Located opposite National Chengchi University's Center for Public and Business Administration Education (國立政治大學公企中心) in Taipei's Da-an District (大安區), Hong Kong Hsin Hua Tea House (香港鑫華茶餐廳) could easily be overlooked as just another greasy spoon that caters to students.
That would be a mistake.
Hsin Hua Tea House retains the atmosphere of a family restaurant while serving a young and restless clientele of students and office workers. The wait staff favors shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops, and service is briskly efficient, but the Hong Kong-style noodle and rice dishes here are uniformly of high quality.
The Hong Kong fried noodles (港式炒麵, NT$120), one of more than 15 noodle dishes, are crisp but not undercooked, laden with plentiful bits of seafood and vegetables, and topped with a light and flavorful sauce. Among the more than 20 rice dishes are various styles of fried rice, as well as rice with different toppings. The salted fish and chicken fried rice (鹹魚雞粒炒飯, NT$120) proves that, despite their rough-and-ready style of cooking, the chefs at Hsin Hua Tea House can delicately handle dishes that require a degree of finesse. There are also several daily specials, including the unusual but interesting salt fish and steamed mince pork with rice (鹹魚蒸肉餅飯, NT$90).
Hsin Hua Tea House's breakfast menu is ideal for a nostalgic fix of old Asia, with its choice of French toast (法蘭西多士, NT$50), lunch meat-and-egg sandwiches (餐肉蛋三文治, NT$50), and delicious iced milk tea (招牌奶茶, NT$60). These show a commendable disregard for healthy eating: the toast is moist with melted spread, the bread is soft and overprocessed, and the tea is sweetened with condensed milk.
The restaurant shows a cosmopolitan side with options such as the Malaysian fried vermicelli (馬來炒米粉, NT$100) and Vietnamese beef soup noodles (越式肥牛湯河粉, NT$120). These are not authentic Vietnamese or Malaysian food, but a Hong Kong interpretation of these dishes. Other selections include Thai-style fried vegetables (泰式醬炒時菜, NT$100) and sweet-and-sour fish (咕咾魚片, NT$220).
Hsin Hua Tea House is definitely not about fine dining, but its wide selection, generous portions, high quality fare and efficient service make it ideal both for the lone diner and large groups with diverse requirements.
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