were to forgive the taste (because the sandwich was really quite cheap), they didn't put in the right condiments in the sandwich. I would suggest using thinly sliced fried onion instead, it would improve the sandwich much better!

(2) Roasted porklet sandwich (3.4/5)
This sandwich is what made me come back to the shop, because it hit the right spots to make the sandwich a good 'package'.

The roasted porklet had a nice pan-fried surface, rendering it slightly crispy on the outside. The meat kept its juiciness and it did not fall in to the trap of being overly dry and tough. A lot of bad pork fails on this area, but not this one. The pork also has a good thickness to it (though it could be thicker) so that the sandwich does not feel too light.
Adding on mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes, this sandwich did a fair job in satisfying its eater!

(3) Chicken Caesar sandwich (2.4/5)
The name of the sandwich is very misleading. Prior to trying this sandwich, I already had a strange feeling because chicken caesar filling is usually matched with a wrap, and not with a sandwich.

When I took my first bite, I was extremely confused. It wasn't chicken caesar? I then took a look at it again, and indeed it had lettuce, and a lot of chicken. The similarity ends of a chicken caesar salad ends here.

Instead, the chicken was very salty (marinated in soy sauce and maggi sauce) and throwing in a some lettuce that either used a very light caesar dressing or a mix of mayonnaise and something else. The taste of soy sauce and maggi sauce from the chicken completely over powered everything else that was in there (with the texture of mayonnaise as well). The filling was about 75% chicken and 25% lettuce, and it just didn't cut it. I understand that the sandwiches are small and the overload of chicken would make the meal more filling but.....the title of the sandwich is simply misleading.

(4) Beef pastrami ham sandwich (2.3/5)
This sandwich was very plain and lacked substance. There was one very thin slice of pastrami ham in the sandwich coupled with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mustard.

There is not much to say here because the ham was dry, and it was the type of sandwich where you eat because someone from home packed it for lunch for you to have.

Not recommended.

(5) Ham and cheese sandwich (2.3/5)
Refer to the comments to (4), these are very similar and it is not recommended.

(6)Caesar Salad + fries (2.3/5) // (2.8/5)
There is not too much to comment because the Caesar Salad tasted like a throw-in salad. The lettuce was cheap (like the ones you would get from the frozen lettuce packets but slightly better), and the sauce was overly sour. If you absolutely must balance your meal because you are supposed to some veggies every day, then get it; otherwise, I would stay away.

The fries are average, and they taste okay overall. Nothing worth mentioning here.

**********************Service******************************
There is not much to mention here. You simply go to the cashier order what you want and collect your food at the counter when it's ready.

Overall, the sandwiches were made very quickly and it's good if you want a quick meal.

Rating: N/A

**********************Conclusion******************************
I would only come here if you are living / working nearby and would like to eat a western styled sandwich. Otherwise, it's not a shop worth traveling for to try.

The only sandwich I enjoyed was the roast porklet sandwich. They also serve thick toasts that I have yet to try.

A great little sandwich served with fresh fries and a cold drink. The steak sandwich is a winner. Simple, good value and fast. It's popular with the school kids, so if you don't want to share a table with friendly yet shy students, avoid lunch time. Otherwise, relax and enjoy a fresh baked cookie for dessert.

wake up at sunday afternoon, have a light meal at hero sandwich. Still miss his bread and beef that is other can't compete with. Cause i tried a similar one before at prince edward called bee something, can't remenber the actual shop name, compare these two shop, i stil choose hero sandwich. Juicy meat with soft bread and i love their dessert as well.

I ordered the Roast beef sandwich + fries + Soda.

Roast beef sandwich: The French Bread is crunchy on the surface & soft inside..... you can taste the " FRESHNESS " of the bread. It is a bit touching to see the owner is stubborn to perfect the detail.

Fries: not oil, freshly fry.....soooo soooo Yummy.

Service: the cashier is very nice, but like everyone said, the girl who deliver the meal is not pay much attention to her work. She give us the wrong sandwiches.

I guess this is not the owner thought.... Good employees is hard to come by this day

HK 38 / meal for a yummy set is a bargain... the same meal would cost 50% more if the restaurant was located in LKF or SOHO

GOOD ! Yummy !!! Highly recommended !!!!!

If I had to complaint, they are tooo far fm MTR station..... It take me 15 mins to walk

i had breakfast before my last public exam, after which i would be free at last. i ordered a scrambled egg breakfast with bacon (which i didnt want to eat). the scrambled eggs was pretty good and it would be better if i could have toasts instead of raisin bun.
there was also no option of skimmed milk for the coffee either.
anyway, it was a good fastbreaking meal before this important examination...and i guess its sandwiches will be pretty good.
i will probably give it a try when i come around next time.

As a foreigner living in Tai Kwok Tsui, it was really hard to find a fast food restaurant that was as professional as this one. The moment I have stepped into this restaurant, I thought I was in one of the locations of a well-established chain in Hong Kong because of the décor. However, I was even more surprised to find out that this was the owner’s first restaurant and it had only opened for a month and a half!
As for the food, I ordered a rib-eye steak sandwich combo, which came with fries and a drink of your choice. I must say, not even Quizno’s can make their sandwiches as mouth savoring as this one, at least not at $38 HKD. The bread was very crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, and was perfectly combined with thick pieces of steak that was smothered in rich gravy sauce. As for the service, to be honest, it takes a bit longer than McDonalds to get your food, but you have to keep in mind that you are trading time for food at a higher quality.
The overall experience was absolutely amazing and I will definitely recommend this restaurant to my friends.

Have been living in this old Tai Kok Tsui district for a few years. Many restuarants are opened in these years and a few of them are very good ones. Hero Sandwich is a new one that drawn my attention.

Passed by this restuarant a few times and I have laid my eyes on it's comtemporary renovation on the outside. I decided to try out this place today.

The moment I stepped in, I thought I got into a decent downtown deli in any Canadian city. The insider is nicely decorated; simple and comfortable which created a huge contrast from the old district. Looked at the menu and found choices are very limited. I personally don't think a small menu is a bad thing so don't take me wrong. Being specialized in a few good dishes means much more to me. Most people are very used to the "茶餐廳" culture where there are pages and pages of selections. But guess what, this is not one of those so adjust yourself for it.

Going back to the food, I picked the rib eye steak sandwich and the wife picked the pizza sandwich...here is the disappointment!! They don't have pizza sandwich. As I mentioned earlier, they only have 6 selections of sandwiches and how can they not being able to manage that? I hope it is something temporary. If not, please have it removed from the menu. We ended up both having the steak sandwich adding a caesar salad. Second disappointment is I asked for a diet pepsi and they only have regular pepsi and 7-up which is a bit unusual.

It took about 6-7 min to have the food served given there were only a few customers around. I started with the salad and another slight disappointment. The romaine lettuce isn't very fresh. Salad is a rather tricky dish. If you cannot guarantee the freshness, I would recommend not to put it on the menu. It isn't like the local fruit salad where you can put all the canned fruits into miracle whip without exaclty knowing what are you putting into your mouth.

Time for the sandwich! Looks very good on the outside. Picked it up and it is still a little warm. The bun was nicely toasted. Bite into it and...now, this is what I call a steak sandwich! Thickness of the steak is perfect compared to those thinly shaved beef in the philly cheese steak at Dan Ryan's. You can taste it's real beef that you are eating. There is some sort of gravy/au jous which added a lot of flavor.

Although, there is plenty of room for improvement, for the sandwich alone I will definitely go back. I also wanted to try their apple pie but will have to do it next time. I wanted to give the owner credit for being so adventurous to open such restuarant in this location. I trully hope there is sufficient business so I can go back whenever I want a decent steak sandwich.

A Hero was born in our neighborhood, and it is called Hero Sandwich. Finally a place where I would keep revisiting. I tried their Hero's Dog sandwich, and it is absolutely delicious. The dressing of the sandwich tasted great and it is very nice and hot. The portion is a bargain comparing to their price, and the decor is stylish and comfortable. They have an open bar kitchen, so you could see how your sandwich is being made right on the spot.

I am so excited of the fact that a quality restaurant like Hero is so near my house.\\

Highly recommended and I will definitely try to go back everyday with friends.