Cafe Tsui Wah

I am so sad. I really wanted to like this place.
The service was nice, the place was clean (or so I thought), and there was no wait at 7:30pm. We each ordered our own dish and had the salt and pepper chicken wings to share. HOWEVER, at around midnight the satay beef pan fried noodles had me messed up. My boyfriend felt weird as well because he had a few bites here and there.
All in all, I do question the sanitary/​freshness of their food. I felt like absolute crap for a good few hours. Sigh.
If you do decide to go, I don’t recommend the satay beef pan fried noodles. Double sigh

This WAS my preferred breakfast place until an event with one of their waitresses this morning.
My cantonese-​speaking friend and I go regularly for their breakfast and always order the same things– beef congee with side of rice rolls, and spam with two eggs.
He does the ordering since he can speak fluent cantonese.
This day was no different than usual.
We arrived 8:15 and without even looking at the menu, we told the waitress our order and she took it down as we were being seated.
Shortly, she brought just the congee and we started eating it.
By 8:45, the rest of our order (the rice rolls, and the spam with two eggs) hadn’t arrived yet, then she came with a spam and egg sandwich.
My friend explained that she must have misunderstood, we didn’t order the spam and egg sandwich, but the spam with a side of two eggs like we always order.
She took it back to the kitchen to correct the order.
By this time, (8:50~ish) a chinese woman came in and sat at the table across from us.
She placed an order and the same waitress took it down.
****She immediately brought the woman back and order of rice rolls and congee****
After dropping off the woman’s food, she came back with the corrected spam and eggs order and went back to the kitchen.
At this point, she said «We are out of rice rolls, can you order something else.»
I was not happy, because the rice rolls was the VERY FIRST thing we ordered!
My friend pointed out to her, that the lady sitting across from us had been given rice rolls and not us, even thought we had been there since shortly after they opened.
The waitress *apologized* (not really) and said that the old woman had specifically ordered rice rolls, and she had already promised them to her, but now they were out, so could we please order something else.
I was pissed!
What do you mean you «promised them» to her just because she specifically asked?
We SPECIFICALLY ordered them when we got there early, now you’re saying we have to specifically ask a certain way?
It’s completely not fair, since we ordered them at least 40 minutes before she even set foot in the restaurant, and for that, I’m afraid this restaurant has lost two of their regular clients.
NEVER GOING BACK

We had breakfast there last Sat morning. The price for each breakfast set was expensive but the quantity was so small. The quality was just average. It is such a rip off. We won’t go there again.

I think the table service is poor and not managed well. Only one of our dishes came out without our asking if any of our order was done. The waitress never came to our table to find out if we needed anything. Twice we had to get up to find a server to get our silverware and icewater. The steamed rice came out last, about 10minutes after all the other food was delivered, and we had to ask for it. One of the dishes they brought was wrong but it was correct on the bill

I was a fan, but recent visit was a disappointment.
Although there was no wait and we got seated immediately, the waitress didn’t come take our order until I (what I felt like an almost light yell) called out ‘excuse me!’ Then waitress brought over two cups of tea, but one cup has a full grain of cooked rice on it. Man, I don’t want to come up with theories on how that grain of rice got stuck on the cup… Hopefully it wasn’t from some dirty dish bin!
On food, my favorite pork liver porridge is no longer the same! The porridge itself is watery, not fluffy like it was before. Liver was okay, a tad bit overcooked (also not the same as before when it was cooked better). Seaweed ‘three treasure’ (fish ball, fish tofu, beef ball) rice noodles in fish broth were okay, broth was fishy (which I liked) and it was a big bowl.
Then, when I went to use the restroom, the initial stall I went into had some ‘kids in the pool’! Omg, I think I almost vomited in my mouth. Not sure if the reason they’re there is bc the toilet is broken or if the person just did not flush. So maybe it’s not the restaurants fault. But either way, that was disgusting. I darted out of the restaurant after paying.

Quite a good Hong Kong café overall. Hit and miss though (mostly hits). The beef stew noodle soup, congees, spaghetti with meat sauce and fried fish cutlet are all excellent! But the French toast is American style not Hong Kong style.

When I visit a new Hong Kong style café or restaurant, one of the dishes I use to judge is fried rice before I taste other items on the menu.
I am quite impressed by the authentic HK menu they offer. Yang Chow fried rice is obviously on the menu.
I wait for 15 minutes which is not that bad. But to my disappointment the fried rice failed the visual test.
There are lots of lettuce which I hated because it makes it too moist. A good freshly made fried rice should be quite dried and you should feel the «wok chi».
The rice is «too moist» and I feel too much steam heat. There is no char siu (bbq pork) which is very basic. There is not much taste and I have to add salt which I normally don’t do.
I would give a three stars if they charge like a HK style café but they charge more like a restaurant price so I give two stars.

I was not going to rate this restaurant but I have to say something. I’ve been to this restaurant few time. Foods were OK but the services were terrible. Last time they forgot our drinks. This time my son’s order came when we all finished our foods. The reason was his food need longer time was «the sandwich all hand made» I was like, the other foods not hand made? My son had to sit there watch us to eat. You won’t see this service in any other American restaurants. Also, again, our drinks came when we done with our food! I didn’t drink my tea because I saw the water dripped in my tea from the waitress’s hand. I will not come back to this restaurant again.

Got to up it one more star based on the happy hour (before 6 pm, weeknight definitely but not sure about weekends) price and menu! Can’t go wrong with items around $ 5 that are yummy and of good portion!

I always come here for their liver porridge because the chef from hing lung works (ed?) here and he made the best liver porridge. However, this past Sat, I ordered the liver porridge again but it didn’t taste the same anymore. The jook was no longer smooth and fluffy but watery. Not only that, the waitress said they don’t make the cow tongue donut anymore! I am suspecting the chef from hing lung may have left Café TW? The liver jook and cow tongue donut were pretty much hing lung’s signature dishes that they carried over to Tsui Wah.
I am so sad…

UPDATE
This is one of my favorite HK cafes in the Bay Area!
Amazing HK Milk Tea hot and cold.
I recommend the Chicken and Mushroom Rice Barrel which also comes with a side lettuce.
It comes out fresh, relatively healthy and tasty!
Their Brisket Noodle Soup and Wonton Noodle Soup dishes are on point and personally if they do those right, they are a legit HK café.
I approve of this as a top HK café in the Bay Area!

Loved the fish soup! Awesome comfort food which reminds me of the tastes of home.
The wanton noodle was very good as well. Restaurant seems pretty busy, but service was decent.
Will definitely come back again!

They deserve more than three stars. Definitely a decent café that is nice for a quick late night sit down bite. Less than $ 6 for a bowl of noodles so why not? The beef brisket is a go to as well as the won ton. The iced coffee and hot milk tea are a must as well especially during happy hour.

Same name and similar logo as well-​known Hong Kong restaurant. Hmmm… this better be good.
Authentic and quick HK eats — but doesn’t really compare to the place of the same name in HK. They even have the condensed milk toast here! It didn’t seem as fresh and «puffy» as I would like it to be, but great for satisfying what I’ve missed for a very long time.
Basic Hong Kong style café food. I like to get rice or pasta plates. My parents tend to order congee, won ton soup and a few side dishes.
The shop is usually bustling around lunchtime and seems to have a greater turn out than all the other shops that had been in this spot. I’ve seen quite a few cycle through… hope Tsui Wah is here to stay for awhile. Tastes like home.

The baked porkchop fried rice and egg was ok.
I did not like the pork chop though.
It looks like two thick pieces of spam with pork chop texture.
The sauce could have been better.
The HK special cold milk tea was good though.

It’s getting a little late (well, after 8 but before midnight for San Mateo) and you’re still hungry? Tsui Wah is one of your dining options. The menu is Hong Kong style, which serves a little bit of everything with decent Hong Kong milk tea. I ordered roti pratha. I know I ordered it from the appetizer menu but the portions were enough to be a main course. It’s not the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten but it’s not awful.
Service felt slow but they were quick to pick up and turnaround the check when we requested for it.

So, two of my friends and I were in the Fremont area thinking about what to get for dinner, and we narrowed down to Cousin Café which is one of our favorites, and Café Tsui Wah. We ended up crossing the bridge all the way to Tsui Wah since we have never tried before.
Once sat down and looked at the menu, it looked super familiar… my first question to my friend was, how come Hainan Chicken Rice must be paired with brisket sauce cabbage (海南雞飯配腩汁生菜) — which is one of the famous set dish for Cousin Café. Not only this dish, but a lot others are similar to Cousin Café’s. Then, the server came to take our order, and she’s from Cousin Café too! So… is Tsui Wah just a branch of Cousin Café? Or are they competitors? I have no clue.
[Onion sauce with pork chop + chicken filet]: B
I wouldn’t call the sauce onion sauce at all — it was more of a tomato sauce adding onion in it. Pork chop was not too dry but it wasn’t tender neither. Chicken filet was not bad but wasn’t juicy enough. I chose to pair spaghetti with this dish — which came with some sort of meat sauce and the taste of it was a bit watery I should say… wasn’t thrilled about this at all.
Don’t think I would come back for another time unless I’m in the area, which then I still have a lot of better choices in San Mateo. Yes, using Tsui Wah’s name is indeed a gimmick and attracted us to this place. But that’s pretty much it.
Cousin Café is still much better.

I’ve heard people say that this place is a much better version of ABC Bakery in San Mateo so of course, had to come and try it out.
This restaurant is located in a shopping square where Ocha is. I’m not quite sure how to describe the place so just input the address into your gps and you’ll find your way here. Since it’s located in a shopping square, they have their own parking lot so it’s not a pain looking for parking.
The inside of the restaurant is a pretty big. They have tables all over the floor and in a separate, smaller room, there’s about 6 tables there. The menu itself has a lot of options to choose from so it might take a while to decide on what you want. They also have lunch/​dinner options for each day of the week that comes with a drink so you can check that out, too. One thing I would suggest you get is their iced milk tea in an ice bath. I think it’s around $ 3 – 4 and it is insanely good. And could probably keep you up at night… ’cause that’s what happened to me.
Service was somewhat attentive. I would avoid getting seated in the smaller room if possible because sometimes the staff forgot about us so it took a while to get some service.
Overall, I forgot what the food we got was called, but some tasted better than others. I definitely enjoy their milk tea though so I would definitely get that when I come back.

Came by for breakfast and afternoon tea the other day. Café Tsui Wah appears to have no connection to the famous Hong Kong eatery in Hong Kong, despite the similiar name and logo. Word on the street is that the porridge chef is from the now defunct Hing Lung in SF.
Iced Hong Kong Milk Tea
— Requested less sweet and this came out on the sweeter side.
— Seemed rather watery and wasn’t rich enough
Pork & Preserved Duck Egg Porridge with Chinese Doughnut
— Porridge had a great thick consistency
— Pork and Preserved Duck were flavorful
— Chinese Doughnut was crispy and decent
Satay Beef w/​Instant Noodles in Soup
— Satay Beef was flavorful but had a slight bleach?!? taste/​smell to it
— The Instant Noodles were tasty, although not the Nissin type
Crispy Bun w/​Butter
— Bun was hard… what a miss
— Butter was lackluster
BBQ Duck Rice Noodle Soup
— 6 – 7 pieces of meaty and over-​flavorful pieces of roast duck
— Rice Noodle portion was decent
Chinese Fried Donut
— Fresh and reminds me of Hing Lung from SF! :)
Beef Brisket Noodle Soup
— Beef Brisket wasn’t soft enough and rather chewy
— Noodles were decent
Deep Fried Dace Fish Ball
— Flavorful, wish they used the clam sauce instead of the sweet and sour dipping sauce
Garlic Chicken Wings
— Some of the wings were slightly burnt, otherwise a decent snack
Service was friendly by the staff and credit cards are accepted.
~$ 10/​head after tax and tip for breakfast and ~$ 20/​head after tax and tip for an afternoon tea/​light dinner

Nice HK style café in the peninsula
HK style cafes are pretty hard to find in the peninsula, which makes this place even more of a gem! The food is the real deal, as expected from all the Unilocal reviews and photos. The baked pork chop with rice uses fried rice, and Lots of cheese, served in a piping hot mix of tomato sauce and pork. The lemon iced tea was also very authentic. Overall a decent HK food place.
Let’s not forget, this is one of the few places that opens till 10pm! Woot!
Probably one of the few decent places to go in the area.