Angel Cake Cafe

Out of nowhere, much like a luxury SUV running a stop sign, the softball season hit us unexpectedly.  We were in no way, shape (unless round counts) or form ready to play, but we gave it a go anyways.  Gosh, I was so unprepared to play, I forgot to wear my jock! Let's just say I was a bit uneasy pitching...  We ended up winning partly because the team we faced was new and didn't really understand all the rules.  Hey, we'll take it!  Afterwards, I was so rattled from playing without protecting my jewels, we ended up doing a re-visit to Angel Cafe.

All of our meals included choice of soup (but only Borscht was available) and drink.  Being a Hong Kong-style cafe, we knew the "borscht" would not resemble anything like the actual soup.  With that in mind, I thought it was pretty good in terms of flavour where it reminded me of the ol' Campbells oxtail soup.  Too bad there wasn't any ingredients to speak of.  For his main, Bear decided on the Mix n' Match Meal with a chicken steak and pork chop accompanied by black pepper sauce. Milhouse one upped him and had 3 items including something called chicken Gordon, fried fish filet and beef steak.  Despite being quite pricey ($13.95 for 2 and $16.95 for 5), the portion size was fair.  I found all of the proteins to be cooked just right and yah, the chicken Gordon was similar to a Cordon Bleu (did they do a misprint?).  The black pepper sauce was thick and impactful with loads of peppery hit.

For myself, I went for 3 items (yes, I temporarily became Mijune, but without the dress and red high heels...) including the Stir-Fried Vermicelli with Preserved Vegetable and Pork.  Loaded with tender strips of pork, crunchy peppers and tart "ja choy", there were plenty of flavours and textures going on.  There was ample wok heat that both provided carmelization and dry chewy noodles.  I enjoyed this dish very much.  Next, I had the classic Baked Pork Chop Rice that arrived in a pretty large deep dish plate.  Underneath the pork chop and ample sauce, the fried rice was somewhere between dry and moist.  I found the sauce to be quite impactful with a nice balance between tart, sweet and savoury.  As for the big pork chop, it was succulent with plenty of meat texture and a thin layer of breading.

My third dish was brought on by the power of suggestion as I noticed someone eating it at a nearby table.  The Sweet & Sour Pork looked really good and in reality, it was solid.  Each well-sized piece of pork was juicy and tender with a minimal layer of batter.  These were definitely fried fresh, unlike many other places that re-fry pre-prepared pork.  What brought the whole dish together was the significantly tart and equally sweet sauce.  There was no shortage of punch in this dish.  Boss Woman ended up with the House Special Noodles which was also enjoyable.  The crispy fried noodles were a touch greasy, yet on the other hand, benefited from a proper amount of starch-thickened sauce.  There was ample seasoning as well as a good amount of texture from the bean sprouts, carrots, pork and cold-water shrimp.

Judes went for the Steak with Mushroom Sauce that featured not one, but two steaks along with the aforementioned sauce, vibrant veggies and rice.  The steak itself was fully cooked, but at the same time, was tender.  Despite being flavourful and silky, the sauce didn't sit well with her afterwards for some reason or another.  With that being said, all of the dishes we had were solid and well-portioned.  That itself made up for the high-prices and sparse service.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Large portions

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Sparse service