Baked spaghetti and cheesy gratins at a Chinese restaurant? You bet!

For the longest time, Kukui Café stood alone as Oahu’s only cha chaan teng, Hong Kong-style tea cafés that emerged in the region post-World War II when residents developed a passion for the British tradition of enjoying afternoon tea with milk and Western cuisine.

A few years ago, Sandy’s was the second to open, but suddenly, two new ones have appeared simultaneously. Because they have so much to offer, I will tackle them in subsequent weeks, starting with Yi Xin Café, new to Market City Shopping Center.

I didn’t know there was such a hunger for this cuisine, but lines formed from day one, which one would think is a good thing for a new restaurant, but with an ambitious menu that also aspires to adding a plethora of Southeast Asian dishes, it was more than the chefs could handle.

By my third visit, about a third of the menu items had been removed to give the chefs some breathing room. And although its hours run straight through from morning to close, there is a post-lunch break from 2 to 4 p.m. when only light bites and drinks are offered to givhttps://www.staradvertiser.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=photo-gallerye chefs time to prep for dinner.

So what’s the fuss about? It always starts with the style of restaurant’s namesake milk tea. Each café has its own proprietary blend of black tea that is combined with evaporated milk for a silky, creamy finish. It was so good I made the mistake of ordering seconds of the iced milk tea at night and, having become sensitive to caffeine only recently, could not sleep for the next 24 hours. The tea is $5.50, or $6.95 when topped off by frozen bear-shaped ice. Lemon tea filled with lemon slices is also offered (same price) also with a base of black tea.

Diners appear to be ordering an even mix of American-style and Chinese specialties, and the popularity of a dish can be gauged by the frequency it parades past your table.

At the top of the list would be the baked spaghetti ($16.95) tossed in a sweet tomato and meat sauce and blanketed by an oozy layer of mozzarella. Having grown up in the public school system, it gave me a nostalgia for elementary school lunches.

Also big in popularity are the fried chicken wings, whether flavored with shrimp paste ($14.95) or salted egg yolk ($14.95). Of the two, the egg yolk-coated wings deliver the most impact. The shrimp paste version cannot be stinky enough for this Chinese palate. In Hawaii, chefs tend to go too light on the shrimp paste compared to versions I’ve had in Singapore. More, please!

Once you’ve tried the baked spaghetti, you can explore other cha chaan teng specialties such as a classic baked pork chop ($18.95) with tomato sauce and cheese over rice, or seafood and mushroom Alfredo ($19.95) over baked rice or spaghetti. And if you’re there in the morning, you might want a breakfast of Spam omelet over rice ($14.95).

Must-haves on the Chinese side of the menu would include garlic stir-fried prawns ($22.95), the thick, succulent prawns still sweet under that garlic coating, and fried green beans ($14.95) with minced meat and the slight heat of sambal shrimp paste.

Because I think it might help me live longer, I tend to order bitter melon when I see it, and here it’s stir-fried with beef over rice ($15.95). Salted fish and chicken fried rice ($15.95) is another favorite.

With 48 hours notice, you can order up a specialty of black bean crab. I hope to see Singapore chile crab on the menu soon as there’s promise of so much more to come.

The list of items “coming soon” include more cha chaan teng classics such as butter or peanut butter over condensed milk toast ($5.95 each), and toast with chocolate and condensed milk. Alas, there’s no timeline on when these arrive, but I will be waiting.

Yi Xin Café

Market City Shopping Center
2919 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu
Food: ****
Service: ***
Ambiance: **½
Value: ****
Call: 808-738-0818
Hours: 10:30 A.M.-8 P.M. TUESDAYS-SUNDAYS
Prices: About $50 for two

Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).