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BT Cafe
Categories: Food Coffee & Tea Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Restaurants Chinese Coffee & Tea, Breakfast & Brunch, Chinese [Edit]
920 KingswayVancouver, BC V5V 3C4
Neighbourhood: Kensington-Cedar Cottage
(604) 872-3368
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 9 am - 11 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
About This Business:
Specializing in Montreal Smoked Meat, we are the a deli, Restaurant and Full serve Sports Bar! The only true sports bar in Yaletown. Minutes away from… read more »
11 reviews for BT Cafe
11 reviews in English
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Review from Kayla S.
Vancouver, BC
5/5/2011
Before BT (big thumb) took over.. the restaurant also served HK style cafe food. The only big difference is the interior.. BT Cafe has nice decoration etc. and really good food.
BT does a good job at steak.. its not the typical steak you would eat at HK cafe places (they are usually cheap quality and poor job). I think ordering steaks, fried noodles and rice are their best items they make. -
Review from Yvonne C.
3/21/2012
Got Yelp approved and got my Awesome stamp of approval!
Small little HK style cafe that I can always find comfort in. I've tried a variety of their dishes, but I always go back to their baked pork-chop on rice and their red curry beef brisket on rice. I do believe they got the best baked pork-chop on rice in Vancouver and it`s always consistent! The pork is well seasoned with Italian herbs, breaded, and is deep fried to perfection. The tomato sauce is tasty and there`s cheese sprinkled on top of the dish. And for their red curry.... I go lady gaga crazy for the red curry! The curry is super delicious and the beef briskets are so tender and full of flavour. Nothing but goodness.
The service is friendly and prompt. Again, very consistent.Listed in: Budget Meal for under $10
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Review from Terry C.
2/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Shame isn't it? I had to travel up north from Portland for 6 hours, missing the Super Bowl mind you, to eat Chinese food. Portland has some good spots but not as good as BC has to offer. I guess that why Vancouver is dubbed "Hongcouver".
First night in this city and we decided to eat here. My GF and my brother wanted something good to eat and apparently McDonalds wasn't really an option.
Nice hip place. Very clean unlike other Chinese restaurants where the dining room also smells like the restroom.
Does the place remind me of Hong Kong? No, but does the food taste like HK? YES!
They have a few menus, a cheap basterds menu for one person or a pricey menu that is bigger and maybe a meal for two. If your hungry I suggest the pricer menu so you can take some grub home, but for travelers...not really an option.
I thought the food was really good. It was hot and tastey. I like the fact that your meal also comes with sides. The small menu (cheap menu) comes with a drink like english tea (something you can't find in Portland) or other types of tea. The service is friendly and the place is clean. There might be some items you might not like. But not everybody like the Big Mac either. -
Review from Michael C.
Vancouver, BC
BT, does not stand for BitTorrent Cafe lol. BT Cafe actually stands for Big Thumb Cafe, literally translated from Chinese. See the logo of the fat chef with the big thumb when you walk in?
Pretty small joint with probably about a dozen tables and booths. Seems to pack up here pretty easily during lunch hours, but don't worry cause the wait is never too long. They also seem to do a lot of take outs.
Down to the food... I ordered the Red Curry Brisket on Rice, but as we waited, there seemed to be a lot of people ordering something that looked like French Toast and eggs (not really sure what it was, but it looked good). Hmmmm I know what I'm going to try next time. Now back on to my food... the brisket, wow... perfectly cooked and packed full of flavour. I'm not a huge fan of the red curry though, but my gf seems to love it. Gotta say again, that brisket was killer!!
Sometimes it's a little hard to find parking here, but if you circle around the residential areas, you could find some spots. -
Review from Katie S.
Vancouver, BC
6/19/2011
If you get excited about booth seating and cheap food that actually fills your tummy AND tastes good, then BT Cafe is the place for you. But card abusers beware, it is cash only.
You know those times when money is tight until pay day because you blew all your cash on a spontaneous night of booze and blues?
Your survival mode is activated and you prepare for week-of-the-ramen. You don't even like ramen. In fact, as soon you boil the water or complete the first twist of the fork, you realise that you'd prefer to starve? "What have I done to deserve this?", you ask, as Mr. Noodle Bowl holds you hostage in a cell with six freeze-dried vegetables.
If you believe in salvation, you better believe in BT Cafe.
The all-day combo deal allows you to choose a dish and a drink of your choice for $6.50!!! I always order the same thing - Singapore Style Curry Flat Fried Rice Noodle and a Coke. The serving of noodles is always HUGE, it could easily feed two people if you really wanted to watch your pennies. The french fries are hot, fresh, crispy and comforting. The best in Vancouver. Seriously.
The waitress provides everlasting hot tea! Syrup for the soul on a rainy Vancouver day. Service is pretty damn good considering it's always just one waitress running the show.
However, I would refrain from asking too many questions about the dishes as there is a bit of a language barrier. Just take the plunge on whatever catches your eye. There have been a few occasions where we have asked questions about the dishes and the waitress points to something totally unrelated on the menu and tries to get us to order it. For example: "How is the beef prepared in this dish? Sliced or ground?" She will answer with something like "Oh, I know! This one, the fish with rice". And then everyone giggles awkwardly.
The temple of tight-asses with big appetites. Amen. -
Review from Johnson C.
Vancouver, BC
BT Cafe... BitTorrent Cafe? Bravo Tango? WTF does BT stand for? Maybe they are hip with the kids that used to hang out at "GA"? Whatever it is, the logo is a fat Chinese chef -- the source of all things good (yours truly included). Smart branding.
[Update: BT stands for 'Big Thumb' -- this is what I get for being illiterate.]
I've never been here before but yes, the small place clearly newly and slickly renovated. Surprisingly, it was pretty busy despite being on a weekday afternoon. My buddy noticed everyone was middle-aged or older. I did a scan of the room and it looked like a mahjong bender had let out - a good sign? At least you know it's going to be cheap.
As you may know, I have sick addiction for Baked Pork Chop on Rice (BPCOR) and HK Milk Tea/Coffee (Yuen-yeung) - it's my standard litmus test for any HK cafe (a.k.a. HKCAT - Hong Kong Cafe Aptitude Test). 'BPCOR' to 'Yuen-yeung' is like 'Fuck' is to 'Yea!'.
Okay - my BPCOR was damned tasty - a good layer of baked cheese over a solid tomato sauce with a sprinkling of onions and mushrooms. The fried rice cloud at the bottom had a good chewy/charred texture with good "wok hay" - it's a bit difficult to translate from Cantonese but it's that je-nais-sais-quoi best described as 'breath/life of the wok'. As Marc D. noticed, the rice in baked rice dishes is often neglected. The rice isn't filler or a vehicle of delivery -- it's the dish itself. Few things anger me more than when a 'chef' makes fried rice with fresh rice. It's a crime against nature. +1 for not screwing this up.
On to the pork chop, a fresh and thick cut leaving it juicy under the good battering - the sauce sufficiently baked in but not to the point of making it soggy. And the Yuen-yeung was solid - not oversweetened and neither the coffee or the milk tea overpowering each other. Another common faux pas.
Service was prompt and friendly and there were constant refills as my friends and I engaged in our favourite sport, "Shooting The Shit". Finally, the pricing - my near faultless BPCOR and iced Yuen-yeung came to a whopping $6.50 - no extra charge for ice. I've launched into Gaddafi-esque tirades on this matter, so I won't re-beat it to death.
However, word of caution - my buddy thought his staple (curry beef brisket on rice) was pretty 'meh' and he thought the portions were pretty small. But I though the portions were good for the price point and I really enjoyed my meal.
So, I was floating between 4 or 5-star for BT. Decided to go with a hard 4 as it may have a fluke and the addition of some peas and carrots would have made one of the finest BPCORs I've had.
Sure it's not so much good as it simply avoided the common BPCOR/HK Cafe pitfalls - but as the old Cantonese adage goes, "The easiest dishes are the hardest to prepare." [cue gong hit] Your mind. Is now blown.Listed in: East Van Eateries, HK Cafes
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Review from Cyndi H.
Vancouver, BC
Cozy hole in the wall on the quiet Kingsway strip. From the outside (and from how I remembered it as the Sun Fat Cafe) it was easy to assume that not much had changed. Boy was I wrong. The interior has been renovated and I can't believe it's the same place! Very brightly lit (but in a good way), new paint, nice tables, decent decor... the place looks great.
The service? Charming, friendly, prompt.
Now onto the food. I was really looking forward to chowing down here, seeing the great reviews. My bf, sister and I shared the 3 item combo which came with short ribs in a black pepper sauce, chicken wings, prawn and scallop skewers, and instant mashed potatoes. Now, my sis & bf thought it tasted great, but something about the sauce tasted unpleasant to me. The instant potatoes just brought good memories of cafeteria food in college. They taste so wrong, yet I nibbled at them until they were gone. Oh nostalgia. For what it cost though, it was an absolute steal.
Next we shared a sizzling bowl of Korean beef with spicy sauce on the side. I generally love sizzling bowls but I wasn't feeling this one. Something about the spicy sauce tasted strange to me...
The Thai milk tea was decent, and enabled me to stay up until 7:30 am (woohoo to all nighters).
I felt disappointed by the food while impressed by the vibe. I will be back to try the seafood and baked rice! -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 12/31/2010 2 photos
* Consistent HK comfort food *
I've returned several times since my initial review 2 months ago. They continue to deliver consistent HK comfort food.
Today I had the seafood baked rice (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...), a classic HK cafe dish. The rice was nicely stir-fried before being placed into the casserole for the baking, so the rice itself had a nice wok flavour along with slightly charred (to the delicious point) scrambled eggs, which frequently isn't found when places quickly slap together this dish. Nice touch. The seafood itself was plentiful with a nice variety of scallops, squid, whitefish and jumbo shrimp (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) which tasted very fresh. None of the seafood was overcooked, which is a tough feat with things like squid and scallops when you bake the dish at such a high temperature. The only downfalls to the dish, are ones that are common to the dish everyplace I have had it - the use of non-fresh veggies like frozen corn and peas. Somehow it all just works though and provides a warming comforting homestyle dish.
The dish, which is priced at a very reasonable $6.50 also comes with your choice of drink. I had a cold HK style milk tea. The tea is nice and strong, and sweetened to a nice level to complement the scorching hot baked rice dish.
The service is also extremely friendly and on top of things, making this a consistent winner for HK comfort food when the desire hits.Listed in: Vancouver Chinese Food, Vanoodle
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/5/2010 First to Review
* Solid HK style cafe *
This spot which used to be Sun Fat Cafe has been reborn as the BT Cafe.
It… Read more »
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Review from Christina D.
Vancouver, BC
2/25/2011 3 Check-ins Here
A random little restaurant in the mount pleasant area, but a definite gem. The place has been renovated and the decor is modern and clean in comparison to other HK Cafes. Portion sizes are fairly large for the price. Baked Spaghetti is my favorite and most meals come with a drink.
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Review from Chris L.
Vancouver, BC
11/17/2010
Excellent HK style cafe showcasing all the old standards with some innovative twists like baked pork chop on rice, as well as new dishes that include recent additions of hot stone rice bowls à la bibimbap. Try the Baked Pork Chop with Chicken Steak on rice, fantastic. Spaghetti bolognaise done al dente, not soggy like some places, with a fried egg on top, is perfection in its simplicity. The milk tea does not disappoint, and their borscht soup is also well done. Friendly, flexible service (they allow substitutions of soup for drinks, and sometimes give us a new dessert that they are experimenting with to try out) and comfy settings have brought me back many times already.
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Review from Jay M.
1/4/2011
Great value! We ate their breakfast combo a couple of times while we were in Vancouver. Best Beef Instant Noodle I've ever had. I'm going to miss this place.
