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2016-03-22
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In the American South there's a colloquialism that something is so good that it will 'make you wanna slap your mama'. *85 South doesn't evoke passion. It barely registers a shrug. Sure - relative to other American BBQ joints in HK, which are rarer than a hen's teeth **, it's a fine plate of 'cue. Objectively, it's a few fries (or chips) short of a happy meal. ***The pulled pork was dry and slightly greasy, but had enough textural contrast to discern that it was likely from a large primal - with
85 South doesn't evoke passion. It barely registers a shrug. Sure - relative to other American BBQ joints in HK, which are rarer than a hen's teeth **, it's a fine plate of 'cue. Objectively, it's a few fries (or chips) short of a happy meal. ***
The pulled pork was dry and slightly greasy, but had enough textural contrast to discern that it was likely from a large primal - with a bit of fat and a bit of lean. But flavor-wise so underwhelming that BBQ virgin would come away with the impression that Americans aren't fit to come close to a pig (or any other meat for that matter).
If you were to seek an authentic Carolina BBQ experience at 85 South, you may spend most of your meal recounting the things that are missing, rather than the things that are on your tray. Absent was a square of white bread, which is an essential component of Carolina 'cue, which is to be used as both a utensil and side dish. Sweet pickles, a classic palate cleanser, would have been welcomed to the party. Same goes for the smoke line (a tell tale sign that the meat has been cooked low and slow with actual charcoal or wood chips)?
To be fair, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear ****, and similarly no one comes to Hong Kong expecting good American BBQ. And to think that you could find good BBQ this far from home is about as good as a cat trying to bury a turd on a marble floor.*****
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* This is to imply that in a fit of passion and reverence for something, one might resort to domestic violence on their mother for denying them of such pleasures.
** Doesn't exist as chickens do not have teeth
*** Coming up short / lacking
**** Can't make something out of nothing
***** A futile effort
Americans are a strange lot.
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