Hong Kong Best Suckling Pig
Is tucked away on a small alley in Hong Kong Central (chong wan).
Where Anthony Bourdain once graced the shop and had it landed on news.
Which was enough to make a small shop like that famous.
I always welcome smaller eatery shops than big famous commercial and expensive chain of restaurants, like the "Yong Kei" for its roast goose in Hong Kong. Rumours has it if you want roast goose to eat for dinner, do not expect to pull a walk-in and get your goose in the same night.
But apart from the fact that I personally prefer hidden jewels over commercial icons; they are generally kinder to my purse. A whole lot kinder.
So welcome to Dragon Restaurant.
(You may find the address at the bottom of this blog post)
The shop is famous for its roast goose, and also for its suckling pig.
Average meal cost between 32 - 48 hong kong dollars. Considering the strength of Malaysia Ringgit now, it's a pretty decent price for a meal and a close comparison to KL's competitive prices.
Roast Goose and Siew Yok (caramelized bbq pork)
Suckling Pig (top) and Siew Yok (Roast Pork, bottom)
Everything on the plates was heavenly. The Char Siew was intense, sweet, juicy and soft all at the same time. The Roast Goose (my first) was tender, teeeny bit dry as most geese flesh was but the overall texture and flavour overcome that flaw.
Siew Yok was a bit fatty for my liking but I guess that's how Hong Kong people take it, juicy and fatty.
As for the Suckling Pig.
It's nothing like I've ever tried before. Those suckling pig we used to have back home (means Malaysia) were good, but they were NOTHING compared to this.
It's out of this world, out of concept, breaking every rule in the cooking book; it was new to me, refreshing, explosive, little fatty but oh-so gorgeous; all I could say was I've never loved fatty pork so much in my life. Crispy chewy and plenty of love.
To quote the great Bourdain's words,
"This is as close to God as you're going to get... It's all about the skin, and this was truly the highlight of my stay. Crispy, delicious, simple, a little salt... Homer Simpson once said, 'Pork is a beautiful thing.' and this is the best I've ever had, anywhere in the world.
I wiped the meat clean, even if I wasn't so hungry. Never a rice fan as you can see.
If you ever have the chance, even a short stay in HK, you know where to go. ;)
Dragon Restaurant
3-5 Gage Street, Central,
2545-5328
6 kissed Nicole
Seems decent, I'll go there end of August and see whether Bourdain's exaggerating.
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole --
ReplyDeleteEr... sorry but the roast meat restaurant that Anthony Bourdain was talking about in that quote is actually Yat Lok (out in Tai Po):-
http://webs-of-significance.blogspot.com/2010/04/thats-worth-flying-all-way-to-hong-kong.html
And the goose is what's great there! So am still always looking for a great suckling pig eatery -- and will try your "find" some time. :)
bourdain doesn't just visit ONE suckling pig restaurant in HK.
ReplyDeletei quoted the whole article, and his words, from the article in the newspaper as posted in the photo.
Hi again Nicocoa --
ReplyDeleteAah, while I quoted those words from the TV show -- so saw him uttering it upon his eating the roast goose at Yat Lok! :b
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Gage+Street,+Hong+Kong&hl=en&ll=22.282914,114.153686&spn=0,0.005139&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=62.70117,134.912109&layer=c&cbll=22.282836,114.153749&panoid=g5XSfrUuN4HHt7OBwDSMQQ&cbp=12,81.93,,0,18.18&z=19
ReplyDeleteCut and paste the above, then use arrow keys.
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=5770
I think Bourdain has probably visited HK a couple of times and perhaps both restaurants were visited on one trip or another, but yes the goose one is Yat Lok in Tai Po.
ReplyDelete