M Star Cafe 19 Division Street, Manhattan, New York 10002

"This place in business for a long time, and serves Hong Kong style cafe food. However, the food/drinks are no longer good. Very blend."

"My experience of M Star was mediocre. I went with a group of friends (they had suggested this particular restaurant). The storefront is very hole in the wall as others have noted, but I found the food lackluster. The service was good. I tried a few things: The beef rice crepe, the shrimp rice crepe, the beef stew noodle soup with rice noodles, the tea egg, and the preserved egg + pork congee. I also tried the beef stew with rice dish and the herbal jelly. I enjoyed the shrimp rice crepe, the tea egg, and the preserved pork egg congee. They had good flavors and textures. I also enjoyed the beef stew rice noodles. The beef stew rice dish was just okay. It had a lot of fatty parts that weren't enjoyable to eat and the sauce to rice ratio was a bit overwhelming for my personal taste. The beef rice crepe had an unusual texture -- the texture of the ground meat was more like what I would expect from a meat loaf (kind of crumbly) as opposed to a patty. No one in our group particularly enjoyed this one. I would not recommend the herbal jelly. It did not taste like traditional guilinggao in any way, or have the same texture. It tasted a bit like tap water. I would probably not return again -- if I wanted this type of food I would look elsewhere. Although the food is really cheap, I know I could have a more enjoyable meal elsewhere with the same price, especially in Chinatown."

"I went for a bike ride through Brooklyn bridge and found this little breakfast spot thanks to tiktok. I got the breakfast special E. The congee was so dam good that I had another one. The steamed rice noodle was surprisingly very good as well."

"Love this cafe in Chinatown. The waiter doesn’t even write down our order and memorized it. The food comes out super quick and most dishes are $4 at most. Highly recommend!"

"Decent, simple HK-style fare served on disposable plates & cutlery. A functional meal if you’re in Chinatown and the popular spots are all busy, but prices have risen so much lately that it’s not exactly a cheap meal. Kind of crazy that stir-fried ramen is $12.50, and hot ginger milk tea is $6.50. They are definitely generous with the ginger though, and it’s warming for a cold day. Sadly they temporarily did not serve rice rolls, otherwise I think I would have enjoyed the food more."