Cafe 97

If you are an old school Chinese food lover. This is the spot. The spot where only locals knows and the spot where you feel at home when mom is away. Don’t come here if you are looking for generals tsao or orange chicken. Stick with panda. Because this place is for he true Asians. Recommend this place for sure.

Not bad for a quick meal. Loved the salt and pepper crab on rice. The hot & sour soup a bit too salty and the chicken in Japanese style over rice was too sweet to my liking.

I like my sprite the best. Ordered hot and sour won ton soup, pineapple sweet and sour chicken, white rice, and sprite. Language barrier, if you only speak English. Oddly no offer for chop sticks

Chinese Food is never been my first option of choice .You know why? Because I often feel stuffed & short of breath most of the time having that due to the fact foods are too greasy .
Surprised why I give it 4 stars ?? After a heavy date with Gym (menu included an hour of cardio, an hour of body pump and some spa time in the end). I was so supper hungry and need some foods before getting grumpy.;)
I have this place in mind before & on that day I decide to be a guinea pig to find out how good is that.
The restaurant is small, I think it can fit only under 20 people. But it’s clean & simple. There’s some food pictures hang up on both sides of the wall !! I love that idea cuz it’s more easier to use body language to order food than verbally. I’m sure that they won’t make wrong order if you point to them which one you would like to have .;)
Only one guy is working there but he’s very efficient or maybe there’s not much customer at that time. I came here three time and always please with the order.
Singapore Style Fried Vermicelli, Fried Chicken Wings & French Fries, Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice. They were all so good. The portion is huge and can fit for 2 person (small person only). If you’re a big guy (like my Unilocal friend John D), you can easily finish by yourself, lol. Prior to order, they bring out complimentary (small bowl of vegetables soup & cup of tea). Oh, they’re good as well .;) It’s only cost less than 10 $ per item. Wow, that’s unbeatable price for yummy food!
I love the casual atmosphere, no need for you to dress fancy and no attitude is showed for whatever you wear. For sure, I’ll come back and try more different dishes and hope that I won’t get that stuffed feeling.
Keep up the good work ! And hope with my review, they’ll get more busy in the future !!
Highly Recommended, Friends !!

This is an authentic HK kitchen. The food is good but not the super dooper quality. It just the kind of home cook or street stall quality. Very comforting & for the price, you can’t find anywhere decent enough.
Yes, it’s a hole in a wall kind of restaurant. You don’t see many customer dining there that’s because its a 2 men operation. 1 Chef that do everything inside the kitchen and 1 person that covers the customer facing role. Hence, it takes a while to get your food. I saw quite a few rude customers ordering take out taking a jab at the waiter and want Fast food. Er. if you want that go to Panda Express. Give these guys a break.
I like that they do yum cha session between 3−5PM. That’s what you’ll find in HK as well. Fantastic deal.
Most customers are regulars (unfortunately including those rude customers).
Will custom again.

I got the salt and pepper wings here and they were awesome! My coworker and I ordered to-​go, walk next door to battle the crowd at Gong Cha, and by the time we finally get our drinks and return, our food is ready to go! My coworker got the beef chow fun and it was not bad. Could have been a bit saltier, but that basic, satisfying flavor was there. Will definitely come back for more wings!

I love Café 97! I read previous reviews and it made me laugh how ppl complained about the food and expect extravagant service. This is a mom and pop shop, actually it’s more like a one man team. I’m sure they can give great service by hiring more servers if they raise the price of the dishes by few dollars (like their competitors). Average price per dish is less than 7 dollars, for that price. You barely can get a McDonald meal in today’s economy! I love 97’s food! I eat here couple times a week with my kids then I always order extra for work the next day. This place deserves more recognition and respect. By the way, this is a Hong Kong café style restaurant… This means it is a fast food, casual restaurant. Please don’t expect a 5 course private dining meal when you pay a coffee price meal, I spend more on my breakfast at Starbucks than whatever those horrible Unilocalers spent on whatever they ate. If this was closer to my job, I would eat here everyday! Especially they had recently expanded their menu and now serve porridge and wonton noodle soup! Oh boy I love their wonton! They do give too much noodle! I feel so wasteful and can’t finish it. Milk tea is very flavorful but I prefer their lemon tea better! Occasionally they have red bean drinks, my kids love those! We always get the oxtail, pumpkin chicken, eggplant dish, crispy noodle, beef chow fun, Singapore style noodle, and all the baked dishes! I could go for 97 again right now ! Yummy! =)

Ordered pork chop noodle and rice. Nasty quality and not fresh. Never coming back and will not recommend this place.

My favorite lunch-​to-​go place. I work close by, and at least once a week order Chinese food to go here. The food is uniformly good, and low priced enough to eat there often. I call in ahead, the food is always ready when I get there, and always tasty,. Chow fun, curry chicken w/​rice and Mongolian beef over rice are my favorites. Singapore noodles is good, but slightly greasy. They have a large menu I should probably explore, but staples are so good I don’t often experiment.
The downside is that the place is small — lots of tables jammed into a very small dinning area make it feel crowded even when it’s not. The constantly playing TV ads to the noise and crowded feel, so I rarely eat there. I also wish they would offer brown rice as an option.

Came for lunch the other day. Everyone enjoyed what they had, no complaints. Good flavor and portions were what I would expect. Like someone else said, nothing to get excited about, just good and satisfying for a reasonable price.

This hole-​in-​the-​wall place serves a range of standard Cantonese rice– or noodle-​plates. While the food here won’t knock your socks off, this Cantonese diner does offer you a satisfying (and filling) plate of food and a drink for under 10 bucks. And the food comes out pretty quickly.
Asian leafy green vegetables here are a notch above similar places in the area. Snow pea leaves are always fresh and tender — have them sauteed these beauty with garlic. The fried rice or fried noodles have a hint of wok fire. I usually get the beef fried rice, or the chicken fried rice with salted fish. Fried noodles with soy sauce or with pork are alright. Flat rice noodles stirfry with beef (gon tsaau ngau ho) is average.
The couple who owns this place are friendly and hardworking. I’d prefer giving my business to them than to other less personable places. Parking is relatively easy here (compared to the strip mall across Hostetter).
All these together make Café 97 a 4-​star place in my book. It’s not a place I would go out of my way to get to. However, if you are in the area and in need of a quick, cheap bite, give this place try.

Cash only. HK Milk tea was way too sweet and I didn’t get to taste much of the tea. Maybe I went on one of their off days since quite a few Unilocal members here really liked their milk tea.
Also tried the stir fry beef with string beans — it’s okay.

Food delicious, can compare with alot of big name chinese restaurant in the area. You pay twice as much across the plaza at venus café and it’s really limited on flavors.
Here at 97, there are alot of different style of HK food that you can taste here and the drinks are top notch. HK style milk tea are made with real tea leafs instead of instant tea bags like alot of other café uses.
The woman that works there, I don’t remember her name but she’s the owner of the restaurant and very friendly!!! She recommends what food to eat and usually right on the spot.
Take a chance people, you will have nothing to loose and super affordable.

Always respect the Mom and Pop’s. I’ve never been to Hong Kong, but I imagine it is similar to what I had when I went. Small shop where oxtail is a highlight, among others, and don’t forget to order the hot lemon tea. Parking is a little tight so get there early. Cash only too.

HK-​Style foods at a pretty cheap price (compared to the neighboring places around the two plazas). The name is pretty interesting (or one would guess that it’s inspired from the UK-​PRC handover).
I ordered their Singapore Style vermicelli. The taste was on the spot though I noticed that they used the really small packet shrimp instead of actual shrimp. For the price, I can see that being a corner to be cut. Service was pretty fast when I was there.
Oh and it’s cash only, but luckily there’s an ATM in the same plaza since there’s a bank.

This is my go to place when I’m looking for asian comfort food. Though they don’t speak much english, their service is friendly and fast!
Love their iced tea!

Definitely a hole-​in-​the-​wall type of joint. I am a loyal customer. Put a goddamn stamp on it.
Café 97 has a good special to-​go box menu with a nice selection for $ 6 each item. I usually come here to order either their chow fun or scrambled eggs w/​beef over rice. The chow fun is good enough for me to come back for more. The dish retains a soft and consistent texture with the addition of bean sprouts and onions as it is stir-​fried in a huge ass wok over an open flame. There is no door between the cooks and I, so i always observe the old chinese man finessing and stuntin’ too hard in the kitchen. The beef they use in all their dishes are better than other smaller chinese food for takeout joints. ahem. Jade China …
Any dishes containing scrambled eggs here are all made silky/​wet by default (Does not say on menu. Just that it is scrambled). The egg just appears clear, runny, and uncooked. Its just a way Cantonese make/​love their eggs. I mention this because this might bug the non-​asian population to be honest, but the thought/​combination of some good fking supple beef with silky egg to me induces hypersalivation. Just can’t get enough of it … Who can’t get enough of eggs in general?! Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Eggs will always suffice.
The shop isn’t too nice and clean. Taking the food for takeout is a recommended! The tables are always grimy… so I never sit down to wait. Practically everyone in the shop cannot speak English besides one girl who I believe is the owner’s daughter that occasionally works the register.
Stop by and grab a box to go! Cheap and worth every penny.

Been to Café 97 a couple of times more since I posted my original review. I have tried their breaded pork chop, chow mein (the one with fried noodles), short ribs, and (again) the one I love the most from their menu, the fish-​and-​tofu dish with black bean sauce … and, wow, this place really deserves to have more people eating their delicately-​flavoured dishes.
I have, in fact, taken an officemate and a few relatives there to dine in and indulge their taste buds. Needless to say, they have become regulars at Café 97, too.

This is small friendly business. Nothing that will shock your world, but still pretty darn good.
Their food selection is vast. Believe me, it’s huge. You may not even know where to start in terms of what to get. You’re not going to pay much, but the quality of the food does exceed the price. So you’re basically in a win win situation. Good food at a great price.
Staff is very friendly and maybe they will include you on the special items off the menu.
If you’re in the mood for the flavors of Hong Kong, stop by. You’re going to enjoy what your buck gets you.

One star for the friendly service and lemon ice tea.
I must have ordered the wrong items because the food that came out was nasty.
DO NOT get the black pepper chicken steak. Black pepper sauce should not taste like bland watery goo. The quality of the chicken was poor and broke into shreds when I tried to cut it. My friend ordered the mince meat with egg on rice. Sounds good right? When it came out it looked like someone yacked on his rice. It’s basically goopy mush with pieces of meat in it and an egg buried beneath the mess. The only decent dish that I tried was the fried chicken and fries for roughly $ 4.
I came here believing it was going to taste like a Hong Kong café but I should’ve went with my gut instinct and dined at Top Café instead. Never again.
P. S. This is the only HK café I have ever been to that doesn’t give out free soup before your meal. WTF is up with that?!