Ever since I was a little kid growing up in Kowloon, I’ve enjoyed cheung fun served fresh from unpretentious carts on the gritty street corner. For mere pennies, we got a savory container of rice rolls mixed with hot chili oil and soy sauce and I was off to a fantastic start to a brand new day. If we decided to splurge, we could order ours with a fried egg or even fresh shrimp.

Over the years, I’ve become a little bit more particular with my rice noodles rolls upgrading it with savory ingredients such as roast pork, curry fishballs, even roast duck.

So I was pretty elated when I stumbled onto Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle in a recently deserted Chinatown.

Tonii’s rice rolls are simply amazing boasting perfect noodle thickness and texture. The cheung fun is so velvety and fresh, and they are all made to order, so nothing is just sitting around.

The small eatery is pretty much an unassuming spot, you’ll miss if you weren’t on the hunt for rice rolls. There’s no place to eat inside, but they have a large fenced in dining area on the street. And the cheung fun are hot and steamy, a panacea for a cold, winter day. There’s plenty of sauces to choose from. The peanut butter sauce will definitely light you up.

When most Chinatown restaurants were closed, Tonii’s stayed open during the pandemic and supported Frontline workers. The prices are beyond reasonable. For $4.50 you can order a sizeable portion that will definitely suffice for breakfast or a light lunch.

Tonii’s is named after Liz and Bryan Yee’s daughter who is named after her uncle, Tony, who passed away in a fire in February 2009.

There’s more than cheung fun that Liz and Bryan dish up to thousands of newly-found rice noodle aficionados that have emerged all over the city.

For something sweet and simple order the condensed milk toast or the span and egg sandwich. For something sweet, fluffy and warm, order Kam Hing’s famous sponge cake – like the rice noodles, they have lots of flavors to choose from.

Guaranteed to bring back sweet, cherished memories of your childhood.

Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodles – come for the Cheung Fun. Stay for the Sponge Cake!!

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