Van Tea Cafe Review: Overhyped, Underrated… or Just Mid?

Let's eat some classic Hong Kong food (HK). We venture out to Van Tea Cafe for some classic comfort food, rice and noodles for a family weekday dinner. Van Tea Cafe is a popular brand. With two locations, is it overhyped, underrated, or middle of the pack? Does its large menu affect the quality of the dishes?

HK cafes are a popular choice for Vancouverites due to its wide menu, multiple offerings, and no-frills dining experience. You come for the food basically. Don't expect 5 star service. They are called "cha chaan teng" for its casual vibes. Van Tea Cafe is an addition to a neighbhourhood that doesn't have a lot of close options (unless you travel to Fraser St for Angel Cake Cafe) and you have to drive 10 blocks north or south for restaurants. 

Van Tea provides significant value if you're dining in a large group; their meals are not only good for family dining, but for a casual weeknight dinner. It fits that 'reliable' niche in providing ample food for the price paid. They are well known for popular dishes like baked rice and stir fried noodles. Of course, the challenge with such a large menu is ensuring quality over the whole menu. 

We ordered 6 dishes:

• Malaysian style vermicelli
• Spicy deep fried squid
• Claypot rice with spareribs and sausage
• Baked ying yang rice (half seafood, half tomato)
• Black pepper beef on crispy noodles
• Beef brisket curry

The total bill was around $160 including tax and tip for 5 adults. Plenty of food leftover and probably overordered to an extent. Let's review the dishes:

1. Malaysian style vermicelli

Very very tasty. Plenty of the 'wok hei' and charred flavour that you expect from a stir fried dish. This was a big portion (exactly what you expect from a price point of almost $30). There were bits of chicken, bean sprouts, onions, and peppers.

2. Spicy deep fried squid

This was the favourite of the night. Not only crispy, but tender and not chewy. The fried crispy bits along with the peppers, onions was the perfect amount of spicy and salt. I would definitely order this again and the price is very affordable at less than $20.

3. Claypot rice

Flavour wise, this was good but I wish this came in the traditional claypot with the crispy bits. This felt like just steamed meat on rice in a bowl than like a true claypot dish. The ingredients are there but the execution was lacking in this dish. The price is reasonable but you can pass on this. It seems like this dish is more of a 'have to have' but not really a main focus of this restaurant. you also have to wait 25 minutes for this dish even though there's no claypot. 

4. Ying yang baked rice 

A classic HK staple and in many Chinese restaurants (not just cha chaan teng). This dish comes with a cream sauce on one side, and a sweet, tomato based sauce on the other. Topped with cheese, this dish is baked in the oven until golden brown. This was a very fulfilling dish, served with a big portion. Flavour wise, this dish was quite familiar so although it was good, it wasn't outstanding.

5. Black pepper beef on fried noodles

This dish was also done well. The fried noodles were a hit and the spicy black pepper sauce and tender beef paired well with the toppings and vegetables. We asked for less spicy and this dish hit the mark. We all really enjoyed this dish. The noodles were also fried well - not too burnt. This dish is complicated to make because there are two components and if the sauce isn't good, or the noodles are too charred, the whole dish doesn't taste good.

6. Beef brisket curry (Spicy Malay style)

This dish was served with rice and had Malaysian flavours. It had the perfect amount of spice and kick, and the beef brisket was tender. The curry also came with a scoop of rice. 

Overall, there was a lot to like about the dinner. It was tasty, flavourful, and served quickly. Google Reviews say that the food is inconsistent, and there's probably some truth to that. However, we had a very good experience this night so I have to rate it based on our food that we got. For the price we paid, we had lots of leftovers to take home. Our favourites were the curry, fried noodles, and the deep fried squid.

Van Tea is among the top choices in the neighbourhood for true, tasty HK food and for value, variety, and reliability, it's hard to go wrong. 

Hits:

• None of the dishes were terrible, all were good, and some were fantastic
• Atmosphere is clean, and spacious - better than similar HK cafes
• Portion size is good - we had leftovers to take home

Misses:

• Service is hit or miss; need to flag servers down
• Dishes are very inconsistent based on quality and experience

Rating: 4.25/5 - we had a great meal and time at Van Tea Cafe. It's definitely above your average HK cafe and a good neighbourhood spot. If we're in the area we'll definitely consider coming back.