HK BBQ Master

HK BBQ Master
4651 No 3 Road
Richmond, BC

I know, I know… Those who have read this blog for some time knows about my issues Richmond, specially that of bad drivers and bad parking. However, there are times were we have to just deal with it. In my case, it has to do with Mijune who enthusiastically wrote about Maple Castella, a bakery in Richmond. Being such a dedicated food blogger, I decide to, oh, well, just deal with it. However, as if destiny was not in my side, when I arrived, they mentioned they pumpkin bread so lauded by Mijune wasn’t ready yet and, if I wanted one, I had to come back by around 2:00 p.m. With almost 2 hours to “burn”, the question was… What now? How about lunch? While I could have gone to places nearby, reality is, I wanted something different. OK, in Richmond where about half of the restaurants are Asian, sometimes it is not a matter of different. Instead, it is a matter of finding what puts you above the rest. In the case of HK BBQ Master, I have heard it offers the best Chinese BBQ meats. That was good enough reason…

HK BBQ Master is one of those places that you know it exists because you heard from somebody else or you find it by pure luck. Despite the address is listed as being in No. 3 Road, one of the major arteries in Richmond, you can’t really tell it is there if you were driving on No. 3 Road. Only by going to the parkade of Great Canadian Superstore you would be able to find it. And that is despite of the picture above, which seems to be an exterior sign. Yes, it is, but that sign does not face No. 3 Road but one of the side streets. That begs that odd question: If you are located in a wacky place, how can you sustain your business? The only way would be, of course, because people come back and tell friends/relatives about their goods which would then entice others to go.

And, of course, in this digital age, there are blogs like this and places like DineHere and UrbanSpoon where people provide their feedback. However, when you *brag* about being No. 1, you are either cocky or you are actually the best. Now, while checking DineHere (as they partially suggested), they have a decent rating, but nowhere near #1. So, putting that bragging aside, it was time to put their goodies to the test.

Not sure if this is the Chef Leung as listed but he was doing all the meat chopping.

I wasn’t sure how to proceed when I arrived. There were people seated eating and people queueing up. Are you supposed to queue, make your order and take it to the tables to eat? Or you should sit, wait for service and go from there (as a result, the queue would be for something else). Fortunately, there was a somewhat small sign at the cashier stating that, dine in customers should sit and wait for service. I guess they should place that sign more strategically… Anyway, after seated, I had to wait for a while to provide the menu and take my order. Since I spent some time looking at the menu, I knew what I wanted, but they took their time to check on me. So much for Chinese service – I was expecting them to push me to order right away so I could eat and leave! Heck, because I was seated near the door and there were several open tables, I was asked if I wanted to move there! Oh, how time changes…

For my order, I chose to go all in and that meant three types of meat on rice (and a token piece of green). I was asked if I wanted soup or a side of vegetables. Had I been with somebody else, the vegetable side (in the form of stir fried greens like bok choy) would have been nice. Being by myself… Not necessarily so. OK, I know I need my veggies, can you cut it out! For this order, I chose (top down), BBQ pork, soya chicken and roasted pork.

The BBQ pork was good; however, not necessarily the absolute best I have ever had. It could have used a bit more sweetness and the cuts above were starting to be on the lean side. A bit more of fatty pieces would have worked better. The chicken did not wow me for two reasons: The soy did not really penetrate the meat and I was given mostly white meat. Oh, c’mon, why you didn’t ask me… Oh, wait, there is an additional charge if I want a specific meat cut? Hmmmmmmm…. But, putting that aside, the chicken was mostly texture which was enhanced by the ginger/oil combination on top, otherwise it would have been borderline “chicken”. Finally, the roasted pork… ah, pork…! In this case, it had a nice combination of fat and meat, plus the skin provided a good crunchy tone to the pork. Eaten with some rice and soy sauce, the later which has some flavour from the dripping fat of the meat and we have an almost complete mal.

I was quite satisfied with my meal, despite the meats not being perfect. However, this is one of those meals were, unless it is practically inedible, I find more good points (some not necessarily mentioned but assumed, not to mention you should try it yourself) than issues. Why, because, in a way, this is something I can call comfort food. And, from a Cantonese/HK perspective, what was served is good eats. Now, I just wished they had goose…

Tagged under: BBQ • Chinese • Richmond