Mido Cafe - My favourite Cha Chaan Teng Cafe in Hong Kong
A Detailed History, What’s On Offer + How to get to guide
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong since January 2nd 1972 - I know the place.
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The Mido Cafe | Awesome Cha Chaan Teng Cafe | Hong Kong
The History and Evolution of The Mido Cafe in Hong Kong : For curious visitors who want to try one of Hong Kong’s most iconic, affordable. and well known Chinese restaurants
I do not do food tours in Hong Kong (and I have written blog posts on the reason why), I leave that to local experts and I list the 3 best at the end of this post.
The Mido Café (美都餐室)
also referred to as Mido Dining Room, stands as one of Hong Kong’s most authentic and enduring cha chaan tengs - a hybrid of casual Hong Kong-style café and old-school bing sutt (ice shop). It perfectly captures the city’s post-war dining heritage through its Chinese-Western fusion menu and frozen-in-time atmosphere.
The closest approximation I can think of is that in the USA it would be a diner and in the UK it would be a greasy spoon cafe! quite often when I visit a Cha Chaan Teng I have a cold horlicks and an egg or corned beef sandwich!
Date Opened
It first opened its doors in 1950.
There are no many restaurants around these day in Hong Kong that have a 75+ history!
History and Owner Details
Mido Café launched during the early boom years after World War II on the bustling corner of Temple Street. It quickly became a neighbourhood staple in the 1960s and 1970s, serving working-class locals with hearty, affordable meals amid Yau Ma Tei’s vibrant street life. The interior and operations have remained almost entirely unchanged for over 75 years - a rare survivor in a city where most traditional eateries have been renovated, replaced by chains, or forced to close.
The business has always been family-run, with no single celebrity founder publicly named. Long-time manager Wong Shing-fan has been associated with daily operations in recent decades. In July 2022, after 72 years, the owners posted a handwritten note (accompanied by a photo of the shop cat) announcing a temporary closure for “rest,” using lyrics from a local song to say a light-hearted “see you later.” Many feared it was permanent due to the aging of the older generation, a common story for Hong Kong’s heritage trades. It reopened later that same year (around October 2022, with full operations resuming by 2024) and continues to thrive today, now passing into what appears to be the next chapter of family stewardship.
The café has appeared in countless Hong Kong films and TV dramas (including Goodbye Mr. Cool, Revolving Doors of Vengeance, and several TVB series), cementing its status as a living piece of local cinematic history.
Address and Opening Hours
Address: Ground Floor, 63 Temple Street (廟街63號地下), Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Phone: (852) 2384 6402
Opening hours (as of the most recent confirmed listings): Generally 8:30 AM to 9:45 PM daily, though some current directories note Wednesday closure or slightly adjusted starts around 9:00–11:00 AM. Hours can shift slightly depending on season or staffing, so it is always wise to call ahead before visiting.
Most Popular Dishes
The menu runs to well over 200 items and mixes classic cha chaan teng comfort food with bing sutt-style iced treats. Standouts that locals and repeat visitors consistently praise include:
Baked spare ribs (or pork chop) rice with tomato sauce - the undisputed signature dish. Butter-fried rice layered with tender, marinated pork ribs or chop, melted cheese, and a thick, slightly sweet tomato gravy. Hearty, nostalgic, and generous.
Hong Kong-style French toast - thick white bread deep-fried, slathered with butter and golden syrup.
Iced (or hot) milk tea - silky-smooth, often mixed as yuanyang (half tea, half coffee). Many also love the Ovaltine version.
Chicken à la king rice - creamy chicken, mushroom, and pepper sauce over rice (lighter and more flavourful than many old-school versions)…. and boy, do I like this dish!
Classic bing sutt iced drinks - red bean ice (Tianjin-sourced beans simmered exactly 45 minutes with precise sugar ratios and evaporated milk), lotus seed ice (Hunan seeds with bitter cores painstakingly removed), grass jelly ice, pineapple ice, and mixed fruit ice. The café still produces up to 20 pounds of ice cubes daily in its own machine.
Other favourites: crispy pineapple buns, toasted corned beef sandwich, pork chop macaroni in broth, and fried rice vermicelli.
Prices sit in the mid-range for a cha chaan teng ($$–$$$), higher than some newer spots but widely accepted given the heritage value and portion sizes and from my point of view you cannot put a price on 75+ years of history!
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The Mido Cafe | Awesome Cha Chaan Teng Cafe i Interior, Ground Floor | Hong Kong
Why It Remains So Popular in Hong Kong
Mido Café endures because it is one of the last genuine time capsules of 1950s Hong Kong dining culture. In a fast-changing city where traditional cha chaan tengs are disappearing, this place offers an unpolished, authentic experience — no air-con luxury, no Instagram-optimised redesign, just Formica tables, ceiling fans, hand-written menu elements in the past, and the same recipes that fed generations of locals during the economic boom years.
Its prime spot right on Temple Street places it in the heart of the famous night market, making it a natural stop for both locals grabbing quick comfort food and tourists seeking “real old Hong Kong.” The cinematic fame adds extra nostalgia, while the meticulous drink preparation (sourcing beans from specific mainland regions and using traditional simmering techniques) gives even simple iced drinks a sense of craft. It represents resilience - a family business that survived Covid, owner-age challenges, and urban redevelopment when so many others did not. For Hong Kong people, stepping inside feels like stepping back into childhood memories or the city’s working-class roots, which is why it draws loyal regulars across generations even at slightly higher prices and for me, price is not a factor, I just love the place
How to Get There from Yau Ma Tei MTR Station (The Subway)
It is only a 5 minute walk to the Mido Cafe - super convenient for visitors., basically Temple Street is a minutes walk from the subway entrance | exit
Take Exit C from Yau Ma Tei MTR Station.
Emerge onto Nathan Road and walk against the traffic flow (heading south-ish).
Pass Wing Sing Lane on your left.
At the next intersection, turn right onto Temple Street and walk straight along the traffic - you will immediately spot the big vintage neon sign on the corner building at No. 63.
The café sits on the ground floor of a distinctive corner shophouse, right opposite a small square | park with banyan trees and near the Tin Hau Temple (great photo spot from the upstairs windows)…. use the Temple as a market, it is hard to miss and the Mido Cafe is literally 30 seconds away from the Temple
Other Relevant Details
Layout: Two storeys. Most people eat upstairs in cosy booth seats by the iron-framed windows (lovely views over Temple Street and the Tin Hau Temple area). Payment and ordering often happen downstairs - classic old-style flow.
Interior highlights: Stained-glass windows, vintage tiled walls, Formica tables, ceiling fans, and a huge neon sign outside. It feels exactly as it did in the 1950s - kitschy, nostalgic, and wonderfully untouched.
Practical tips for visitors: No air-conditioning in the traditional sense (fans keep it comfortable), so dress light. Photography inside is sometimes discouraged (posters remind guests), but the exterior and street views are very photogenic. It is wheelchair accessible on the ground floor but the upstairs seating requires stairs. Perfect for a late breakfast, lunch, or early dinner before exploring the Temple Street Night Market.
Current status: Fully operational and bustling again after its brief 2022 - 2023 hiatus a rare happy ending for a Hong Kong heritage eatery .
So there you go, well worth a visit and as it is on Temple Street you can combine it with a visit to the Temple Street Night Market.
I do not do food tours as mentioned above, I have very specific reasons and part of it is that I do not speak Cantonese or write Chinese, I am from Yorkshire in England and I lack the language gene and it is not through lack of trying and yes a lot of restaurants do not have English menu’s or staff who speak conversational English.
.. and yet I have eaten at close to 1,400 restaurants in Hong Kong since January 2nd 1972, my wife was born in Hong Kong and we have been together over 40 years and her first language is Cantonese and a lot of her family are Chinese or half Chinese so I have never had much of an issue!
This does not translate to doing food tours though, yes, I could do them, no problem there but they would never ever be as good as the food tours done by my friends (see the 3 links above) most of their awesome guides are locally born Hong Kong Chinese and obviously food culture is part of their DNA, it is impossible for me to compete with that!
So please feel free to contact them for food tours
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