Curiosity finally gave in and I took my hunger to the Cattle Café at the corner of Edmonds and Kingsway in Burnaby. I’ve seen the very recognizable cow chef on many occasions as I passed by it on my daily commute but always thought that this was a burger joint (Cattle Café, get it?) and was not very interested in going. It wasn’t until a friend told me about this Hong Kong style café that my curiosity was peaked and I went to try it out.

First of all, let me say that this review was not written after just one visit, I’ve gone to the Café numerous times since January to really try to get a feel of everything that they offer. Their menu is SO extensive that I just couldn’t just try one thing, and my stomach is not large enough to accommodate everything that I wanted to try so, I really had no choice but to go several times. Right? So, here we go.

I’ve never been to a Hong Kong restaurant before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Like I mentioned, their menu is so extensive and everything looks so good that I was just like a kid in a candy store, I couldn’t decide off the bat! I’m always up for trying new things so I went for the hand squeezed fish noodles on my first visit. This may not sound appetizing to you but the taste was really something! Not overly fishy and the broth was the perfect balance. Now, I love seafood so this was an exciting new experience for me! The staff is young, probably high school or university students, but they’re glad to answer any questions, if they don’t know the answer they will find out for you and this helped me make my first decision. A lot of the food includes a free hot drink and, me being me, I tried their coffee milk tea (I found out that it’s called yuanyang) and fell in love with it! It’s coffee, mixed with black tea and whitened with evaporated milk. It’s the only thing I drink now and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to try it! Also, 99% of their menu is under $10 with the exception of their teppanyaki , which is $11.95, so this place does not break the bank and you are able to have a great tasting meal without leaving hungry. That is a big plus for me since I’m currently living on a student budget.

Their menu offers noodles, soups, curries, sandwiches (for those picky eaters), Cattle set meals that include “western” style foods like pastas, hot pot (yes! Under $10!), and Happy Snacks, which are appetizer type foods that include everything from french fries to takoyaki to vegetables in oyster sauce, deserts and shaved ice. They make House Brand Smooth Tofu served hot in a bamboo mini pot and made right to order. And, if you don’t feel like eating the combinations that they have ready made, there’s a menu for you to choose your noodles, broth and toppings, and the teppanyaki is also choose your own. P.S. Word to the wise, spicy means spicy! Even for me, who loves spicy food, their Triple Veggie in Spicy Sauce with Rice Noodles was too much to handle, you’ve been warned!

What more can I say? At the moment, this is my favourite restaurant. So much so that I even became a member! For $5 a year they give you a card that you use every time you pay to collect points $1=1 point, and you accumulate points for free food! I mean, I couldn’t resist! You can collect points at any one of their locations and there are special discounts for club members as well. There are 4 Cattle Café locations in the lower mainland, 3 locations along Kingsway and one in Richmond, I’ve gone to the one at Edmonds and the one near Metrotown and I loved both, I can’t say much about the other 2 locations, but I suspect that the food would be just as delicious. I’d love to know your experience at the other locations, they are definitely on my list of places to go to.