Xin Wang Hong Kong Café at Novena Square is the Novena outpost of a homegrown Singapore cha chaan teng that began in 2005 in a corner of Heartland Mall Kovan. Part of the Minor Food Singapore family, the brand has grown into a household name by sticking to a simple formula: comforting, familiar Hong Kong–style fare served in a laid-back, modern space, covering everything from breakfast cravings to late-night bites.
The Novena Square café, which opened when the brand arrived at Velocity @ Novena Square in 2019, serves a menu of more than 100 items — breakfast sets, french toast, nissin noodles, baked rice, sizzling hotplates, claypot meals, dim sum and classic beverages like HK milk tea and yuan yang — all day, every day. Regulars keep coming back for dishes like the Cheese Baked Tomato Chicken Chop Spaghetti, Papaya Soup with Luncheon Meat and Honey Butter French Toast.
Like every Xin Wang, it is built on warmth and familiarity: a place to gather for a hot meal, a quick snack or a late-night chat, where some guests who first came as teenagers now return with families of their own. No fuss, just comfort, your way.
On the ground floor of Novena Square along Thomson Road, Xin Wang Hong Kong Café does what a proper cha chaan teng should: it feeds you well at almost any hour, from breakfast cravings to late-night bites. This Novena outlet joined the family when the brand opened at Velocity @ Novena Square in 2019, and it carries the same promise Xin Wang has kept since 2005 — no fuss, just comfort, your way.
Xin Wang is a homegrown concept by Minor Food Singapore. Its story started small, in a cosy corner of Heartland Mall Kovan, with a simple goal: serve comforting, familiar Hong Kong–style fare around the clock. Twenty years on, it has become part of the rhythm of Singapore's neighbourhoods.
It all began in 2005 at Heartland Mall Kovan — no fanfare, just a welcoming space for a hot meal, a late-night chat or a familiar taste of home. Word travelled the way it does in heartland Singapore, one bowl of papaya soup bee hoon and one slice of french toast at a time. Outlets followed steadily: Cineleisure Orchard and Siglap in 2006, WhiteSands in 2007, Changi Airport T3 in 2009, JEM in 2013, Bugis+ and Velocity @ Novena Square in 2019, and Suntec City in 2022, among many others.
The brand celebrated its 20th anniversary still doing what it set out to do, and many of its regulars have grown up alongside it — first visits as teenagers, return trips with families of their own. That kind of loyalty is earned one familiar plate at a time.
The menu is the heart of the place: over 100 items spanning breakfast sets, french toast, nissin noodles, baked rice, sizzling hotplates, claypot meals, dim sum and classic drinks such as HK milk tea and yuan yang — all available all day, every day. Cheesy bakes are a big draw: the Cheese Baked Tomato Chicken Chop Spaghetti and the Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce Spaghetti, the latter finished with a sunny side up egg, cover the western-influenced side of the cha chaan teng repertoire, while the Char-grilled Ribeye Steak with Pumpkin Sauce handles heartier appetites.
Claypots bring the Cantonese comfort: Char-Siew Lao Shu Fen served dry in a claypot, and a Cantonese Soy Sauce Chicken claypot. Soupy options include the Nissin Noodle with Chicken Chop & Egg and the homestyle Papaya Soup with Luncheon Meat, a dish regulars have been coming back for since the Kovan days. Round it out with Dace Fish & Egg White Fried Rice, Xin Wang Fried Chicken from the snacks list, and Honey Butter French Toast with an Iced HK Milk Tea or Iced Lemon Tea Dinosaur alongside.
Cha chaan teng dining is about ease: variety, convenience and comfort in one laid-back, modern space. Xin Wang has leaned into that identity for two decades, welcoming anyone and everyone in need of a hot meal, whether it's a casual lunch, a quick snack or a late-night supper. The brand is known for keeping long hours — closing late and, at many outlets, opening 24 hours on weekends — so late-night cravings rarely go unanswered. Hours do vary by outlet, so it's worth confirming before a midnight trip.
What keeps people returning is the familiarity. The dishes taste the way you remember them, the menu covers every craving at the table, and there's always room for one more round of milk tea. Whether you're introducing someone to their first french toast or rebuilding an old favourite habit, the Novena Square café delivers the same heartland warmth that started it all in 2005.
Walk in hungry, order generously and let the menu do the rest — that's the Xin Wang way.