Get Yourself Some Siu Mei Excellence at Chukfo Taipan
Something washed over me when I was out of Hong Kong for three months this summer. And that was a realization that I eat far more Asian food than I thought. Since I returned home, I’ve been eating Cantonese and Chinese cuisine like it’s going out of style.
One style of Cantonese cuisine, in particular, has dominated this gastronomic reunification and reawakening – ‘siu mei’, aka ‘Cantonese BBQ’.
This has led to me revisiting classic roast goose and BBQ pork (char siu) haunts that have served me well over the years and exploring revered institutions that I’m ashamed to have never feasted on during my nearly seven-year Hong Kong tenure.
One Hong Kong-style roast meat restaurant had oddly eluded me over the years – my ‘siu mei white whale’ some might say – Wan Chai’s very own ‘Chukfo Taipan’.
So, in the lead-up to my self-imposed 1.5-month moratorium out of Hong Kong, I called up my Farjar (father) for one of our Friday lunch “constitutionals” and told him we were eating all of the meats.
He obliged.
Chukfo Taipan: a Wan Chai Bastion of Roast Meat Excellence
Website, Address, & Details: N/A
- Location: Hong Kong, Wan Chai, Triangle St, 2-3號地下3號舖 Wah Yan Court
- Price: $ – $$ – Single/double meat combos typically begin around HK$50 (even cheaper for lunch) and can run up to HK$130+ depending on how much you love goose.
Located just a stone’s throw away from Wan Chai MTR Exit A3 and the former educational stomping grounds where I was mercilessly (and justly) reprimanded by my former Cantonese teacher after forgetting 98% of everything I learned during the previous lesson, Chukfo Taipan is a taste and remnant of Hong Kong’s old that stands true in an increasingly Blade Runner-esque landscape.
You might be able to apply that statement to Wan Chai as a whole.
You’ll know you’ve arrived after turning down Triangle Street (which really just feels like a back alley) and seeing the technicolor cornucopia of fruits (especially some juicy watermelons) on display by the popular Cantonese grocer ‘Mr Fresh’ (among countless other dry and wet grocers). But that’s not the most beautiful display you’ll see all day.
No.
Simply look directly across from Mr Fresh, where your eyes will settle on a gaggle of perfectly caramelized, reddish-orange smoked meats dangling in the window in all their glory.
You’re home.
Chukfo Taipan’s shopfront should also be obvious by the dine-in and takeaway line that inevitably congregates in front.
The restaurant’s interior is styled similarly to most siu mei restaurants and cha chaan tengs (traditional Cantonese diners/tea houses) across the city, with both booth and communal seating being the norm, plastic table dividers by the dozen, random cardboard boxes stacked in said booths and corners, and an open roasting and serving station with dangling roast meats visible from both the street and most dining areas.
It is Hong Kong after all, so there’s a high probability that you’ll be sharing a table with several other char siu movers and shakers (this primarily applies to solo diners and groups of two). But that’s just the roast meat biznass. Pay no heed.
Further, like most siu mei restaurants in Hong Kong, Chukfo has its own specialized furnace for roasting all meats – this almost always goes without saying but I felt like saying it. Fight me.
Pale Ale Travel Tip: While Chukfo Taipan more than passes muster when it comes to Hong Kong’s cutthroat siu mei game, I do have to give props to my favorite spot in the city – Dragon State Kitchen (specifically for their char siu).
Eating the Siu Mei Gamut at Chukfo: Canto BBQ Power Rankings Revealed
My father’s ‘Four Treasures Rice’.
To cover our roast meat bases, my Farjar and I opted for two different (yet ingredient-similar) dishes: me, the roasted goose leg with siu mei (char siu for the dawg), him, the roasted goose with four treasures rice.
I’ll just get this out of the way. He made the right call and ordered exactly what I wanted. The four treasures rice is Chukfo Taipan’s signature dish and the holy grail of Hong Kong roast meat excellence, as it includes: roast goose, BBQ pork (char siu), crispy roast pork, red sausages, pork trotters, and a salted egg.
I made the incorrect assumption that just because all the assorted roast meats I know and love were listed under the roast goose leg, you are only able to choose one. I do not doubt that if I wasn’t somewhat groggy from a lack of coffee that morning, I would have been able to add on extra portions of roast meat – I was just in no mental shape to communicate that.
There are about a dozen other variants of the four treasures rice, along with single and double meat combos galore. The real beauty of Cantonese BBQ is that it is a ‘mix and match’ type of eating adventure where you can feasibly stitch together whatever roast meat combo you want.
Pale Ale Travel Note: Don’t worry, there’s an English menu as well. If it hasn’t already been placed on your table, simply ask!
As it stands, my siu mei meat power rankings look something like this:
- Char siu (BBQ pork),
- Crispy pork belly,
- Roast goose and/or roast duck,
- Pork trotters,
- Red sausages,
- Whatever chicken is on the menu.
Siu Ngo – Roast Goose Like Ya Read About
What I can emphatically tell you about Chukfo’s roast goose is that it is a contender for my favorite in Hong Kong.
It’s not uncommon to go to a second or third-tier siu mei haunt in the city and get a mouthful of bones and inconspicuous choking hazards when you order the siu ngo (燒鵝 – roast goose). That’s why Chukfo is top-tier siu mei – the reps and the precision are evident in each serving.
Each bite evinces a polished fat-to-meat ratio which reigns paramount for this Big Body when judging siu mei. The fat, superbly rendering during the roasting, ensures a juicy interior and crispy (yet pliable) skin, finished with a glossy, caramelizing maltose glaze (there’s only a handful of siu mei spots in Hong Kong that still rock maltose).
Even heat distribution in their high-temperature furnace isn’t just an ideal at Chukfo, it’s the norm.
Hints of the bird’s aromatic-stuffed cavity come through with each bite – ginger, garlic, scallions, star anise, and probably one or two others my layperson palate can’t quite identify.
The final air-drying finish, timed to perfection to remove excess moisture from the skin and tighten the bird up even better than that one sassy Peloton instructor tightens up flabby, out-of-shape millennials.
To produce a juicy, savory, and flavor-packed goose, it’s ensuring that one thousand little things are done right. This is where Chukfo thrives.
Char Siu – BBQ Pork Meat Candy
Chukfo’s char siu almost reminds me of the Cantonese pork equivalent of brisket (which I’m unsure there actually is), as it uses a high-quality cut of the pig, like pork butt and/or pork shoulder.
Both are balanced in fat and lean meat proportions, keeping the interior juicy and the exterior caramelization consistent. It’s fibrous AND melt-in-your-mouth, something you didn’t know could even be a thang.
The smokiness of the char siu is subtle, slightly overpowered by the sweet-savory flavor of the traditional soy sauce, hoisin, Shaoxing, sugar, garlic, oyster sauce, and five-spice powder marinade that has deeply penetrated it thanks to 12 to 24-hour (rough guess here) marination – but that’s how I prefer it.
Chukfo’s char siu (BBQ pork) has more layers than an onion. However, unlike an onion, there’s actual flavor and textural depth to it.
Siu Yuk – Don’t Sleep on Porky
Look how thick that outer crispy skin layer is (bottom right).
I’d be remiss not to mention that I may or may not have bullied my Farjar into giving me several pieces of his crispy roast pork (siu yuk – 燒肉) out of the mandatory ‘son tax’ that all of us inequitably still claim well into adulthood.
As you can see above, this siu mei meat is at the top of my meat power rankings, only recently having surpassed roast goose. Crackling, airy skin that’s capital T ‘thiccc’ (and spelled with three ‘c’s’) with a neat and juicy interior/cross-section, and thin layer of fat.
Siu yuk definitely boasts the most depth of all siu mei meats in my opinion due to this required layer triumvirate. Personally, I can’t get enough of it and think it can go toe-to-toe with the quintessential Spanish, Portuguese, and Filipino suckling pig any day of the week.
Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you’re in the market for some grill-your-own beef type of magic, make sure to check out my post breaking down 6 of the best Korean BBQ restaurants in Hong Kong.
Don’t Be a Silly Goose by Not Eating Goose (or Siu Mei)
If you aren’t washing your siu mei down with a classic iced lemon tea, then did you even siu mei at all?
Do you know who isn’t closing their doors these days in Hong Kong? Siu mei restaurants – especially the tried and tested (and venerated). Chukfo Taipan embodies why I love Hong Kong. It’s tradition. It’s precision. It’s heritage. And it’s mothaflippin’ delicious.
Frankly, I can’t get enough of Hong Kong-style roast meats. Expect a lot more Cantonese BBQ content going forward. I’m making it a part of my identity. You’ve been forewarned.
We should all be more appreciative of the labor, the love, and the efficiency that goes into Hong Kong’s roast meat restaurants. So take this article as a nudge to get out there and get yaself some goose, ya silly goose.
Cause you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.
If you have any questions about eating or drinking in Hong Kong (ex. my go-to restaurants), please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing me at info@palealetravel.com. Also, I’d love to hear your siu mei meat power rankings, so please let me know in the comments!
Eat well everyone,
Big Body
Big Body is a voracious lov…eater, a cowardly fighter, and a self-proclaimed curry goat BBQ-eating champion (don’t forget the donkey milk) who likes Stoicism, baseball, and writing in the third person. Having worked for himself for the last 7 years, he isn’t particularly successful but he does still drink ice-cold Sapporo draft beers with the best of them and knows his way around a Dai Pai Dong or two. He is based in Hong Kong but you can still find him in Saigon, Osaka, and Vienna for extended periods.