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2014-07-15
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新桂香燒臘 is definitely one of the greats in town!Too much media attention was focused on Joy Hing of late, so disinterested foodies have took it upon themselves to seek the next best thing, perhaps slightly less crowded, less visited by tourists, and something with way more local flavor.So apparently 新桂香 came to the rescue for many. An MTR ride to the eastern end of the line to Chai Wan could easily take 30 mins if you are somewhere past Central, and then a little bit of walking from the station to
新桂香燒臘 is definitely one of the greats in town!Too much media attention was focused on Joy Hing of late, so disinterested foodies have took it upon themselves to seek the next best thing, perhaps slightly less crowded, less visited by tourists, and something with way more local flavor.
So apparently 新桂香 came to the rescue for many. An MTR ride to the eastern end of the line to Chai Wan could easily take 30 mins if you are somewhere past Central, and then a little bit of walking from the station to get to the roasties deli shop, which is situated in a residential complex right off the main street. Therefore, a committment of your time, perserverance, and some energy is required to savor the greatest.
On a cool overcast day back in January, I decided to fit 新桂香 into my eating schedule. After reading about it online from abroad and salivating from the vivid descriptors by others, I knew I had to make a special pilgrimage to the local holy shrine of porktastic porkgasms.
It also helped that "Loudmouth So" had a short video clip of this place via Eat Drink Man Woman, and so I followed her advice on ordering (and luckily was not screwed for once).
I sat down and inquired about the 3 piece cha siu, which is a certain cut of the pig where the slices are basically round, 3 pieces, adjoined by a little fat and tendon. Ridiculously tender and top notch marination.
I was very lucky that the head butcher/owner in charge told me they had some although it had been sitting out for a couple hours, and that if I were to come back about 2 hours later, than a new batch would come out of their roaster. Unfortunately I was already starving so they still managed to keep the pork warm and serve it. Since I was on vacation, I was willing to splurge and pay a bit more for an entree (basically an entire plate).
Now part of me feels guilty, because most of the locals can only afford a rice plate or at most a 2 meat combo rice plate. This is not exactly a super wealthy part of the neighborhood. Needless to say, when you request the good stuff, they charge a bit of a premium, but the staff were super polite and courteous, and gave me a free bowl of rice. Unfortunately they ran out of house soup, maybe next time!
The cha siu rested on a bed of marinated soybeans, which you don't see this style of plating as much (and not at all in the USA).
The staff were also rather amused that I was taking a ton of pictures of the meat, and one of the butchers even helped rotate the giant slab of crispy skin roast pig so I could get a better view! Bless his heart.
The cha siu here has a tad strong marination, and is done to my liking. It is not as sweet as Bor Kee in Sheung Wan, although to be fair my cut was not the typical kind. This style is probably more on the savory side, perhaps just a touch too salty....but you can also taste the freshness of the meat (despite it being out of the roaster for a bit). Whatever juices were on the plate, made the rice taste even better. Bor Kee's half lean half fatty cuts were far more tender than here but if you enjoy a nice bite and chew (but not overbearing), the texture is otherwise great.
I cannot remember the exact price of the plate of goodness, but it probably went into the $100+ territory, which for Hong Kong is not cheap at all. But I'm shocked that after having this, that I cannot even find a quality slab of cha siu in California that comes anywhere close.
Looking forward to returning next time I visit HK, making sure that I catch the roasties coming out of the roaster (the butcher told me the various times/daily schedule, but I forgot what they were) and exploring more of this legendary roasties deli! If only they "tweeted" when the goodies come out, haha.
張貼
