Joy Hing Roasted Meat Wan Chai

This is post #15, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.

Hong Kong lines don't lie.

If there's a long line outside of a restaurant, chances are its really, really good. Furthermore, if a restaurant has been able to survive in Hong Kong's uber competitive food landscape, you know it's doing something right.

Joy Hing Roasted Meat has been around since the late Qing Dynasty (late 1800's) when it was a family-run business in Guangdong China. The business moved to Hong Kong in the early 1900's and has been running more or less non-stop, with the exception of the period around World War II.

The place is probably one of the most famous roast meat places in all of Hong Kong. The Michelin guide has given it a bib gourmand status, and Anthony Bourdain is a huge fan (publicly hoping that a branch of this famous place would open in his proposed international food market in New York). Local Hong Kongers, via OpenRice (community-supported food rating site), voted Joy Hing as the best restaurant in Wan Chai from 2008-2011 and 2013-2014.

Up until the avian flu scare, the restaurant had maintained its pre-war cooking techniques (for example, meat used to be served medium rare!). The restaurant has since modified its techniques.

I would highly recommend the roast goose and the char siu pork. Both are excellent.

I don't even like duck or goose that much, but I couldn't stop eating this. There's something about their intensely flavorful marinade that's downright addictive.

We got a simple side of vegetables and a few bowls of rice to balance out the meal. They offer a lot more dishes, written in Chinese on the walls.

Unfortunately, since we don't read Chinese that well, we were stuck with pointing, sometimes at dishes that were on other people's tables! We took a photo for future reference. Ha ha, feel free to take a look if you can read Chinese.

Lines are long here, so show up early if you can. We came before 6PM and didn't have to wait too long at all.The place is small, with only 6-7 tables. Don't be surprised if you have to share your table with someone. Our table was used to place dishes coming out of the kitchen, ready to be served. This made it fun because we could at least visually learn what types of dishes people were ordering (mostly roast meats, but occasionally a stir fry or a soup).

All in all, I honestly can't wait to go back. The roast goose was fantastic and the charsiu was very, very good. Thrilled this place is only about a 5-minute walk from my apartment!

Joy Hing Roasted Meat Wan Chai
Block C, G/F
265-267 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai