Alleluia revisited

Kudos to Yo-Yo for service excellence.  I've been to Alleluia a million times, and a lot of the staff there are pretty nice, but one in particular stands out in the crowd and that's Yo-Yo.  Everytime we go there, she remebers us, and greets us with a smile.  She could be having an awful day, but she still manages to be happy and find a smile to share with customers and co-workers.  Our teacups are always full, and our food is always there quickly, but she delivers that service so pleasantluy and you can sense her sincerity, there are no canned lines or forced smiles.  Yo-Yo will always go that extra mile and do a few things more that just make your day.  Yo-Yo, if you're reading this, way to make the world a better place. 

My mom loves the Thai fried rice here, and during tea time, it's a pretty good bang for the buck.  At less than $8, you get a decent plate of fried rice and a free drink.  That's about the cost of some combo meals at Rotten Ronnie's.

My dad got some kind of soup with an assortment of veggies and fish balls.  It looks like, but he barely finished it. 

I of course got the 3 item mix and match.  Lately, I've been getting the spaghetti.  I know, I know, it's more like army noodles, but I think they must lightly season and dress the noodles or something because I'm actually able to eat it without any sauce. 

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I got the pork chop cutlet, the fish cutlet and, the rib eye.  If you dare to eat it rare, just ask them to touch the pan, and it will actually come blue, the way you ask for it.  I don't know how many high-end steak places I've gone to where I've asked for fat and bloody, and they bring me a steak done medium-well.  For about $10 at Alleluia, I get soup, a drink, a pile of spaghetti or rice, some sort of gravy, and two other items with my steak.  Yeah, it's no Keg Size, but the rib eye steak melts in your mouth, even though it barely touched the frying pan. 

Anyway, Alleluia remains one of my favourite HK Cafes - it's inexpensive, the food is decent, and the service is good - spectacular when Yo-Yo is serving =).

Alleluia again

The world's best HK milk tea that's one of the optional drinks that comes with most lunch/dinner sets. I've been told it tastes so good because they use the equivalent of three tea bags to brew one cup of tea....I could be wrong.
Another optional drink is the ice lemon tea. They use almost half a lemon in each cup in this strong tea. This stuff is nectar, so damn good.
The soup of the day that comes with the All Day Special and the All Day Mix & Match Special is usually your run-of-the-mill cream soup with whatever ingredients they have left over. It's drinkable most of the time.
Baked Seafood on Rice $6.25 includes a drink - from the miniset menu. They used to have a larger version of this dish with an oyster and spinach on the All-Day Special menu, but for some strange reason, they've taken it off.
I really wish they had the larger one again.
The All-Day Mix & Match Special for $9.25. Pictured here is Minute Steak, Rib Eye Steak, and Pork Chop Cutlet.
Pretty much the same as above except with the additional yam fries for $1 more.


Not sure what this was, some sort of mixed seafood with spicy thai noodles. $8.95 or 9.95....
Pan-seared chicken fillet with some sort of noodle....less than $10.00 for sure.

The bottom line is Alleluia is dirt cheap for what you get, and that's a sit-down meal, that most often turns out pretty good, a pretty good drink, sometimes a bowl of soup, plus left-overs because they pile on the food, all for usually less than $10.00. What's the cost of fast-food nowadays? $7.99? $8.99? A meal at McCrap's is getting up there, and a lot of other places are too. Even prices in food courts are getting outrageous. I'd rather sit down at Alleluia any day of the week. HK fast food is the way to go.

Alleluia Cafe

Alleluia Cafe has got to be one of the best Hong Kong style cafes in the lower mainland. Apparently, the owner used to own this place called Golden Award, which has since gone out of business. Golden Award was one of the first Hong Kong style cafes I used to frequent. It was kind of a dive, and not particularily clean, but the food was good and prices were cheap. Some damn good HK milk tea too. Anyway, Golden Award was replaced by a place called Silver Tower, which was really crappy. They renovated the restaurant and made it all trendy looking but the food was crap.

I started going to Alleluia and found that their HK Milk tea really was the best I've ever had. The restaurant is relatively clean, though I'd never use their toilets unless I absolutely have to. The service is decent, and it's open until 2AM. Drinks are refillable once, but this is not advertised. I strongly recomment this place as an alternative to western fast food. It really is fast, and there have been times when I would get my meal faster than if I had waited through a McDonald's drive through....and some of these meals are just about the same price as a McDonald's combo nowadays. Better food (and more of it), sit-down service, and almost the same price. When I get some more decent pictures, I'll upload them in another post. Check out some other reviews here. Baked Pork Chop on Rice - $9.25 - This is the dinner size and it comes with a drink and soup of the day. It used to be my favourite, but then, I had a lot of favourites. It's too bad this dish doesn't come with a bit of cheese sprinkled on it, otherwise it would be perfect.....by the way, you'll never finish it.
All Day Mix & Match Special - $9.25 for any three items from a list, served with a choice of steamed rice or spaghetti, plus a choice of sauce from a list, and includes a drink and soup of the day. This one has pork chop cutlet, fish cutlet, and two fried eggs......not the best of choices....
Spaghetti Bolognese - $8.95 - dinner size includes a drink and soup of the day. Another one of my favourites, and since I never finish it, I always have tasty leftovers for lunch.


You can find Alleluia Cafe at 8131 Westminster HwyRichmond, BC, just a bit east of #3 Road. Their telephone number is (604)271-8266 and I think they actually take reservations....but it's really not necessary because it doesn't take long to get served.