Mido Cafe (美都餐室)
English Address (Google Map): G/F, 63 Temple Street
Chinese Address: 油麻地廟街63號地下
Opening hours: 8:30am – 9:45pm daily
Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture
Introduction
Mido Cafe started operation back in the 1950s and is one of the oldest cafes in Hong Kong. This old school cafe is a landmark at Temple Street and was featured in various Hong Kong movies and serial like Goodbye Mr Cool (古惑仔之九龙冰室) and Revolving Door of Vengeance (酒店风云).
The 1950s interior design was retained till date and the nostalgic design offers a glimpse of Hong Kong’s past when air conditioning is a luxury and food menus were hand-written. Unlike the modern cafes that pushes seating capacity to the limit within a small floor area, Mido Cafe is contrastingly spacious.
I visited on a weekday morning and it’s surprisingly vacant. Mido has literally over two hundred items on their menu but their signature dish is the Pork Rib / Pork Chop Baked Rice.
Mido Cafe Menu 1: Click to enlarge
Mido Cafe Menu 2: Click to enlarge
Baked Spare Rib in Tomato Sauce (Baked Rice) – HK$58
There are a few variations of Baked Rice and the most famous one is the Spare Rib Baked Rice. It took a little while to serve and the rice looks absolutely delicious.
The base of the Baked Rice consist of a layer of butter rice, layered with melted cheese, pork ribs and topped with a layer of rich tomato paste.
The tomato sauce is slightly sweet, thick, but not overly cloying and goes really with the melted savoury cheese. The spare rib is the highlight of the dish. The well marinated ribs is really tender and the meat gets seperated from the bones easil and it goes pretty good with the soft melted cheese and tomato sauce.
I read that the portion is really big from online but it’s really not. I even hope for a bigger portion.
Pork Chop with Macaroni in Broth – HK$38
The portion of the macaroni is really big. Much bigger than a typical macaroni soup that you find in Cha Can Teng. The macaroni is much less flavoured than expected and i will choose the baked rice anytime.
The pork chip is not crispy at all but I like the soft and tender texture of their pork chop a lot. I thought this bland macaroni is not doing justice to the accompanying pork chop. Probably i will try their pork chop baked rice the next time.
Stir-fried Veggie in Minced Garlic – HK$48
Like most vegetables that i had in Hong Kong, such vegetables are only lightly salted and flavoured with chopped garlic when one gets to enjoy the natural taste of the veggie. It doesn’t has a raw taste though. But for those who are used to Singapore style of Sambal Kangkong, Oyster Sauce Kailan or Mixed Curry Vegetable, this dish will be a little bland for you.
Conclusion
I have a lot of respect for eatery that goes a long way back as somehow it gives a clue to their popularity and ability to satisfy patrons of different generations.
Iced Lemon Honey HK$18
Just basing on what I’d ordered, i thought the baked rice is quite good while the others are ok. I would visit this place again for their baked rice, probably the pork chop version.
For first-timer, you may want to consider to give yourself a chance to be charmed by this timeless Hong Kong cafe and try out the one signature baked rice that had withstood the sands of time.
Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture
Map and Direction
1. Come out from Yau Ma Tei MTR Exit C
2. Look for the main road (Nathan Road) and walk against the traffic
3. Past Wing Sing Lane and keep walking
4. Turn right at the next turn and walk straight along traffic and you will see Mido Cafe
Chin Chai Jiak 