Rubato HK Café

Trying Hong Kong cafe for the first time. I was overwhelmed by the menu on the wall so I asked for recommendations by the woman taking the orders. She recommended the fried chicken Bolo. I got shrimp steam rolls, Chinese donuts, ovaltine French toast, ice coffee, hot soy milk and cold soy milk. The fried chicken bolo was interesting. She told me it was the most popular item on the menu. I personally don’t understand why. It is fried chicken with a slaw and on a bun with some sort of crumble on top. I was not impressed. The Chinese donuts were cold and old tasting; I was super disappointed. The shrimp steam rolls were very delicious! The ovaltine French toast is sweet. It has ovaltine powder on it and it’s covered with sweetened condensed milk. It is tasty, sweet and a bit messy to eat but I enjoyed it. Iced coffee was strong. Iced soy milk is preferred over hot soy milk but that is just personal preference and it was over 90 degrees outside. It is a small cafe with limited seating at the window. The menu is on the wall. You order and when it’s done they call your number. It is NOT ADA friendly. You have to climb stairs to get in. It was quite difficult for me as I was using my cane. This was my first Hong Kong style fast food cafe created by Chopped Champion and James Beard semifinalist Chef Laurence Louie and Rary Ratsifa. After going to another Hong Kong cafe nearby, and having something to compare this to, I would not return to this establishment as I think there are better Hong Style cafes with better food and ADA friendliness establishments.

Came here specifically as huge fans of Laurence from Top chef and omg was it incredible. We tried a bunch of different things and I was so happy as a vegetarian that I had a lot to choose from. The salt and pepper cauliflower was spicy but not overly intense and had great flavor. The bolo bao was flakey and delicious. Would drive the four hours from NY just to have the food here again. Love the colors and style of the restaurant inside too!!

I had wanted to come here for a long time, but I don't live nearby and the hours are a bit restrictive. Well, the food was absolutely worth the long trip. I got the lava egg yolk toast, Hong Kong milk tea, and the rubato fun fun noodles(?). I thought the toast was incredible, and my friend liked it too, but she did find it a bit sweet. Perfect for me, though. The noodles with the brisket and fish balls were really good, too. Hong Kong milk tea was a bit mid for me, but I'm not sure how much I even like Hong Kong milk tea in the first place, so it could be a me issue. I definitely plan to come back and try more things! I ordered congee and a chicken sandwich for takeout, and the employee said she could separate the sauce and stuff from the sandwich for me so I could enjoy it later, which I really appreciated. I give 2 stars for the vibe only because seating is quite limited and the lighting is yellow tinted, not lending to the most aesthetic food pictures if you care about that. You can see it in my picture.

We love the char siu bao here. It’s a little pricey at $4/bao, but we keep coming back twice a month, and sometimes we order ten baos at a time. The steamed bread is fluffy and chewy, and the filling is so delicious. We order char siu bao …

No frills place that serves good food! No bathroom though. Bought the: Fried chicken bolo bao & lava egg yolk French toast. Chicken was tender & juicy but still crispy on the outside. It was decently good by itself but with the sauce and cold slaw paired with it, it tasted amazing. Bolo bao itself wasn’t anything special. Filling enough for one small person and not too heavy on the stomach. The lava egg yolk French toast was surprisingly very good. I’m not a fan of salted egg yolk but this wasn’t too salty. The balance between the salty egg yolk and the sweetness of the French toast was perfect. Pricey but no regrets buying & trying it. Went on a weekday at around 1:30pm. They were pretty busy with most of the seats taken. Definitely recommend take out.