Cattle Cafe: Hong Kong style restaurant in Burnaby
Cattle Cafe is a Hong Kong style cafe/restaurant located in Burnaby near Metrotown. Since I am from Hong Kong, I think of Hong Kong-style cafes like family restaurants. Usually, their menus are huge and there is a large selection of different Asian dishes from noodles to fried rice, sizzling hot plates, soups and congees and bubble teas.
Food
I came here with my boyfriend and 2 friends. We ordered a few items to share, but everyone got their own entree.
Deep fried squid tentacles ($9)
We order this appetizer to share between 4 people. Portion size is reasonable but it’s not the best plate of deep fried squid I’ve ever had. I found it to be under-seasoned with some sort of sweet/salty powder, so that was interesting. All in all, I think the squid tentacles from Myst taste better.
Basa fish fillet rice noodle in Sichuan spicy soup ($16)
Our friend orders this spicy noodle soup with fish fillet and rice noodles. Normally, I don’t order anything Sichuan because I am worried it is too spicy for me, but my friend can handle some spice so he liked it. Big bowl of food and has that Sichuan chili oil.
Thai style pineapple seafood fried rice ($19)
My other friend orders the Thai-style fried rice, which has pineapple and seafood like shrimps. Even though they call it “Thai”, it is not spicy like authentic Thai food is. Again, large portions but I do think it looked and tasted a little bland. I think adding a fried egg or something would have definitely helped.
Pan fried flat noodles with sliced beef in soy sauce ($19)
I order a HK classic – pan fried noodles with beef. Again, portions are large so I am happy with that and the familiar taste of this dish is on point. They give you lots of beef and the rice noodles are nicely coated with soy sauce and oil, the crunch of the bean sprouts and onions help cut the oily taste. All in all, it was exactly what I expected when I ordered this dish.
Lemon iced tea (+$1.25)
FYI, most of these entrees come with a free hot beverage like lemon coke or tea, but you can change it to a cold drink for $1.25 more. I chose the cold iced lemon tea, another classic pairing for HK dishes.
House special baked fried rice ($20)
My boyfriend orders this baked fried rice, thinking it was just the pork chop one, but to our surprise this comes out! This is a yin-yang combo of the 2 most popular baked fried rices in HK cafes – the red pork chop one with tomato and onions, and the white seafood one. For those who have a hard time picking – this is for you!
It is a huge portion and it also took the longest (as most baked rice dishes are, you can order earlier if you already know you want something baked). Pork chop still had a little crunch to it even though it is baked and covered in the tomato sauce, and the creamy side had lots of seafood.
French toast with ice cream ($10)
My boyfriend cannot resist dessert and so we order the french toast with ice cream. French toast is another signature HK dessert and I used to love eating this as a kid. It is a little different from actual french toast, because I usually see HK style french toast as above – a deep fried square with some butter melting on top.
Anyways, this was really tasty, fried really well and love the combination of the syrup and the vanilla ice cream.
House-made smooth tofu pudding ($8)
Now because my boyfriend also cannot resist a good tofu pudding, we order this to share lol. The tofu pudding comes in a really cute little barrel and a spoon of ginger syrup (sounds weird, but it’s good!). You pour it into the bucket/barrel and then you scoop out your serving of the tofu pudding.
The tofu pudding has a really great texture – very smooth and silky so we were impressed. The ginger syrup makes this dessert not very sweet, and instead more comforting and relaxing.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: โญโญโญ
We have been to Cattle Cafe before and growing up with HK food at home or in actual HK, I would say everything is pretty authentic and nothing is unexpected. My boyfriend and I love the pan fried beef noodle and the baked fried rices because we are basic, but I would recommend any of those dishes if you are unsure of what to order because they are usually very popular dishes.
I would definitely order the tofu pudding again because it was so smooth and a great price. Generally, prices are reasonable but I wouldn’t say this place is a cheap eat because entrees would be close to $20 each but large portions so it’s ok.
I would recommend Cattle Cafe for a casual dinner with friends or family or if you are just craving some fast HK cuisine.
Sincerely, Loewe