Hong Kong Wanderings – Yat Lok BBQ and Tsim Chai Kee Noodle

With an unburdened day in Hong Kong, I decided to hit up some of Central’s highlights. First up was Yat Lok, a hole-in-the-wall barbecue meat shop on Stanley Street. The shop is well-known for its roast goose, which hang one delicious bird after another in the front window, I ordered roast goose on rice with a cold milk tea. The meat was incredibly juicy, but what stood out was the skin, a blend of crisp and fatty, infused with a mystery mix of spices. The skin had an excellent smokiness, hints of anise seed, a subtle sweetness as well, comparable to a dialed-down Peking duck. The other stop (yes, two lunches – stop your judgments) was a shrimp wonton noodle place called Tsim Chai Kee on Wellington St, a ten-minute walk from Yat Lok in the direction of Sheung Wan.A very straightforward bowl, yes, but the noodles were nicely made and properly cooked (on the harder side, more akin to thin ramen), and the shrimp wontons were nice and plump, chock full of half-chopped shrimp. Although it did not come as a surprise, the heavy-handed MSG use was my only gripe. Eat the noodles and wontons, but unless you have a high tolerance or affinity for MSG, lead the soup alone. Yat Lok
G/F, 34-38 Stanley Street, Central Hong Kong
+852 2524 3882