Came across Empire Hotpot at Ngee Ann City quite a while ago; the hotpot restaurant is located at the same level as Kai Duck, Henri Charpentier and East Ocean Teochew Restaurant — all of which are located within the vicinity where Empire Hotpot is situated within the mall as well. Being part of the group which also operates Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine which is located just right opposite Empire Hotpot within the same mall, we only going out about the existence of Empire Hong Kong Cafe during a visit to Kai Duck previously. Whilst Empire Hong Kong Cafe operates within the same premises as Empire Hotpot, the “official entrance” of Empire Hong Kong Cafe is actually located at a separate door that is located in between Kai Duck and Henri Charpentier — the said door bearing the signage indicating “Empire Hong Kong Cafe” rather than that of Empire Hotpot’s, and displays the menu of Empire Hong Kong Cafe as well. With Empire Hong Kong Cafe being a lunch-time only concept, the door would stay closed once lunch service has ended, and would remain so even throughout dinner service. The menu at Empire Hong Kong Cafe is segmented into sections dedicated to Appetisers, Bread / Pastries, Soup, Braised, Wok Fried, Noodles, Claypot Rice and Western; patrons would also find a rather limited selection of Dim Sum also available at Empire Hong Kong Cafe, though those whom are looking for dim sum would be able to find a more extensive dim sum menu at Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine just right across the aisle in the mall. Beverages available at Empire Hong Kong Cafe includes the usual suspects such as the Yuan Yang (i.e. Coffee and Tea mixed with milk), HK Milk Tea, Almond Milk and Hot Coke with Ginger & Lemon, though Empire Hong Kong Cafe also does serve up other non-alcoholic beverages such as Iced Soursop Soda with Longan, Iced Mango Lime Soda with Aloe Vera, and Ice Blended Red Bean with Ice Cream.

Visiting Empire Hong Kong Cafe for lunch, we decided to go for the Scrambled Eggs with Shrimp on Rice after skimming through the entire list of mains which they have to offer on the menu. Arriving the table served in a plate, the Scrambled Eggs with Shrimp on Rice was what we imagined to be and have expected from a Hong Kong cafe; scrambled eggs loaded with prawns served with rice on the side, alongside some blanched greens. Digging straight into the Scrambled Eggs with Shrimp, we found the dish to be especially well-executed; the scrambled eggs itself being all warm, silky and still relatively runny — fluffy and eggy with a hint of saltishness that helps to uplift the flavours of the egg. The shrimp served alongside it were pretty huge; they were also quite generous with the shrimp here considering its size — there were at least 5 pieces that came with our order at least and they were pretty fresh. The shrimp not only helps add a good bite to the entire dish; it also came with its distinct hint of sweetness that further provides a flavour contrast with the scrambled egg. The right way of having this dish would be to have a little bit of the scrambled eggs with shrimp to pair up with a portion of the white rice; this way, the rice would be able to absorb all that runny egg, providing the moisture that the white rice needs.

Having wanted to try either Empire Hong Kong Cafe or the dim sum at Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine for quite a while, we were certainly impressed with our meal at Empire Hong Kong Cafe. We have tried quite a number of the items that were listed on their menu; this includes the Soup of the Day, Cucumber with Minced Garlic, Wok fried prawn ball with lychee served with rice, Custard Bolo Bun and Spicy Chicken Mid-wings — most of the items were well-executed, which includes the Wok fried prawn ball with lychee served with rice and the Soup of the Day. There was also no way we were going to give the Hot Coke with Ginger & Lemon — the final touch to what we think would compliment our main for an authentic Hong Kong cafe experience. Overall, we would say that we are impressed enough to make a revisit for some of the items which we have missed out this time; the execution of the Scrambled Eggs with Shrimp on Rice was especially commendable. Service was also pretty good here as opposed to some other Chinese establishments where things can get a little fast-paced; the service crew are pretty polite and seem to be working at a comfortable pace; they also do seem to engage in small talk with the patrons as well. For those who are already itching for Hong Kong cafe-style cuisine, Empire Hong Kong Cafe is a spot that is definitely worth checking out!