8 of the Best Siu Mei Restaurants That Aren’t Yat Lok
First, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way. No, I am not hating on Yat Lok at all. I will always have love in my heart for it. Like my stern yet warm Puerto Rican girlfriend who kept me grounded during my angsty years in Catholic high school, it has shaped who I am.
Rather, instead of ensuring my dress shirt was tucked in and my remedial math homework was completed (to the best of my ability), Yat Lok gave me my first taste of roast goose and other siu mei excellence after first moving to Hong Kong in 2012. It gustatorily shaped my siu mei baseline and instilled a burning love in me for uncompromising Latinas char siu.
I think I overstepped there.
The point is, I love siu mei. So much so that I have mentally blocked out the fact that char siu (BBQ pork) might (allegedly) be carcinogenic. I’ve also blocked out that siu yuk (crispy pork belly) may or may not cause my heart to give out thanks to its plenitude of glorious, sapid saturated fats.
So, without further ado, here are 8 of the best siu mei restaurants in Hong Kong that aren’t Yat Lok.
Pale Ale Travel Note: You’ll see that a good chunk of my pictures are of a char siu and siu yuk combo. This is my favorite as I know the strike rate is almost always 100%. I opt for roast goose when I’m feelin’ ‘silly’ (get it, like a silly goose? – God, I hate myself), and occasionally the ‘Five Treasures’ – roast meats combo platter with four meats) at select restaurants.
P.S. You should also absolutely go and eat at Yat Lok. Order the roast goose and dry noodles.
Dragon State Kitchen
Website, Address, & Details: No Website
- Location: 38 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
Located on a bustling corner of Bonham Stand and Hillier, just a (hobbit’s) stone’s throw away from the Sheung Wan MTR, Dragon State Kitchen is a ‘relative suckling pig’ in the cutthroat yet venerated hog of a siu mei scene of Hong Kong, having ONLY popped up in the last 15-ish years rather than 50-plus. However, that doesn’t mean it’s any less ferocious or tasty.
Some might say it’s roast goose and char siu game is so fierce that even Daenerys wouldn’t be able to control it. I’ve never actually seen Game of Thrones but figured it was apropos. I’ve also run out of Bruce Lee references to use on this blog.
Dragon State Kitchen’s meat maestros fire up all siu mei classics like tender, nectarean roast goose and duck legs, glossy, caramelized hunks of BBQ pork, smooth, jello-ey (in the best way) pig trotters, tri-layered suckling pig, and a slept-on soy sauce chicken – all in record time.
Efficiency can often compromise integrity and quality. Not here. Dragon State has perfected the art of ‘siu mei takeaway’, its most popular method of delivery. But that also means as soon as you sit down and place your order with a no-BS BBQ veteran, a rustic ruby plate of fat-capped adult meat candy (say what!?) magically appears before your very eyes – with a miniature saucer of pungent ‘hot mustard’ to cut through it all.
It’s just time for you to abracadabra it down your gullet.
All these bozos online saying that Dragon State Kitchen staff are rude have never been to a Southie Dunkin’ at 6:45 in the morning. Zip it and eat your goddamn delicious siu mei.
Pale Ale Travel Tip: Make sure to check out my full write-up breaking down why Dragon State Kitchen is a contender for my top siu mei restaurant in the city. I can’t get enough of the place and have tossed back enough pork here to give a cardiologist a heart attack (the other way around, huh?).
華勝燒鵝 (Wah Sing Roast Goose)
Website, Address, & Details: No Website
Wah Sing Roast Goose (華勝燒鵝) is my certified ‘siu mei ‘sleeper’ on this list that I’d pit against most of the big boys (and gals) any days of the week. An unassuming spot positioned between Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun, I only discovered it on one of my weekly ‘constitutions’ by Soho House, where I occasionally stand outside while hurling expletives at the sanctimonious, self-anointed social elites of the city.
I’m kidding. Please let me in. I’m lonely.
Wah Sing is far from the most ‘viral’ char siu haunt in the city but I prefer it that way. Remember that just because there isn’t a line out the door doesn’t mean that it isn’t a top-tier roast meat restaurant. Sometimes, it’s just the luck of the draw when it comes to ‘going viral’ or attracting notoriety and international (Little Red Book?) acclaim.
Expect affordable, succulent, mahogany birds and pigs, with meat-to-fat ratios so zeroed in on, you’d swear it was roasted by that one Brazilian hunk of a plastic surgeon on Dr. 90210. Oh and the ‘warm up’ Chinese soup you receive before the golden goose arrives, lou fo tong (a simmered vegetable and meat broth with a hunk), might be one of the best in the game.
Pale Ale Travel Fact: The average Hong Kong resident eats siu mei once every four days. I think my average might sit around 1 in every 2.5 days. But then again, my name is Big Body. How could you not love a city where this is the norm?
Chukfo Taipan
Website, Address, & Details: No Website
- Location:
- Wan Chai, Triangle St, 2-3號地下3號舖 Wah Yan Court – Primary Shop
- 地下61+62號舖, 廣場商場, Tai Po Plaza Block 1 Yee Fu Court, On Tai Rd, Tai Po – New Territories Shop
If I had to ‘elect’ any one area as the ‘siu mei capital of Hong Kong’, it would be the densely populated, commercial district, with overflowing ‘Old Hong Kong charm Wan Chai. At the heart of (and driving) this proclamation is Chukfo Taipan – a chaotic, deified Cantonese BBQ institution firing up what many consider to be the best ‘Four Treasures’ rice in the game.
Four Treasures rice is a popular siu mei combo platter which typically comes with char siu, poached chicken, smoked red sausage, and half a salted egg (over rice, of course). However, I’m all about the Benjamins and roast goose baby, so why not take it up a notch?
For a true encapsulation of siu mei culture and delectability, opt for the roast goose with Four Treasures rice at Chukfo Taipan, which sees an assemblage of char siu, roasted pork belly, smoked red sausage, and a salted half egg compete for second fiddle to a generous serving of polished, juicy goose. It’s in the name after all.
Chukfo Taipan is a contender (next to Kam’s) for my top roast goose on this list (and in Hong Kong), which is why I almost always order an entire bird for myself, with a side of char siu and an iced lemon tea to wash it all down.
Sweet, smoky, tender, refined, and classic. What more could you ask for from your siu mei?
Pale Ale Travel Tip: While many love to dip their siu mei (especially roast goose) in the accompanying sweet and tangy plum sauce, this Big Body prefers to either (a) eat it straight up (siu mei should be able to stand alone on its merits), or (b) give a light dousing in Chinese hot mustard (as I do love to snarl).
Sun Kwai Heung BBQ Food
Tell me that ain’t sexy.
Website, Address, & Details: No Website
Sun Kwai Heung is like Jeff Bridges in a Coen Brothers Western picture, it’s ‘True Grit’. I’d say it’s less of a restaurant and more of a walk-up, al fresco roast meat butcher and takeaway, that just so happens to have two small tables inside.
But don’t let that discourage you. You did make the trek all the way out to the far east of Hong Kong Island after all, which isn’t that bad when you take a step back and remember how long you used to commute every day back home).
Sun Kwai Heung is the last of a dying siu mei breed, as it’s one of the few remaining “meating places” in the city to use a sticky maltose glaze on its meats before roasting. Maltose glazing is a time-honored technique, one that has, for better or worse, been replaced by a more affordable (and ubiquitous) honey glaze.
The reason? Preparation and labor.
Sun Kwai Heung’s 40-plus-year history is built on spending that little bit extra skrilla to uphold tradition and authentic taste via a malted sugar glaze (which is thicker, stickier, and more difficult to heat than honey). What results is a more vigorous permeation and glossy caramelization of the meat in the roasting process, meaning the term ‘meat candy’ is more appropriate than you might initially think.
To experience the true ‘old school’ of siu me excellence in Hong Kong, Sun Kwai Heung is your spot.
Pale Ale Travel Note: When locating Sun Kwai Heung, Google Maps may place it where Kingwell Café is but it isn’t! Simply walk around the corner to Kam Yuen Lane and it will be right there, roast meats dangling in all their maltose-y glory.
Kam’s Roast Goose/Kamcentre Roast Goose
Website, Address, & Details: https://www.krg.com.hk/!en/index.html
- Location:
- Kam’s Roast Goose: 226 Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai
- Kamcentre Roast Goose: 1st floor, South China Athletic Association, 88Caroline Hill Rd, Causeway Bay
Kam’s Roast Goose is the top siu mei restaurant spot on this list, in my humble opinion, for two things: (1) roast goose, (2) and ‘fatty char siu’.
The first shouldn’t be any surprise since it’s in the name. However, what many people don’t know is the several cuts of char siu that are explicitly laid out on the menu, the fatty char siu being the equivalent of heart-stopping, caramelized, meat cubes.
Fatty char siu is in a league of its own looks and taste-wise. However, you have to be in the right mood.
Every siu mei restaurant allows you to customize the ratio of fat to meat that you’d like. However, Kam’s just blows right past any sort of modesty and allows you to receive your meat in a slurpable, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth meat form. I generally prefer a healthy balance between fat and fibrous meat when I order char siu.
However, occasionally, I love to burn it all down and prepare for my later years when I’m too lazy to put in my dentures.
Kam’s is to Hong Kong’s siu mei landscape as Federer is to tennis, a pioneer who not only defined a new elevated level of the game but refined and upraised contemporaries along the way.
In fact, it’s an offshoot of the venerable, genuine goose merchants of Yung Kee, meaning there are over 70 years of siu mei reps behind each bite. Even Malcolm Gladwell doesn’t have the bandwidth to write a book chronicling the hours, sweat, and tears put into that.
And, Kam’s is doing things with a bit of a flare, using a gas oven rather than traditional charcoal to cook their birds, resulting in a ‘cleaner’, less greasy bird with a far juicier interior.
Is there any surprise why it earned a Michelin star within its first several months of opening? Consistency is key
Pro Tip: The most popular Kam’s Roast Goose location is on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai. However, what if I told you that you could toss back fatty chunks of char siu and rich, juicy legs of roast goose in between bowling frames or golf swings? That’s right, there’s a Kam’s location in the South China Athletic Association, which you can read more about in my article ‘Roast Goose & Bowl’.
The China Club
Website, Address, & Details: No Website
First, the “members only” China Club isn’t off limits to the public, so make sure to read my post explaining how to reserve the China Club’s Shanghai and Cantonese restaurant along with what you should wear and what you can expect when dining here!
The China Club is where you go when you want to throw on your finest blazer or midi-length dress and get the full ‘retro-chic Old Shanghai’ and Cantonese dim sum dining experience. It’s not just Cantonese BBQ, it’s a full-on experience and time portal back to an old Chinese tea house, one where satirical National Security Law-pushing posters of old Chinese propaganda and prominent Communist czars, hand-pulled noodle virtuosos, and art-deco elegance encircle you.
Waiters in neatly ironed white tops and pressed black pants dodge, duck, dip, dive, and…dodge across the dining room, gracefully placing bamboo baskets of dim sum favorites, bowls of Lanzhou noodles, and, of course, siu mei staples before you. The menu runs deeper than that one Romanian cave in the movie The Cave (I am very creative, yes…) but siu mei is always a given. It’s mandatory.
On top of indispensable Cantonese BBQ mains like roast goose, char siu, roasted suckling pig, and roasted pork belly. The China Club serves up several other lesser-known siu mei and barbecue favorites like honey-flavored roasted eel and soy sauce chicken. On a good day, you may even be able to find the ever-so-elusive orange cuttlefish, so make sure to ask!
The China Club’s honey-glazed char siu is undoubtedly one of the best in the city, equal parts fatty and fibrous, and also highly customizable depending on what you’re feeling for the day.
A major note I’d make about the roasted pork belly (siu yuk) is that it is almost cracker-thin. You don’t so much get the pronounced three layers of meat, fat, and crispy skin that you do at other siu mei haunts but it is a much-welcomed departure and complements the overall ordering volume and cadence of the restaurant – which is one where you order and share a handful of dishes.
Yung’s Tangerine Peel Roast Goose
Website, Address, & Details: No Website
- Location: 135 Lockhart Rd, Wan Chai
Yung’s Tangerine Peel Roast Goose might be a sneaky contender for the top roasted pork belly (siu yuk) of all the siu mei spots on the list thanks to its expertly drawn tri-part fat, meat, and crispy skin framework.
I know, I know, I try not to play favorites. But there are several restaurants on this list that I just so happen to gravitate to more frequently than others. It may be because Yung’s is less than a 5-minute walk away from my office in Wan Chai, so convenience plays a big factor for me as well.
Yung’s Tangerine Peel Roast Goose, as its name suggests, is a chain of siu mei restaurants spread across Hong Kong that specializes in goose that is marinated with aged finely ground (citrusy) tangerine peels. This inevitably leads to a deeper, richer, citrusy, and slightly bitter aroma in the goose, along with crispier, more aromatic skin.
A general rule of thumb that I live by is that for any siu mei restaurant that has ‘roast goose’ in the name, you need to order it. It’s as if the answer to Jeopardy’s Daily Doubles were gently whispered to you in the green room. You’d be a bozo not to act on that knowledge.
Come for the roast goose, stay for the siu yuk. That’s my motto at Yung’s. But, if you do also happen to find yourself taste buds deep in their ‘Five Treasures’ combo (which is actually ‘four treasures’ plus a preeminent siu mei protein like goose or pork belly), or any of their classic cha chaan teng-style dishes like tomato macaroni soup with beef or curry pork chop with rice, I think you’ll walk away equally happy and full.
If you’re over in Kowloon, I highly recommend heading to their Yau Ma Tei branch, which just shows up as ‘Yung’s Roast Goose Restaurant’. It’s my go-to siu mei stop before a day at Sneaker Street in Mong Kok.
發達叉燒 FAT J Char Siu
Website, Address, & Details: https://flowerdrum.com.hk/
- Location: Rialto Building, Landale St, Wan Chai
I’m usually hesitant about including the ‘new kid on the block’ in these types of posts as time really does tell all. But I would kick myself later if I didn’t include Fat J Char Siu in Wan Chai.
Further, Fat J isn’t so much the ‘new kid on the block’ as it is the product of a 15-year friendship between titans in the Chinese and Cantonese cuisine game, Chef J, aka ‘the Char Siu God’, from ‘East Seafood Lake Restaurant’ in Quarry Bay, and Chef Nansen Lai of the upmarket Cantonese restaurant ‘Flower Drum’ in Sheung Wan.
My first time visiting Fat J, I was seated almost immediately, sharing a table with a Hong Konger who also was there for the first time. It took a considerable amount of time before either of us received the menu, even after asking several times. Then his food also came out roughly 20 minutes before mine. We ordered the same thing.
I was a tad frustrated about this but as he stood up with an empty plate, I asked, ‘Is it worth the wait?’. I was ready to leave. He assured me that it was some of the best char siu he’s eaten. So I persevered and several minutes later, this beauty was placed before me.
He wasn’t lying.
Specializing in thick-cut honey-glazed char siu, of course, Fat J Char Siu is by no means a one-trick pony, also offering succulent Maotai soy sauce chicken and a crispy roast goose that just doesn’t quit. It’s high-quality meat that is smoked and caramelized to perfection.
But that’s a given before you even walk in the door at Fat J, as the gold standard is prophesized by the ancient seal script for ‘叉’ (the first character in ‘叉燒’ (‘char siu’) on the shopfront. It’s a deliberate promise to respect tradition, ingredients, craftsmanship, and customers.
And it upholds.
A controversial take I have is that even as a massive rice fan (I’m #TeamRice over #TeamNoodles), I don’t really recommend ordering rice with your siu mei, especially if you want to do a siu mei bang-bang where you hit up several spots in a day (or if you just plan to eat at another spot later in the day). Rice is just filler and I always find it to be average – no matter how fantastic the BBQ spot is.
However, Fat J is the only siu mei restaurant on this list where I fully encourage ordering your char siu with rice. But you have to order it with the two sunny-side-up eggs to break over the rice. It’s simply divine. Creamy, runny, rich, smoky, and filling. Hand-crafted noodles are the other ‘play’ at Fat J and are equally as popular as rice dishes ordered by patrons.
Pale Ale Travel Tip: Stay patient and understanding when you go to Fat J, as it is still working out several kinks and things may be a bit more hectic, with longer wait times than is expected at most siu mei restaurants in Hong Kong. But I assure you, it’s worth it.
Bonus Siu Mei Restaurants in Hong Kong
On top of pork for days, the bird is also the word at Sun Kwai Heung (pictured above).
Do you smell what The Big Body is cooking roasting? It’s more siu mei…obviously. While these next two siu mei restaurants aren’t my top of the top in this relentless roast meat landscape, I still guarantee that you won’t walk away disappointed.
Mong Kee Roast Goose Café
Website, Address, & Details: No Website
- Location: Flora Court, 95 Caine Rd, Mid-Levels
Having popped up in my neighborhood on Caine Road (Mid-Levels) in the not-so-distant past, I always wondered if Mong Kee could walk the siu mei walk or if it was just strategically placed to capitalize on bozo foreigners who couldn’t suss out a quality piece of char siu if it hit them in the face.
While not the best siu mei I’ve ever eaten, it has become a reliable staple on my way back from a long day of work, when I don’t want to have to go slug it out in line at some of the others on the list.
Prices can run slightly higher than at other siu mei restaurants in the city, but that’s no surprise considering it’s located in one of the most expensive areas of Hong Kong (Mid-Levels). Portion sizes are generous, the siu mei is tender, crispy, and juicy, and it gustatorily scratches that meaty, smoky itch you know and crave.
Kingwell Café
Website, Address, & Details: No Website
- Location: Yee Fung St, Chai Wan
I don’t want to start any siu mei wars but after my most recent visit to Sun Kwai Heung, I was drawn in by all the shiny red meats hanging front and center in the window of Kingwell Café, which sits adjacent. So I stopped in for a siu mei bang-bang (back-to-back char siu). It’s also spectacular.
Don’t let the Google reviews throw you for a loop.
I suspect those who enjoy the more floral, lighter sweetness of honey might prefer it to the more intense maltose caramelization found at Sun Kwai Heung. And, it’s a cha chaan teng, which means it’s the best of both worlds.
Hey, Big Body, Baby I Got Your Siu Mei
The late and great ODB sang it best, ‘Hey, dirty, baby I got your siu mei’.
Siu mei is hands down my favorite type of Cantonese cuisine. It’s smoky, it’s sweet, it’s meaty, it’s nostalgic, it’s meaty, and it’s meaty. It sums up why I love Hong Kong. There’s tradition, efficiency, and deliciousness all rolled into one.
You ain’t cool unless you pee your pants and eat siu mei. And if eating siu mei and peeing your pants was cool, then consider me Miles Davis.
If you have any questions about eating or drinking in Hong Kong, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me in the comments or at info@palealetravel.com. I’d also love to hear what your favorite siu mei spots in the city are!
I also provide customized itineraries that suit travelers of all budgets, needs, and wants – inquire about pricing!
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.