On the hunt for the best roast goose in Hong Kong
KARLA: Eager to go on a hunt for the best roast goose in Hong Kong, we were told to try Yatlok on Stanley Road in Central. The next day, we arrived at Yatlok for lunch, only to find out that it was closed.
We walked on towards Yung Kee in Wellington Road to try and see if it was as good as it used to be. But we found ourselves stopping outside a hole-in-the wall on Stanley Road called Lin Wo Roasted Pork Restaurant. As usual, our eyes did the ordering for us and we ended up over-ordering. We had roasted goose, suckling pig, a combination plate of soy chicken and crispy roast pork or lechon Macau, plus of course some vegetables for a balanced meal. The restaurant seemed popular with the locals. Surrounding tables were filled with a mix of diners such as families, construction workers and, well, us—hungry tourists.
MILLIE: We walked around Central after lunch and decided to try and get a table at the Landmark Cafe on Queen’s Road for dessert and coffee since we were meeting up with my friend Nancy. We were quite lucky as it was still early, only to find out that the place had a time limit and that we had to vacate after a maximum of two hours. It is one of our favorite go-to places in Hong Kong, known for its lobster dishes such as Lobster Linguine, Lobster Risotto, Lobster Bisque, Boston Lobster Salad, and an interesting Lobster and Seafood Laksa. We were still quite full from the roastings at lunch, so we ordered desserts for sharing. I had the mango napoleon, light and not too sweet, and Jharvis had the molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.
KARLA: We were invited to dinner by Auntie Nancy’s family at the Gloucester Luk Kwok Hotel in Wanchai. It was established in 1933 and refurbished in 1989. It is famous for its char siu and lobster vermicelli. The char siu was very tasty, moist and tender. It’s a pity that this was the first dish that was served to us because I only got two pieces. I didn’t know what else was coming, so I didn’t want to get full right away. I even skipped the rice. We also had more roast goose, but unlike the others we had during our trip, this had a very thin skin and layer of fat, which is good. It didn’t give such an oily mouthfeel. We ordered chicken feet soup, with ginger and peanuts, which were served separately from the broth. Something as simple as scrambled egg with minced meat and onions was one of my favorite dishes of the evening. If that was the only thing served that evening, I would have it with a bowl of steamed rice.
The star of the dinner, however, was the lobster and vermicelli dish with a white sauce made from the lobster stock. The vermicelli was pan-fried, as thin as a pancake but with a crisp exterior. It was delicious! We’re definitely adding this to the list to go back to for next time. We also had sweet-and-sour pork and steamed lapu-lapu, which is such a staple for Cantonese cuisine.
For dessert, we were served a goji berry and osmanthus flower jelly, which was a very interesting combination. The flowers also added texture and fragrance to the dessert.
MILLIE: We were treated to a farewell lunch by Nancy and Helen at the Imperial Treasure on Leighton St. in Causeway Bay. We had a grand feast with the fine dim sum selections, notably the giant steamed dumpling with dried scallop in superior soup!
Other dim sum delights were the steamed crispy rice roll with shrimp, which I had never tried before, baked pineapple bun with barbecue pork, deep fried glutinous dumpling, pan-fried turnip cake, steamed salted egg yolk layered cake, deep-fried yam puff, steamed beef ball with vegetable and the usual trio of hakau, siew mai and siew pao.
It was quite an enjoyable short vacation and although I didn’t get to go on the ferry boat ride, I was happy just the same, knowing I can always come back soon!