Roasted Pork Belly, Crispy Roast Duck, BBQ Pork - A Hong Kong BBQ Journey. [BONUS: Amazing Crackling Roasted Suckling Pig!] - Ruby BBQ, Ho Kee, Hop Woo, Sam Woo, New Duong Son BBQ, Lien Hoa BBQ, Noodle Boy, Monterey Palace [Thoughts + Pics]

@Chowseeker1999 Its really more like a chili oil and very good. I have a ritual with the wontons; place wonton on soup spoon, apply a tiny dollop of chili add 2-3 drops of red vinegar take a bite and repeat. My SO thinks I’m nuts… :laughing:

Sergio had more precise timing and consistency resulting in firmer noodles and wontons.

Sounds like its time for another visit to HK! Mooncake season just around the corner… perfect time to sample the awesome Fook Lam Moon mooncakes.

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Are you willing to share your CH ‘name’?

Seems so long ago…

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Hi @beefnoguy,

Thanks for the thoughtful post! :slight_smile: There is truth and wisdom in your reply.

  • Competition / price wars: I remember reading about this on our old board and from some of our SGV friends. I remember seeing signs at Elite of all places (which used to be considered one of the better HK / Cantonese Seafood restaurants) advertising $1.99 Lobster or something like that. Ridiculous.

  • Re: Instagraming - Yah when Smorgasburg first opened up, @PorkyBelly took one for the team trying out that trendy Rain Drop Dessert place. It had the longest lines (more than Nicole Rucker’s Pies, Guerilla Tacos, Porridge & Puffs and everything else (which were far better)), because it was so Instagram friendly.

The last time we went to Sam Woo BBQ in Focus Plaza it was about 60% full, with only older people inside. Just a couple stores down was some random Boba Tea shop completely full with another 20 - 30 people outside lounging around taking photos and hanging out.

In the end I guess we were glad to have tried out a bunch of these places hoping to find some hidden gems. :slight_smile: If you are in the mood for crispy Roasted Suckling Pig and don’t have something like that up north, then Monterey Palace’s version was nice.

BTW, since Ming Kee didn’t have any for sale, where do you usually go for delicious Roast Pork Belly? Thanks.

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Hi @beefnoguy,

Fascinating and thanks for the informative post! :slight_smile: I had no idea about this Hong Kong style Ja Jeung Meen (which looks totally different from the Taiwanese and Northern style Ja Jiang Mian (Noodles with Soybean Paste) that we’ve tried).

Since you asked, we’ll make sure to drive out and try this and report back. :wink:

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Okay, I keep forgetting you all go back so far. :slight_smile: Sorry, Ipse!

Such fantastic work, @Chowseeker1999! Now I want roast pork!

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You should give Moon House in West LA a try. Though they don’t have a window display, they do serve BBQ Pork, Roast Duck and Peking Duck.

I, do, however, want to get your opinion on the BBQ Pork served at Paul’s Kitchen over by the Fashion District in SE DTLA. Their BBQ Pork is unique in it’s flavor and color, and I’ve enjoyed eating it ever since i was a kid back in the 70s. They used to make a good Roast Duck, but not these days. My family always say that it’s no longer as flavorful, and the duck seems to be older duck as the meat is rather tough & chewy…

Hi @bulavinaka,

Ah I see. Yah I’m not sure the Roast Duck would hold up well with transporting back to the Westside unfortunately.

Hi @Sgee,

Thanks for the tip on the chili oil and red vinegar! I’ll try that mixture next time. :wink:

I’ve never been to Fook Lam Moon (I just Googled it). Looks fancy! Besides the Mooncakes, how’s the rest of the food at the restaurant? Thanks.

Thanks @attran99. :slight_smile: I’d be curious to see what you think of Ruby BBQ and Monterey Palace’s Roast Pork Belly the next time you’re in the area. :slight_smile: I know now that when we’re in Little Saigon, we’ll be glad to stop by New Duong Son BBQ again. :grin:

@Chowseeker1999 Haha funny you should ask, esp. on this thread. FLM is my current benchmark for suckling pig! Here’s the thread of that trip a couple years ago.

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I’m going to be doing that with all dumplings! Thanks for a great idea.

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i’m actually sitting in ohio with my 95 year old dad (b-day was yesterday) who i used to watch air dry his roast ducks in the basement. tied off the legs and used a bike pump with ball inflation needle to use air to separate the skin from the meat. that prompted me to do the same when roasting chickens by stuffing onion in between the skin and the breast. while that produced mixed results, those onions slow cooked in chicken fat came out awfully sweet.

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Thanks @LAFoodiePanda. :slight_smile: I have bookmarked your recommendation. I’ll try to stop by the next time we’re in the area.

I have a recollection that someone, (back in the Chowhound-when-it-looked-like-a-mimeo days) once proposed that a multi-cityBBQ duck shoot-out be organized; and here Chowseeker1999 has shouldered this Herculean task alone! What a hero!
Gonna have to hit Ruby’s BBQ.

My own (2nd hand) duck story is of Cam the Man’s effort to make BBQ duck in his Chicago apartment, drying the skin with a hairdryer…

Wow!

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I think you and I share many opinons being that I am of the Cantonese community its a disgrace as to how our cuisine is not upheld to higher standards in America while Sichuan food gets more recognition now.

I also blame it on current immigration patterns, less Cantonese people are migrating here and its more Mandarin speaking people with more money so the demographics are shifting.

While I have respected your opinion in the past this time you are dead wrong. Cantonese cuisine is probably the greatest of all regional Chinese cuisines. Maybe the Cantonese food you have tried in America makes you think that but if you’re joking I don’t find it funny.

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Update on suckling pig. No go. We called Thursday for Saturday afternoon pick up. Monterey Palace wanted cash for the order which is fine. What didn’t work for us was the requirement for a cash deposit up front. We couldn’t make it out to SGV during the week to drop off a deposit. I asked if they would take payment and a $50 “catering” or “service” charge via credit card. The person on the phone would not bend. “Cash deposit - cash only.”

We ended up driving out to Ruby B.B.Q. for the pork belly and duck. Pork belly was well prepared as usual (but on the salty side). The duck was serviceable as usual ( skin was not crisp but the bird was flavorful through and through).

Just a heads-up. Ruby is obviously a known quantity in the SGV. We got there a little before 4PM- I usually try to hit up the BBQ places earlier. They had about 7-8 pounds of pork belly and 5 ducks left. We ordered the largest remaining piece (about 4 1/2 pounds) and two ducks. By the time we left with our order, only one duck was left. So go as early as logistically as possuble.

Now that we know about the cash issue, we will be more prepared next time.

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Hi @bulavinaka,

Thanks for the update. Bummer on the cash deposit and having to deliver it first up front. I think they might’ve been burned by cancellations one too many times? We had our friend from Hong Kong call in our table reservation and suckling pig (speaking Cantonese), and our visit was from a couple months ago, and we didn’t have to leave any deposit. Perhaps they got burned by people flaking out?

Glad you liked Ruby BBQ again. :slight_smile: Bummer about the duck (when we had it at the restaurant immediately) the skin had a very slight crispness. Were you able to sneak in a bite before your drive home? :wink:

I was hoping that my wife calling in the order at Monterey Palace would help - she’s fluent in Cantonese - nope. Padding the order with a $50 convenience charge offer didn’t move them either. You may be right about them getting burned.

The duck tasted fine. I didn’t get a bite but did get a peak and a quick feel (that doesn’t sound right). The skin felt a little soft. Again, it was already 4PM - about the same time as the last couple of times we went - so maybe getting the duck earlier might have helped? Don’t know. Still, everyone was happy with the food. Son loves duck all different ways, so he his most common utterances were, “Oooh!,” “Ahhh!,” and “Yum!”

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