We're back! We're back! And at Yat Lok too!

Yup, we're back! We're sorry it's taken so long but a lot has happened since our last post in 2012. The biggest of which was Jess' return home from London - yay! Life gets a little too busy and we struggled to find the time to blog but we kept saying we'd get back to it and we've finally done it! We may no longer be on opposites of the globe but we still want to share all the great food we eat here in Sydney and on our travels around the world. Our posts won't be so lengthy but hopefully more frequent :)

To continue the theme of returns, this post is about our favourite place to eat goose in Hong Kong - Yat Lok. Because one can't help but return to Yat Lok over and over again just to eat the glorious goose. It's on the Hong Kong Michelin Guide's "Bib Gourmand" list but that's not what took us there. It was Jess who stumbled across it by chance and thought it looked like a place we needed to try. She was right too! So tasty and perfectly cooked, even better if you can get your jaws on a prized goose leg. So tasty that Jack ate there twice in one week on her first ever trip to Hong Kong last year. So tasty that when were in Hong Kong for a week in March we ate there thrice!

It's only a small place in Central so weekday lunchtime gets busy - try to eat outside of these times to avoid the lines and to have a more relaxed meal. Apparently the char siu (bbq pork) is good too but somehow we didn't try it as roast goose trumps pork any day!

Spot the difference - "off peak" vs the tail end of weekday lunch. Love the big chopping board!

Roast goose leg with rice noodles - this is Yat Lok's signature dish and rightly so

Why hello there!

Half a roast goose makes for a delicious lunch for 3

Jess' last goose before leaving Hong Kong - roast goose on rice

Jack's last goose before leaving Hong Kong - goose leg and milk tea - yum!

What: Yat Lok Restaurant
Where: G/F, 34-38 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong (we found exit D2 from Central station the easiest).
When: Mon-Sat 8am-9pm, Sun and pub hols 9am-5:30pm. From what we can tell bbq meats aren't available til 11am.
How much: Roast goose leg with rice noodles $69hkd, less for non-leg pieces.

Chatswood BBQ Kitchen

I love, love, love roast duck. A fact that is known by my family here as well as in Malaysia. So whenever I'm in the neighbourhood I go to Chatswood BBQ Kitchen because they have really good chinese bbq meats. The roast duck is my favourite in Sydney and the other bbq-ed wares are good too.

But a little bit about the place, it's a pretty basic layout and very Hong Kong in style - there's booth tables along the walls, plain chairs and tables in the centre space. The shop front comprises the bbq window where you can watch the bbq-man chopping away dishes of duck/pork with rice for diners and plastic containers of takeaway.

They used to be across the road in a smaller space, but some years ago moved to their current bigger location. Their menu has grown too - in addition to the bbq, noodles and rice dishes there are now dishes for a proper dinner meal, including steamed whole fish (fresh from the tank), mud crabs and more. It all looks tasty too.

The duck is consistently good - lean with glistening skin and moist flesh. I can't speak for others, but this is just the way I like my roast duck. I could never go past it when deciding what to eat until.....

A bbq admirer? 1/4 Roast duck - just look at it...

I think it might have been a year ago (or more, I can't remember) that I saw something new on the menu - "Soaked rice with Shun De fish ball" (順德魚腐泡飯 in Chinese, $10.30). For those who aren't familiar, soaked rice is a dish which is like rice in soup, with meat/seafood/vegies added in. It is so good. The fish soup is full of flavour with a nice milky consistency. In addition to the rice and the (super awesome) Shun De fish balls there's chinese cabbage, diced up mushrooms, zha cai (pickled mustard plant, which gives the soup the teeniest sour notes which I like), wood ear fungus and corn kernels. The Shun De fish balls are really something else - it's soft and soggy in a good way and the pre-frying (when they're made, I think) gives them lots of flavour. Heaven. It's since been my favourite dish at Chatswood BBQ Kitchen.

Soaked rice with Shun De fish balls. a.k.a "heaven"

Oh, I should mention there are other variations of soaked rice and rice noodle too. All come in the milky fish soup. I got a taste of the "Rice noodle and cuttlefish ball and seaweed" ($10). The cuttlefish balls are really soft, yum. The soup is lighter compared to the Shun De one but still flavoursome. Thumbs up, but my heart still belongs to Shun De fish balls.

Rice noodle and cuttlefish ball and seaweed

What: Chatswood BBQ Kitchen
Where: See below for the growing empire

• Chatswood original branch: 306-308 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood 02 9419 6532
• Soon to open Chatswood branch: 426-428 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
• Hurstville branch: 192a Forest Road, Hurstville 02 9580 6881 (only takeaway BBQ from memory, yes I've been there too..)
• Eastwood branch: Shop 32/1 Lakeside Road, Eastwood 02 9874 5508 (not sure if this is BBQ only/takeaway only)

How much: 1/4 duck as a dish costs $10, soaked rice/vermicelli in the $10 range.
Need to know: Dinnertime is VERY busy at Chatswood. I don't know if they take bookings. While I waited in line I think heard a waiter say that if you want crab, you should pre-order.