Showing posts with label Char Siew. Show all posts

[FOOD] 20141224 Chan Kong Kei 陳光記飯店 @ Macau


Chan Kong Kei is probably one of the more famous restaurant in Macau serving Cantonese style roast meat found in places like Hong Kong and Guangdong.

Running for generations and serving famous dishes of roast duck/goose/pork with their unique recipe of black pepper duck, this little eatery nearby Senado Square is often packed with locals and tourists. So make sure you are early to secure a seat.

Rua Do Dr. P José Lobo 19
南灣羅保博士街19號
Nearest Bus Stations: Avenida Do Infante D. Henrique
Telephone: +853 2831 4116
Opening Hours: 11:00am until 9:00pm

TO GO


The restaurant is actually located a few streets away from Senado Square and travel by foot is highly recommended. It is easily spotted by the main road, beside Luk Fuk Jewellery shop. Alternatively you can take any bus that travels through Avenida Do Infante D. Henrique Road.

Bus No. 3, 3A, 3X, 10, 10A, 10B, 11, 21A, 26A, 33, N1B, N3.



SPECIALITY



You will be able to spot this yellow sign board sticking out far to grab your attention with a picture of a bald guy, Chan Kong.

The restaurant is packed during dinner time but luckily no queue was seen during my visit on Christmas Eve night. Service is mediocre and the waiter will assume you are Chinese tourist by conversing in Mandarin during order.


Ordering is pretty simple, just choose whether you want single, double or triple meat combination and to be pair with either white rice or bowl of soup noodle (wanton noodle). They also have congee, if you fancy one. The black pepper roast duck is their signature dish, hence, it is a must try.


I saved a few pieces of the duck meat before it completely submerged in the soup to preserve the texture before it became soggy. The duck meat is tender with hint of sweetness and black pepper. I ordered the soup noodle because the white rice looks too plain for me. Single serving of meat with rice or noodle combination costs MOP36 (RM15).

If you fancy some exotic dish like duck blood, you may also find it here in Chan Kong Kei with their signature duck blood vegetable. Well, I will skip that.



Good business, almost finish selling already.

SUMMARY


Another roast meat? I had a lot of roast meat during my whole Canton trip, the best being in Yat Lok in Hong Kong, followed by this in Macau. If you fancy some roast meat during your visit in Macau, Chan Kong Kei is a place you will find quality food at reasonable price.

Taste
☆☆☆☆
Good, but not as good.
Value
☆☆☆☆
Reasonable
Service
☆☆☆
Too crowded
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
Slippery floors
Opening Hours
11:00am until 09:00pm (Daily)
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Limited
Website
N/A

GPS: 22.192012, 113.541539
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[FOOD] 20141223 Guangzhou Restaurant 广州酒楼 @ Liwan, Guangzhou


Guangzhou Restaurant was recommended by the locals when I asked for the best place to have Cantonese Cuisine. I guessed, if they are daring enough to use the name "Guangzhou Restaurant", they must be up to standard to be able to represent Guangzhou.

True enough, this old restaurant was established way back in 1935 with the name Xinan Restaurant  西南酒家 (West-South Restaurant) but was subsequently burned down during World War II. The present building was reconstructed in 1939 and with its current name "Guangzhou Restaurant", signifying the rich food culture of Cantonese Cuisine.

The restaurant has went through many up and downs over the years and has won numerous awards, a long list of them in fact. Currently, the restaurant group has 11 branches all over Guangzhou with the main branch located at Wenchang Road (Beside Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street), serving both traditional Cantonese cuisine and Cantonese Dimsum.

2, Wenchang S. Road, Liwan, Guangzhou
广州市荔湾区文昌南路2号
Nearest MRT Stations: Jordan, Exit C2
Telephone: +65 (020) 81380388 81389840 81392285
Opening Hours: 07:00am until 10:00pm

TO GO


Disclaimer: Google services are barred in China. You need to either bypass the "Great Wall" or use a VPN. Alternatively, you may use their domestic sites such as Baidu Map.

Directions to the main branch in Wenchang will be similar to my directions to Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street as the restaurant is located right the end of the junction of the upper nine street.

Unfortunately, there's no direct access of Guangzhou Metro line to Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street. However, the area is very accessible via public mini buses. I particularly like their bus because it goes through many small alleys where you are able to see the hustle and bustle of local lifestyle.

Dexing Road Terminal: Take Bus No. 17, 79 or 79A
Shangxiajiu: Take Bus 530
Baohua Road: Take Bus 5, 6, 15, 61 or 530




SPECIALITY



Recommended by the locals, the Guangzhou Restaurant is an old building located at the far end of the Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, and with its reputation and location, it's not hard to understand why this place is full of patrons.

You will receive a warm welcome by the reception and waitresses and they will politely ask you what would you like to have and lead you to the correct section. There's even a lift in this building to assist the elderly to the upper floors. Today I'm here for the dim sum instead of cuisine.


The restaurant is a huge three-storey building, with each floor segregated for different purposes, i.e. the ground floor caters for Cantonese cuisine, while the first floor is for Dimsum, third floor is mainly VIP rooms. There's a big opening in the middle of the restaurant with landscape decorations and air well to gather natural light.


With this kind of reputation and setup, don't expect the prices to be cheap. In fact, it is comparable to Hong Kong's pricing and even more expensive than Tim Ho Wan during my visit to HK. 

*Caution: I forget to change my camera settings to RAW, so the white balance will be off*


High pricing comes with high expectations, and to be honest, it did not disappoint. The siew mai 蟹皇烧卖 is one of the I have tried with the price of RMB19 (RM11.50). Every part of the siew mai is made to almost perfection with juicy and tender fillings and well steamed wrappings. 


Next is the stir-fried glutinous rice 生炒糯米饭, with the price between RMB17 (RMB10) or RMB19 (RM11.50), couldn't remember as I didn't foot the bill. The usual glutinous rice that we have in restaurants would normally be steamed. However, to stir-fry the glutinous rice from raw to cooked requires quite some skill as it is very different than just steam otherwise the rice will be either too raw or too dry. I enjoyed this glutinous rice dish as it is not too raw and yet not too dry. The fillings and toppings are just nice to add flavour and texture to the overall enjoyment.


Braised Chicken Feet (Pheonix Claw) is not a dish that's acceptable to everyone but it's one of the signature Cantonese Dimsum. However, I will give this a pass instead. The chicken feet are too fragmented and not presentable. Taste just normal.


Cheong-fun or Vermicelli roll originates from Guangzhou, the locals have this almost on a daily basis with stalls and eateries selling this on almost every corner of the streets in Guangzhou (but all taste mediocre). Hence, this is definitely must try in Guangzhou Restaurant. The typical Cheong-fun wrapped with char siew (BBQ sweet pork) was ordered, and my oh my, I never know a Cheong-fun can taste this good. The skin/wrapping itself is very good, even much better than the one in Tim Ho Wan. Coupled with the light sweet soy sauce, two thumbs up for this dish.


Next is the prawn dumplings and the standard of the restaurant is upheld again with this dish. The prawns are very fresh with very nice texture of the wrappings, steamed to perfection. Flavour is also just nice.


The open-mouth type Char Siew Pau. Although I'm not used to the Char Siew here in China (our Malaysian char siew lean towards the sweet side), I do enjoy the Pau's (bun) texture and Chinese is still the best in making this traditional food.


Instead of the typical Raddish Cake, a Pan Fried Yam Cake was ordered instead. The yam used in this dish is very different from our local Malaysian yam. The texture is more gluey but full of flavour of yam in comparison to our local variant.

SUMMARY


It was a very satisfying meal in Guangzhou Restaurant with top quality dim sum served. However, the price is also towards the high side. The service was good and not forgetting to mention the tea that they served is also of high quality and served in front of you, showcasing the art of tea making (well, not really). A few dishes like the glutinous rice, siew mai, prawn dumplings and Cheong-fun are highligh recommended.

Taste
☆☆☆☆☆
One of the best dim sum I tried.
Value
☆☆☆
Pricey for China's standard
Service
☆☆☆☆☆
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆☆
Opening Hours
07:00am until 10:00pm
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Limited
Website
http://www.gzr.com.cn/


GPS: 23.113817, 113.245831
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[FOOD] 20141218 Yat Lok Roast Goose 一乐烧鹅 @ Central


Canton style roast is very popular in Hong Kong which has expanded worldwide, carrying the name "Hong Kong Style Roast" to many countries including Malaysia. It is very common to find restaurants and stalls selling HK style roast meat such as char siew (BBQ pork belly), siew yuk (crispy pork belly) and roast chicken. However, it is uncommon to find the famous roast goose in Malaysia, hence my primary mission to HK is to hunt down the best roast goose around.

When it comes to roast goose (geese), the name Yat Lok is much recommended with its 1-star Michelin rated. The shop/restaurant is located few blocks away from Central Station, HK. You will see queue forming outside the shop during lunch and dinner hours due to the small premise.

The restaurant is famous for its variety of roast meat especially the goose. You may choose the type of meat you want, then to be paired with either rice or noodles. You may also add on blanched vegetable with oyster sauce to have some green.

G/F, 34-38 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong
香港中環士丹利街34-38號地舖
Nearest MRT Stations: Central Station, Exit D2
Telephone: +852 2524 3882
Opening Hours: 10:00am until 9:00pm (Monday until Saturday)
                           10:00am until 5:30pm (Sundy and Public Holidays)

TO GO

Yat Lok Restaurant is just 2 streets away from Cental MTR station. Just hop on to the Island Line (Blue) or Tsuen Wan Line (Red) and exit D2. Walk along Theatre Lane, across Queen's Road Central to reach Stanley Street, then turn right until you see the signboard.



SPECIALITY



When locals are queuing up for daily meal, you know you definitely cannot miss this!

Roast Goose (Drumstick + Thigh) - HKD160 (RM73)


The goose is sold in halve or quarter basis. You may choose for the upper portion (breast and wing) or the lower portion (drumstick and thigh) if you opt for quarter basis. Of course, the lower portion commands a premium, HKD160 (RM73) to be exact versus HKD140 (RM63) for the upper part.

The goose is served with special plum sauce to enhance the flavour, you may try with and without the sauce to know the difference. Goose meat generally taste very much like duck meat except that goose has a stronger flavour and has more fat. 

The skin is grilled to perfection with crispy texture and tender meat (I'm not joking because the ones I tried in Guang Zhou did not come close to HK). Pricey? Yes, but definitely worth a try. Do come early before it's sold out.

Double Roast Pork Platter - HKD50~80 (Couldn't remember, thanks to the shocking goose price)

I did order an extra roast pork (char siew and siew yuk) to try and to compare the difference between Malaysia "HK" style and the real HK style. The pork belly generally taste much alike to our own variant here in Malaysia but the char siew is the one that is different. The char siew in HK generally is sweeter and red in colour as opposed to our honey style black char siew. 

I would prefer our Malaysian honey BBQ char siew instead of the HK style to be honest. You can also choose to add on blanched vegetable (usually is Choy Sam or Kailan) with oyster sauce at some extra cost below HKD20 (again, forgotten the price, thanks to the shocking goose price)

SUMMARY


Taste
☆☆☆☆☆
one of the best roast goose around
Value
☆☆☆☆
very expensive for a meal, but worth a try
Service
☆☆☆
busy staff, least service provided
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
slippery floor
Opening Hours
10:00am until 9:00pm (Monday until Saturday)
10:00am until 5:30pm (Sunday & Public Holiday)
Wifi
N/A
Parking
Minimum
Website
N/A

GPS: 22.282361, 114.155501
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