Ho Yuen Cafe Vancouver: Inside the new Hong Kong-style diner

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

Tucked away in an otherwise unassuming business park in South Vancouver is Ho Yuen Cafe, your next favourite breakfast spot.

Ho Yuen is serving up Hong Kong family-style breakfast and lunch items, as well as some freshly baked pastries made in-house from the bakery at the back of the restaurant.

The cafe has been operating in Hong Kong for over 50 years, and this marks its first Vancouver location, which is being run by the second generation of the original owners of the spot in Hong Kong. Dished had the opportunity to stop by and check out the space, and let us tell you, it’s worth the trek.

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There’s no better way to start off this article than by talking about the pineapple buns. As we just said, these are made in-house, and we got to try these fresh out of the oven. You can’t go wrong by eating one with salted butter, which is the perfect combination of sweet and salty. The bun is also so soft, and it was difficult to stop ourselves from having more than one. You can also order these buns with chocolate or red bean paste which were also excellent.

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Ho Yuen also offers other baked goods like loaves of bread, egg tarts, and pineapple toast, which comes in the same flavours as the pineapple buns. These were good, but it’s hard to compete with how good the pineapple buns were.

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During our visit, Ho Yuen was still under its soft opening, so it only offered a limited menu. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that for its grand opening from February 1 to 5 from 9 am to 10 am, the restaurant is giving away a free pineapple bun with each purchase. We can’t stress enough how much you need to try these pineapple buns.

But that’s not to say the entrees weren’t equally as tasty. We had the chance to try three dishes: the Luncheon Meat and Macaroni Tomato Soup, the Satay Beef with Instant Ramen, and the BBQ Pork Rice Bowl, the latter being one of Ho Yuen’s specialties.

The Luncheon Meat and Macaroni Tomato Soup tasted hearty and homey, similar to the tomato soup your mom would make, loaded with chunks of carrot and potato and topped with some fried pieces of luncheon meat. Given the recent cold temperatures in Vancouver, this was a very welcomed meal.

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The Satay Beef with Instant Ramen should be your go-to the next time you’re fighting off a hangover. Think of your favourite instant noodle cup, but it is made better with the addition of satay beef. Even if you’re not hungover, this is an excellent choice.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

But the star of the show definitely was the BBQ Pork Rice Bowl, which came presented with a sunny side egg on top. The portion of pork was generous, and the sauce on top was delicious. You really can’t go wrong with pork, rice, and egg, but this one tasted better than we could have ever hoped.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

Despite it still operating as a soft open, the restaurant had a steady stream of customers coming in and out during our visit. So, if you want to visit and taste a particular menu item, be sure to go early so it doesn’t run out of your favourite dish. And at the risk of repeating ourselves, make sure you get that pineapple bun.

Owner Conina Mui told us she wanted to incorporate the design from the original shops in Hong Kong while also adding her own twist. You can see the original Ho Yuen logos scattered around the restaurant and also the new one, which includes a lion head meant to represent Lion Rock in Hong Kong. The silhouette of Lion Rock can be seen throughout the restaurant, and we were pleasantly surprised every time we found another reference to the landmark. Even the back of some of the chairs featured the silhouette.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

Be sure to do yourself a favour and visit Ho Yuen Cafe in Vancouver. Oh, and in case we didn’t mention it, you should order the pineapple bun.

Ho Yuen Cafe Vancouver

Address: #113-1750 West 75th Avenue, Vancouver

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