Six of the best char siu restaurants in Hong Kong
Char siu - or barbecue pork - is a favourite among Hong Kong foodies, but there’s more to the dish than you might imagine. Bernice Chan and Vanessa Yung found six of the best in the city
Char siu is one of the most popular – and ubiquitous – classic Cantonese dishes. Some like the glossy, salty-sweet roast pork to be soft throughout, while others prefer an exterior with crunchy char to contrast with the tender meat. We polled friends, family and food lovers to find their favourite char siu, getting a mix of high-end and inexpensive places. Here are six of our favourites.
Most tender
Everyone who visits Tin Lung Heen at The Ritz-Carlton knows that one of the must-order dishes is the barbecued Spanish Iberico pork (HK$308). Chinese executive chef Paul Lau Ping-lui says he uses the shoulder because it’s the most tender part of the pig.
To make the marinade, Lau mixes eggs with sugar and salt, then adds diced shallots and ginger. The pork is marinated for 30 minutes and cornstarch is added before it is roasted at a high temperature of 280 degrees Celsius for about eight to 10 minutes to seal in the juices, then the temperature is lowered to 100 degrees for another 10 minutes.
When the char siu is almost done, a mixture of honey and sugar is brushed onto the meat and it’s roasted again at a high temperature for four to five minutes.
We were impressed by how tender the meat was, owing to its marbling. One serving has eight thick slices. Surprisingly, however, the flavour wasn’t very meaty.
