Hong Kong City BBQ

Reviews

Name: Alan Posner

Occupation: Insurance Salesman

Lives In: Parkland

Restaurant Pick: Hong Kong BBQ

Reviewed Hong Kong BBQ: September 11th, 2009

I have been going to Hong Kong City BBQ for almost 9 years. It closed for several years due to a family tragedy. When it reopened last year, I was overjoyed. The old Chef is the current owner so the quality of the food never suffered. In fact, I believe that it is now better than ever.

Upon entering this rather plain free standing restaurant, my eyes are drawn to the glass case that contains hanging BBQ ducks, pork and ribs. They are ordered often and are replaced promptly. Not many local Chinese restaurants barbeque their food in the traditional way. HKC never fails to deliver.

My party consisted of myself, my 13 year old son, Noah and four of my friends. The staff as always greeted us warmly and brought us to a table that could accommodate our party. My son, my friend Craig and I were given the reigns, so to speak. We were entrusted to order for the table. We each have our favorite dishes, and we proceeded to order in the neighborhood of 30 dishes, every item had to be ordered times 2 or 3 due to the size of our group. We ordered a half duck and an order of the deliciously spiced BBQ ribs. The duck and ribs arrived first. Each was chopped into pieces that allowed us to pick them up with chopsticks, the utensil of choice. The duck had a beautiful dark color, consistent with the style of BBQ and the crisp skin with moist dark meat. A thin layer of fat between the skin and duck meat added both flavor and textural contrast. The ribs were also cooked in the same fashion. These are not the spare ribs with duck sauce that passed for Chinese food in my youth. This is what ribs were meant to taste like.

What happened next can only be described as heavenly, dozens of dishes started arriving at our table one after another and many at once. The chopsticks were flying, as was the conversation. Our table was filled with questions, answers, laughter and the rigueur slurping.

Chicken feet in black bean sauce is a traditional favorite of some, spurned by most, fatty and gelatinous, this treat can look like ET pointing to his home planet. Suck and spit - repeat. Pork Sui Mei are best described a little pasta purses filled with a meaty mixture of flavor overflowing at the top, steamed to perfection. Do not miss this dish.

Har Gow are steamed shrimp dumplings, its crystalline wrapping is more translucent that the Sui Mei, revealing the mysterious shrimp filling inside. The shrimp is chopped and seasoned, yet still offers some “bite” when chewed.

Crispy shrimp and fried shrimp balls allows the fryers to get into the act. The result is golden and crunchy on the outside, very hot inside. The sweet shrimp filling gives off an alluring bouquet. These are served with mayonnaise, I have no idea why, neither does the staff. For me it’s always “hold the mayo”.

Chive pancake is amazing. Different than the flat cakes in NYC, these are little pillows of meat loaded with chives and wrapped in a pastry skin. The bright and fresh taste of the herbs, combined with the crusty pan fried exterior is other worldly. Soup dumplings are wonton skins with a meat filling; the skins are made into little balloons and filled with chicken broth then steamed. Placed on a spoon these gems when nibbled release their liquid center, yet another mind blowing contrast of textures and flavors.

At every Dim sum restaurant that I have eaten at, Asian families always order mustard greens, maybe they know something, and we also ordered them. Chopped and steamed, at Hong Kong City the preparation is simple yet good. The green vegetable is a welcome reprieve from the pastas and fried foods. On weekends there are special offerings.

Amongst this weekend’s treats was a shrimp paste filled, taquito sized fried roll. Inside was an incredibly creamy paste with a pleasant shrimp taste. This is just a small selection of the dim sum offered at Hong Kong City. They also have a more “traditional” menu available. Neither I, nor my guests have ever been disappointed at Hong Kong City; in fact, we have enticed many converts to give this mode of eating a try. They always come back for more, and so shall I...so should you.

Name: Don Bailey

Occupation: Flooring Retailer

Lives In: Miami

Restaurant Pick: Casa Bella

Reviewed Hong Kong City BBQ: September 4th, 2009

My meal was ample and flavorful, and I’d recommend it to friends. The food was as good as any restaurant that I’ve tried in New York’s Chinatown. Anyone who enjoys quality Chinese food will love this restaurant. The menu is so diverse that the biggest problem was choosing what favorite dish you wanted to try. The attentive staff made us feel special, and the shrimp dumplings were the best I have ever tasted. It is nice to find a Chinese restaurant like you would find in a San Francisco or New York Chinatown right here, in South Florida.

Name: Seemee Chan

Occupation: Preschool Director

Lives In: Coral Springs

Restaurant Pick: The Field Pub and Eatery

Reviewed Hong Kong City BBQ: September 10th, 2009

At first, I was very reluctant to try Hong Kong City BBQ since it reopened. I usually wait to go to a Chinese restaurant until the rumor mills in the Chinese community tell my parents about the quality of the food. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Upon arrival, I noticed the renovations – new carpet, wall paint, light fixtures, and a new floor plan made the restaurant feel more modern and updated. I was excited when I saw the extensive dim sum menu. It had all of my favorites: mixed fried dumpling, pan-fried chive dumplings, glutinous red bean cake, deep-fried shrimp, turnip pudding cake, sticky rice, egg custard tart, and something I can only identify by picture. Only 2 out of 12 dishes were unsatisfactory. The sticky rice was a little too dry, and the cruller wrapped in rice flour paste was not fresh. The beef and pickled vegetable dish my parents ordered was well seasoned and tasty. The food arrived quickly, and our server was great. Each dim sum dish was $3-3.50 per plate – a steal for such delicious treats! One test I do for Chinese restaurants are the condiment jar and bottle test. If the containers are sticky, grimy, or outright dirty, I don’t come back. Hong Kong City BBQ passed the test! I’ll be back on a Sunday with my family to try the other dim sum items!

Restaurant Information