4D Hong Kong Foodie Trip: Joy Hing's Roasted Meat, Wan Chai
Do you know that other dim sum, Hong Kong is very famous for its delicious roasted meat? The meat used for cooking is usually pork, goose and chicken. This Cantonese style of cooking meat is so popular in Hong Kong you can basically find a Cantonese roasted meat restaurant at every corner of the island. I had visited Hong Kong for three times before and yet, I have never purposely done any research to find out where to have roasted meat rice in this country. However, this time around, I want to try out one of the popular roasted meat restaurants in Hong Kong, Joy Hing's Roasted Meat in Wan Chai. The location is so good as it is located within walking distance from our hotel, Butterfly on Morrison.
The restaurant was quite packed when we reached the place on Friday evening. Do you know that sometimes waiting for a table in restaurant in Hong Kong can be a bit daunting? Personally speaking, I find that Hong Kong is not really a friendly country in terms of services (especially if you compare them to its neighbouring country, Japan). Most of the times tourists are being scolded here and there especially when they are kinda lost. For example, on my 2nd visit to Hong Kong, my friends and I were scolded by a taxi driver because we did not know the way from the ferry terminal to our hotel. Uhh, excuse me, we are tourists after all, how do you expect us to know the way to our hotel? Geez. Same with dining at local restaurant (especially cha chaan teng), tourists are occasionally getting scolded for (1) don't know what to order or (2) sitting at the table for too long (usually if you are done with your food). So yeah, it was kinda daunting when I found out that Joy Hing's Roasted meat does not provide English menu. Our Mandarin is kinda nor-here-nor-there too. Oh no, are we about to get scolded?
Thankfully, the restaurant boss knows a bit of broken English. He asked us where do we come from and offers us to order a mix roasted meat platter. Since it's way easier to just agree to whatever he offer us (to be honest, mixed meat sounds good too), we accepted his offer and just patiently wait for our order at our table.
All the meats at Joy Hing's Roasted Meat have been pre-cooked (or in this case, pre-roasted) so you don't have to wait for a long time to enjoy a plate of roasted meat on white rice. Don't they look so good?
In Hong Kong, the roasted meat is commonly served with a plate of warm rice. The garlic and onions goes well with the chili sauce provided on the table. However, do note that the chili sauce in Hong Kong can be a tad oily. The boss gives us a plate of mixed roasted meat consist of char siew (BBQ pork), roasted chicken and roasted goose. I love char siew the most and Joy Hing's rendition of roasted meat does not disappoint. The seasoning given on the roasted meat is just right too without it's being too salty or too plain. The whole meal costs 120 HKD for three of us. Hmm, not exactly cheap I suppose.
Oh right, since we are now full from the yummy roasted meat rice, it's time for some travelling tips. If you don't want to lug your luggage all the way to hotel from Hong Kong International Airport, you should try taking the Airprot Hotelink Limousine. At the price of HKD 150, the airport bus will take you to the nearest stop possible to your hotel. Sometimes it is really not possible for the bus to stop right at the door step of your hotel, which happened in our case. The bus could not stop in front of the lobby entrance of Butterfly on Morrison so we have to stop at the nearby hotel, South Pacific. I am not sure if the price is the same for any location in Hong Kong, but I suppose if you stay at Disneyland Resort, the price may be different since it's supposedly located nearer to the airport. The airport hotelink limousine departs every 30 minutes and you will be ushered from the waiting area to the bus by the staff, so you don't have to worry about getting lost/ cannot find where the bus is at Hong Kong International Airport.
At first I was having a reservation about how big the triple bedroom would be. After all, hotels in Hong Kong are notorious for its small size (well, Japan is not any better in this aspect). Turns out, the triple bedroom is quite spacious enough for the three of us. We even managed to open all our luggages on the floor although I suppose that's partly because R5 only brought her cabin-size baggage to Hong Kong. She was totally shocked at the fact that I don't own any cabin-size baggage. Hahaha oh well, you don't have to have it all in life, right? If you are wondering how the bedroom fits three single beds, this is how the arrangement is. Two single beds on this side of the room with the wall beside the bed on the left side is actually where the shower room is.
The other single bed is placed directly opposite the bed on the right side. As the air-conditioner is located right on top of the wardrobe, this single bed can be a bit on the cooler side. So if you can't really stand cold wind, you should sleep on one of the beds at the other side. Complimentary water is provided and there is basic amenities such as toothbrush, hairdryer, etc. The bedroom is clean and wifi is available in the room. So yeah, we are happy with our stay at Butterfly on Morrison. :)
Joy Hing's Roasted Meat is located at:
Chong Hing Building, G/F
265 - 267 Hennessy Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 9.30AM - 10PM
Closed on Sunday
Butterfly on Morrison is located at:
39 Morrison Hill Road, Causeway Bay
Nearest MTR Station:
Causeway Bay (around 10 minutes walk from Times Square exit)