Since I did not plan the exact schedule I would have in HK (other than watching Touch Mi 2), for most of the time, I just wandered around the city looking for food.
On my last day, I was just exploring the neighbourhood around my hotel (OK, to be frank, I was looking for breakfast, but being Sunday, many places were crowded).
Not far from my hotel, I saw this conventional-looking HK cafe that interestingly had no queue. So I popped in.
Variety of Food at Ocean Empire Porridge (海皇粥店 Hai Huang Zhou Dian)
In case you missed it, the store was called a “porridge shop”, so the main stay was porridge. But just like other HK cafe, stuff like fried noodles and dim sum-ish stuff were sold there.
I was looking to taste as much food as possible, and to my (pleasant) surprise, there were sets that offered tasting portions.
Naturally, my expression went:
I went with 皮蛋瘦肉粥，配点心拼盘 A（韩式韭菜蒸饺+鲜虾烧卖+迷你炒面），加配热茶 (Pork Porridge with Century Egg, Korean-style Steamed Dumplings, Prawn Siew Mai, Fried Mee, Hot Tea).
Yup, there were 5 items and it cost only HKD35!
The porridge was so-so, though for me, I had more to grumble as they added a lot of giner and spring onions.
The Fried Mee was a tad dry, but generally was tasty.
The saving grace was of course the dumplings and siew mai. Both were flavourful and chewy, which really fit the bill of a perk-me-up a la HK style.
Edit 2018:
Since I quite liked the place, I revisited it whenever I was in Hong Kong. Another of my favourite, which was also part of the sets, was the Steamed Carrot Cake. It sat on a bed of sweet sauce, which was meant to compliment the taste of the dish.
I prefer my carrot cake without the sauce. That way, I can taste the sweetness of the radish, while enjoying the umami of the dried shrimps (虾米).
Service & Ambience
As usual, being the lone customer, I was seated with another person at a 2-seater. However, the lady soon left and I had the whole table to myself.
The design of the cafe was such that it was closed off from the exterior, so despite being just off Nathan Road, the cafe was generally peaceful (save the usual cafe chatter).
Verdict
Despite my complaints, the offering was definitely of a better quality than San Yang Cafe (in my other review; LINK).
In fact, you may be wondering why I mentioned there was no queue, when my cover picture was that of a queue. Yes, I took that picture after my meal, and the queue did take me by surprise. I was so close to not being able to have a decent breakfast!
How to Get There
海皇粥店 (Ocean Empire)
497A Nathan Rd,
Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong
+852 2385 6732
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d1899.629066305413!2d114.16927866726783!3d22.31205007701436!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x340400c0fdef7adb%3A0xa4fdd901e5d8ff64!2sOcean+Empire!5e0!3m2!1sen!2ssg!4v1483856706557&w=600&h=450]
Like My Review
If you find the tips helpful in deciding whether to visit this restaurant, or what to do when you come here, do go to Tripadvisor, search for “Zenov” and like my review. Thank yoU!