Interior Design - 4/5 Felt like a lot of things were put together. Nothing really stood out to me, but overall it was still a nice environment to sit down and eat. Comfortable atmosphere and pretty clean. Customer Service - 5/5 Customer service was solid. The server was attentive and warned me the baked spaghetti plate would be hot before serving it. Small details like that always make the experience feel better. Food - 4/5 4.5/5 Dish Ordered: Baked Spaghetti One of the classics at a Hong Kong Café. Honestly tasted like childhood. The sauce was delicious, rich, and comforting without being overwhelming. Everything was cooked just right and came out piping hot. Hit or Miss: Hit. Definitely something I would come back for again. 3/5 Drink Ordered: Hong Kong Style Milk Tea It was okay. Nothing bad about it, but nothing super memorable either. Pretty standard flavor overall. Hit or Miss: Slight Hit. Would drink it again if I was already there, but not something I'd specifically crave. Additional Comment: Overall, pretty solid experience. Nothing was mind blowing, but everything was done well. The baked spaghetti was definitely the highlight for me and the service helped make the meal enjoyable. I'd come back mainly for the spaghetti and a comfortable casual meal. read more

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I love a good hk cafe. Funny thing is that I don't eat have the menu since it tends to be on the heavier side. We came here on a Sunday a bit passed noon to a short 15 minute wait. Parking was challenging as it was the farmer's market. They use Yelp waitlist. The place is small and we were a party of 5. Won ton noodle soup - Came out fast. It was just okay. Mainly for our toddler. Pickled mustard greens with pork noodles - you can select your noodles. This was basic but decent. Not as good as those you get a Taiwanese cafe. Baked Shrimp over rice with portuguese sauce - Tasted like curry to me. I rarely get the baked dishes because they tend to be a bit on the heavier side. My husband and in-laws like this. Upgraded this with soup and garlic bread - the soup had a sour aftertaste - I think this is from a can. The garlic bread was good! Chicken Katus w/ rice - Surprisingly good. My toddler loved it. Their milk tea was perfection (we had dim sum yesterday and the milk tea was watered down) Heavy on the MSG - I passed out. One unisex large and surprisingly nice bathroom. I would still come back. read more

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Fun casual option in San Carlos and their menu is extensive. I got the bbq pork with fried rice and also tried the creamy fish with fried rice. Comforting Chinese food. Plenty of seating in the restaurant too and it was crowded by noon on a Saturday. Note, there's also a Sunshine HK express on the main drag of San Carlos downtown, but they only sell tacos. Weird... read more

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Not an authentic HK style cafe. Most workers don't even speak Chinese, let alone Cantonese. Most of the food here felt like reheated premade food. Pretty sure I can cook it myself better. The HK food scene in the Bay Area is pretty sad, but this place is definitely in the avoid level. I'm so mad that I took my friend here to try read more

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Kept coming back :) Top 4 is must get (for a group). Hainan chicken could be a bit more tender. The french toast with peanut butter is fantastic! read more

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I love this place. I'm from Hong Kong so this place reminds of Tsui Wah, a legendary Hong Kong style "tea cafe", like a chinese diner. They have a lot of traditional comfort food items like cantonese beef brisket. My favorite item here is the baked pork chop rice with tomatoes and cheese. read more

Came here for lunch on a weekday and my party of 3 was immediately seated. The menu is quite extensive with lots of variety and classic Hong Kong cafe dishes. We ordered the wonton shrimp noodle soup, curry pork chop with fried egg rice, big 4 happiness platter, and some drinks. The wonton shrimp noodle soup was okay, a bit underwhelming in my opinion as it was just a very plain dish. The wontons were decent and the noodles were thin but nothing to write home about. The curry pork chop with egg fried rice was quite good. Nice curry sauce and the pork chop was cooked well, still succulent and tender. Paired well with the fluffy fried rice. The appetizer platter was a fun plate to share. Nothing spectacular about it but it was solid and I think it's great if you want to split with people. The best part of the experience here though was the service. The owner was out on the floor taking orders and helping with service along with other wait staff. Everyone was friendly and attentive, consistently check in on our table and refilling waters. There is a large parking lot right next to the shop so parking is simple! Overall, great service though food wasn't too memorable. The prices are a bit pricey in my opinion but I think if you have a soft spot for Hong Kong cafes and want good service, this place is worth checking out! read more

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Love their baked portugese chicken over egg fried rice, curry fish balls and they make the best hot hk lemon tea. My husband loves their Black pepper chicken with meat sauce spaghetti and their chicken wings are pretty good too. He also likes their hk milk tea and hk milk tea with coffee. Service is great and staff is nice and friendly. Wish this place was closer to home! read more

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This place always hits the spot for nostalgic hk cafe food. I like the chicken wings, baked porkchop rice and their curry dishes too. The hk milk tea and lemon ice tea are also very tasty and not too sweet. Service is quick, and the seats inside make it a comfy place to chat and chill. read more

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First time visiting this HK-style café. The décor inside is pretty cute and full of Hong Kong vibes. The menu has a good variety of classic HK dishes. I ordered the curry beef brisket -- the curry was quite good and I really liked it. The appetizer was just average, but the hot yuanyang was tasty. Overall, the food is above average. However, what really turned me off was the mandatory 18% tip even for a two-person party. For an HK-style café, especially during lunch, this feels excessive. And if your party is six or more, they charge 20%. I honestly don't feel comfortable with such a high mandatory tip, and I won't come back again -- there are plenty of better options nearby. read more

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All 10/10! Hot Milk Tea - a must-try! Pork Chop - perfectly seasoned and so satisfying. Spam and Egg Macaroni - simple, comforting, and delicious. read more

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For HK(ish?) cafes in the area that I've been to - Inshou, Kazka, and Sunshine, this one is the most comfortable and has the largest menu. Super friendly and patient service so that part is not authentic ;) I usually end up with a baked rice dish. TBH nothing is amazing but it'll scratch that HK cafe itch. Wish they had pineapple buns. Love the milk tea. - - - Update: came back on another visit and I think it's 3.5 stars overall (rounded up). The menu is a bit limited and I wasn't into the wonton noodle soup (the wontons kind of tasted like a shumai in a wonton wrapper?) and the ribeye teppan was super chewy. The yuen yeung was good though. Still super friendly and available staff. read more

Very cute design inside. There's a stage inside I suspect there's kareoke night. Service was decent. The menu is so big it has everything. Our food somehow came out not hot. For big 3, the fish ball was luke warm, fisb siu mai was tiny. The rice roll lucky was a little hot. The sui gao dumpling was ok. The wide egg noodle was different what I'm used to. The portion is a bit small. The cream of corn gravy was not hot to start with. After 10 min it was room temperature. In general there's room for lots of improvement. Main thing is to keep the food hot. read more

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10/10 10/10 10/10 Im glad I stumbled onto this place on Yelp to try. HK cafe's are hard to come by now; there arent enough of them in the bay area. Walking into this restaurant, youll realize you've stepped in Asia, with lanterns on the ceiling. You will hear Cantonese flowing around, and it'll remind you immediately of Hong Kong. BEEF CURRY HAR FUN: The beef is tender and infused with a luscious curry sauce, slow-cooked to perfection, allowing all the spices to meld into the meat. Think of a warm, comforting combination of garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and a subtle kick of heat from chili, making each bite a delightful experience. This dish has all the comforting flavors you're used to eating. HAINAN CHICKEN: The chicken itself is tender and juicy, poached to perfection in a fragrant broth that leaves the skin silky and the meat incredibly moist. Again, the flavors are comforting; it reminds me of home. Make sure you get extra of the ginger/scallion sauce! CHEURNG FUN: This didnt taste as fresh as we wanted, but it was still good and soft. Love the hoisin and peanut sauce over it. HONG KONG MILK TEA: They do it right here with their milk tea. It also comes in the CORRECT cup and plate (yknow, the Black and White set) Service is friendly and fast. If you are itching for authentic Hong Kong food, look no further! I cant wait to go back and try more items! read more

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Delicious HK cafe comfort food, with something for everyone, rice, noodles, soups, pork chop, wings, curry. Quintessential HK selection and even the picky kids on our party couldn't resist the baked spaghetti with meat sauce, and French toast, while the adults loved the Portuguese rice (taro, coconut, curry, chicken), and stewed beef with noodles. Milk tea hit the spot. Love the HK murals. Staff were super friendly and attentive, and food came fast. Parking was easy on this side of San Carlos too. Super excited to try their breakfast and hopefully will remember to take some pictures next time before we devour our meal. read more

Baked Pork Chop- A nice classic hk cafe staple. Nice pork chop that was not super dry. Nicely melted cheese with the creamy sauce. A nice filling meal Hong Kong Milk Tea- A classic drink done very well. Not too sweet and I didn't need to add anything to it. Love the presentation though a bit on the small side. Cold cost more as is typical of most hk cafes. A nice HK Cafe in the area with street parking and small parking lot to the side. Really close to the CalTrain San Carlos station. Would love to come again to try the other HK cafe staples read more

Sunshine HK Cafe - Baked Pork chop with white sauce and egg fried rice - Chinese Near Me - San Carlos, California

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ORDER Seafood Baked with Portuguese Sauce / Egg Fried Rice ($18.95) Big Three Dragons ($13.50) STARS (stand out qualities) -Food (4/5 stars) Seafood Bake - taro was unique addition Rice cake - hot enough -Service (4/5 stars) Pretty friendly and fast -Ambiance (5/5 stars) Very nice interior and space fot big groups -Pretty clean bathroom STAIRS (areas of growth) -Seafood Bake - needs to be hotter -Siu mai - pretty artificial, needs more ingredients TIPS Free parking lot on the side read more

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Large place. We came around 6:00pm and there we're plenty of opened tables. Started getting busy around 6:30pm. We ordered the minced beef with raw egg over rice and their 2 meats special with rice. We got the duck and bbq pork. And the salt and pepper chicken wings. Minced beef was good, wished it was a bit hotter to cook the raw egg a little. Enjoyed the duck more than the bbq pork which was more in the fatty side. Chicken wings were the best thing we got. Hot, juicy and flavorful. Overall, would come back to try their baked dishes and their menu had lots of choices. read more

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Was craaaaving a rice burrito and some reviews from a while ago said they did those but warning: sadly they no longer do :( They do have a pretty extensive menu though. We got an assortment - dried dough stick, congee, three dragons (assortment of street food), and beef tongue plate. Would recommend the beef tongue as they cooked that very well! The fried dough stick was good also! Congee had decent chunks of century eggs and ok amount of pork. My least favorite was the three dragons. Their fish shumai and rice rolls were not that good. They felt like microwaved frozens. Did not finish these and took them home but they've been just sitting in the fridge for a week :/ read more

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We arrived around 5:00 p.m. on Sunday and ordered some classic Hong Kong dishes like baked pork chop rice, French toast, and iced red bean. The taste hasn't changed at all, still very authentic and full of that true Hong Kong flavor. The service was also decent, and the portion sizes were just right--definitely filling! The biggest surprise was that they took customers' feedback and adjusted their billing system. They're no longer locked into an 18% tip. I definitely will go back and try their seasonal menu. read more

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We've been supporting sunshine HK ever since they were a ghost kitchen out of RWC and then when the opened the smaller shop in San Carlos. Im so glad they were able to find a larger space and expand their menu. The service has always been great and the food keeps us coming back. I especially love the baked Portuguese with fish or pork chop and the rice rolls are a must order. We have tried both the steamed and pan fried version and every time I have a hard time deciding between the two. They have a variety of authentic snacks like fried fish skins and fish balls, a variety of noodle soup dishes and porridge, and sizzling platters that we have yet to try. Also, don't skip on the drinks, a hot milk tea or cold Yuenyeung (milk tea/coffee combo) always hits the spot. read more

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The place was not busy for Monday Lunch and for food fast. We had A breakfast and the minced beef with raw egg. They were really tasty and would comeback. read more

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Place still slaps! Came back Saturday ~4pm for late lunch. The place wasn't packed, but had a couple of busy tables. What we got: - Baked pork chop with tomato sauce over egg fried rice ~ A classic! The pork chop was tender. The sauce paired well with the egg fried rice base. - Baked Spaghetti Bolognese ~ Solid. Cheesy and very generous with the sauce. No strand was left uncoated! - Rice Roll (steamed) ~ Served with a decent amount of peanut and hoisin sauce. Steamed is a classic, but pan-fried would add texture to the rice rolls. Would return to try the pan-fried version of this dish! - Hong Kong Milk Tea (iced) ~ perfect for an afternoon pick me up on a hot day! Slightly watered down due to the ice compared to the hot drink, but still decently flavored nonetheless! All in all, still a decent place for some Hong Kong cafe food. Bonus points for the disco ball in the dining room. I still stand by making your entree a meal for the soup add-on. The Hong Kong-style borscht soup still hits home. Will return! read more

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Owner put some thoughts into the decor; incorporated some hk style but still has mostly American style restaurant feel. 4 stars Food is definitely hk style including the cup used to present the hk milk tea. 5 stars Menu & variety is fairly complete with wonton noodles, hk street style snack food; baked rice or noodles and hk curry dishes. 5 stars As for the food, it's at best 3 stars. Rice noodle is too soft ... sauces are not ok... missing hot sauce. Hk milk tea is ok... I asked for light on sweet, but got full extra sweet version. 3.5 stars Hmmm Beef tongue is well baked soft & thickness is perfect & 3 big slices ... looks perfect. But, they forgot to marinate the meat... hmmm. I ordered the black pepper sauce... after pouring the sauce on, it's acceptable! Can be much better if they cracked some fresh black peppers. 4 stars As for the three star appetizers, I say skip it! 1 star may be too high! Fish Siu Mai is not edible... where's the fish tastes? Feels like rubber. The fish egg curry is at best 2 stars (curry is ok); rice noodle I already commented I haven't tried the immensely other menu dishes; they may be better. Anyhow, it's probably the only game in town for 20+ miles. Hope they improve. read more

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Taking the time to write this review while I'm still at the restaurant. To begin, I'm usually really forgiving and like to give multiple chances to see if there's improvement but I can confidently say I will not be returning to this establishment. My fiancé and I came here because I'm craving HK milk tea and HK french toast and since we haven't visited this spot since they moved from the smaller location on the other side of the street, we decided to come here today. We were seated shortly and browsed the menu and placed our order with the server James L. We ordered the baked pork chop over fried rice with tomato sauce, pork & pickled vegetable with vermicelli, 2 HK milk teas light sweet and HK French toast - all of which James said he took down. Another server brought over a bbq pork with egg over fried rice dish, to which we told her multiple times that we did not order. Then she pointed out on the receipt that it says we ordered it, she took out her notepad and wrote down baked porkchop over fried rice with tomato sauce to place the correct order with the kitchen and told us she would take the bbq pork with egg over fried rice off our check SINCE WE DIDNT ORDER IT and left the dish at our table and told us to enjoy since she can't send it back to the kitchen. James L decides to come over to emphasize that we didn't order that dish and that we ordered the baked pork chop (excuse my french but no shit I didn't order the bbq pork) and then took the dish off our table with nothing else to say. I'm not here for a free meal and truly don't care for the bbq pork dish. My problem is with the way James handled the situation. Instead of admitting that he put in the wrong order to begin with he made it sound like we were taking the dish on purpose. It's the principle of things, the other server already told us to keep the dish and then James comes over just to take it back. So which is it because she said she couldn't send food back to the kitchen anyways. Can you actually send it back to the kitchen or not? James didn't even let us explain the situation, just straight up took the dish that he put in wrong. To add on, he completely left the French toast off the list. The whole point of coming here today was to have HK French toast and milk tea.... It's truly a shame because the food was decent and I did enjoy the pork & pickled vegetables with vermicelli dish. I've had better baked porkchop so didn't really care for that. Overall I just didn't care for the way the servers handled their own mistake. read more

18% mandatory gratuity.. for HK style non-service, do they think they are fine dining? Tomato sauce baked rice has no tomato flavor. Bad. Spaghetti bolognese tastes off, not what it's supposed to taste like. Tomato sauce tastes like pepper sauce. Would not return. read more

Sunshine HK Cafe - Hot Milk Tea / 熱奶茶 ,bolognese sauce baked with cheese, chicken with cheese and tomato sauce with spaghetti - Chinese Near Me - San Carlos, California

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Came here craving Hong Kong style comfort food, and it is a hidden gem. The flavor of the protein were good. The spaghetti could've more seasoning to my taste. Portions are generous and everything tastes freshly made. Overall, satisfying and amazing HK café experience. read more

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If you're looking for a different style of breakfast, this might be the spot for you--and the menu also has many tasty-looking lunch and dinner options. Breakfast was average , and the French toast was delicious. While I personally don't think I would go back, I wouldn't steer anyone away from giving it a try. The place is clean and festive, and the service was great. read more

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Excellent food and service! Restaurant itself is very clean too. Flavors are well balanced and ingredients are of high quality! Seafood rice is full of succulent seafood and their Portuguese sauce is delicious! The borscht tastes authentically Hong Kong as well. Overall it is quality food with good value and I had a great time dining here! read more

Sunshine HK Cafe - Baked seafood rice - Chinese Near Me - San Carlos, California

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My friend loves HK style cafes, so you know this place is good if they've been here multiple times within weeks. There is limited public parking adjacent to the restaurant so we had to drive around and park on the street. We had to wait a few minutes until we got seated. The decor and space is colorful and vibrant with murals along the walls. Staff were friendly and attentive. The menu was a tad overwhelming, so there's plenty of dishes to choose from. We ordered iced HK milk teas, salt and pepper chicken wings, HK style french toast, a baked spaghetti dish with chicken in a cheese and tomato sauce, and a macaroni soup with ham and egg. The chicken wings were very crispy but a tad too salty. The french toast was cooked perfectly and paired well with some maple syrup. The baked dish was decent but was my friend's main dish. The macaroni soup wasn't bad but just didn't taste the same as the one I had in HK. It was a bit weird to have so much lettuce in the soup as well. Notes: - NO Cash Accepted - Closed Tuesdays - Parking can be difficult - One gender neutral restroom read more

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Gave this place another try after a year. It moved to a much bigger location which was good. However, the baked rice was still mushy. I was hoping they would listen to some of the feedback given by their customers. The rice was plain white rice and not the typical fried rice. read more

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Authentic cantonese style western cafe! They had an extensive menu with some more unique items such as the beef tongue and many traditional favorites and street snacks. We orders the wings, hainan chicken, and braised beef tongue with tomato sauce. Will be bringing my Cantonese mother with me, the next time I come back. While the food is delicious, and service is fast, they do have smaller portion sizes, and require 18% tip no matter the party size. read more

Sunshine HK Cafe - Hainan Chicken Rice 海南雞飯 - Chinese Near Me - San Carlos, California

Food was good. But they automatically added 20 percent tip to the to go order. A bit too high. Thanks for your explanation. We did not do dine in just food to go with 20 percent tips read more

Sunshine HK Cafe - Chinese Near Me - San Carlos, California

Really disappointing experience. This is not an authentic Hong Kong-style cafe--the food tasted off and almost synthetic. The lemongrass pork chop was extremely salty with zero lemongrass flavor. The spaghetti was completely bland, and they only gave a container of fish sauce along with it, which didn't help at all. The baked chicken rice was basically just a plate full of cheese with barely any rice. Service was also uncomfortable. We saw a staff member quickly take someone's plate even though their party hadn't finished yet--the lady looked completely speechless. To top it off, an 18% tip was automatically added to the bill for just two people at lunch. There was no option to adjust it--it was set. If the food and service were actually authentic and good, that might be understandable, but it's absolutely not worth it here. Will not be returning. read more

Food: 5 Environment: 4 Cleanliness: 4 Service: 4 The food tastes great, but the portion size is small. The HK milk tea is inconsistent -- sometimes 5, sometimes only 3. Unfortunately, the Hong Kong-style red bean ice drinks are disappointing. 18% tip is mandatory, whether dining alone or in a group of six or more. read more

Still going great - now with an expanded menu after the soft opening, and looks like they have an express location on Laurel St back open again. Great service, with a throwback to HK street food. read more

Sunshine HK Cafe - BBQ pork with rice - Chinese Near Me - San Carlos, California

3 star food. 1 star speed of service and kitchen speed. Come here if you're craving HK cafe food and have minimum of 2 hours to spend. You will not get in and out of here quickly no matter how busy they are. Incredibly slow kitchen team. read more

We were excited to try this place, but it didn't quite meet all our expectations. Food: 1. Baked chicken with white cream sauce over spaghetti ($15.95) - this was the best dish. The melted cheese blended well with the sauce and the chicken was easy to cut and tender. 2. Baked ham and cheese with tomato sauce over spaghetti ($15.95) - this was not good. The red sauce was very disappointing and bland. I would not recommend this. 3. Rice roll with hoisin and peanut sauce ($8.75) - this was great and comes in a generous size. 4. Hot milk tea ($4.95) - yum! This comes in the iconic hk style milk tea cup. 5. Red bean iced drink ($7.25) - also really good! But a little pricey. Service: It was a little slow. Both main dishes came before the appetizer and we saw our drink sit on the counter with a few servers passing it without touching it. Ambiance: Typical Hong Kong cafe, which I love. Parking: There's a free 2 hour small parking lot to the side of the restaurant. Overall, everything was still good aside from the tomato sauce dish. We'd come back to try other items if we're in the area. read more

Sunshine HK Cafe - Rice roll with hoisin and peanut sauce ($8.75) - Chinese Near Me - San Carlos, California

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Ok my homies, this is the perfect Canto HK cafe food you've been longing for since the demise of ABC cafe in San Mateo. Creamy strong HK style milk tea made the old fashioned way. Classic sui gau mein in a delicate broth with chewy springy noodles combined with a healthy portion of sui gau dumplings w tender shrimp and pork. Very friendly service felt like you were taken care of by your uncle and auntie. Nice HK cafe vibe feels like you were transported to Hong Kong without the jet lag. read more

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I enjoy HK cafe-type food and have been eating it for years. The food is average and the service is OK; the downrating is primarily for the value. - Keep in mind an 18% gratuity fee is automatically tacked onto your bill. I was aware of this on sitting down but the service is somewhat lackluster for the fee. For example, I had to flag down the waiters twice during an off-peak time. - Portions are kid-sized which would be OK if they were cheaper and under a kid menu but not the case here. As people who usually split the average plate between/ among us, we nevertheless were only about 30% full. (I've noticed that dining out in San Carolos is more $ than other nearby cities, which have just as wealthy residents. Other places have expensive spots but also cheaper places to eat and the portions are reasonable.) read more