HK Cafe - Cha Tsan Teng

while having lunch at alleluia yesterday with the family, chocolate ball, fat worm, and I got to talking about the pervasiveness of the HK Cafe in Richmond. we were a bit puzzled at the closings of both "much and more" and "honolulu", and chocolate ball was particularly shocked at "honolulu" closing because he deemed it "the king of cha tsan tengs" (which I disagree with...it's kinda nasty there...but it was popular!). as we discussed who the "four HK Cafe kings" are (you know...the aaron kwok, leon lai, jacky cheung, andy lau's of lowbrow culinary culture) ...we came to this conclusion:

1) happy date: one of my favourite quotes (from me! just ask mr. lane...I totally own trademark rights) is..."it's so ghetto, it's gotta be good!". I think the quote applies to "happy date", especially since it's survived THIS long. they also get extra props for having the best waitresses ever...they're never too friendly, and always get the work done quick. they might appear mean, but I see it as the perfect amount of restrain...they really don't care about you (and won't pretend otherwise), but they will be civil and get your food to you in good time.

what do I order? - always have the tea time stuff...they actually have super yummy chicken burgers.

2) alleluia: it is hella busy there all the time...especially for the super awesome $2.99 deal for breakfast...frugal people just flock to this place! and why wouldn't they...free refills for drinks!

what do I order? - mmm...their baked porkchop rice is yummy...so is the yuen yeung fan. also good club sandwiches! and fat worm likes their belachan beef on fried noodle.

3) the already deceased 'venus cafe'/'kingspark': maybe it's not so much the food...but more so the many good memories I have of these places. I put these two together because one of them no longer exists and the other, I no longer frequent. 'venus cafe' had the best sweet stuff...the desserts on the tea time menu were actually decent. with 'kingspark', it's all about the memories=) sizzling plates are ho excite!

what do I order? - at kingspark, I loved their thai roasted chicken fried rice....that's pretty the only thing I've ever ordered there. I really think the quality has gone down a fair amount in recent years...the service was TERRIBLE the last time I went.

4) ok...this is a sort of exception, but I gotta put down the parker place food court. it is not only the cheapest of them all, but also one of the best, quality wise. at our house, we call it "fat worm's hangout"...and it is absolutely his favourite food place because it's just so gosh darn ghetto that it feels like HK.

what do I order? - the "little car" mein at curry kitchen (brisket w/ fried fish slices in satay sauce)....breakfast from "good food" (they have the best milk tea actually)...and I recently tried the crepe place, which is delicious! (much cheaper than cafe crepe)

anyways...I'm sure you guys will have your opinions about the "culinary kings of richmond"...spam away!