August 13, 2019

Tai Koo HK Roast's New and Improved Char Siu

With travelling, what's always good is that you get to experience the local cuisine of a specific place; and Hong Kong has a rich cuisine that can't be missed. You must agree with me that Chinese or Hong Kong food is one of the most popular and delicious dishes in the world. I bet most, if not all, countries have their little China town where you can get these tasty grubs.




When I visited Hong Kong, I enjoyed the local food especially the ones that we tried from hole in the wall restaurants and from the food counters at Wellcome as they are really tasty and affordable. Plus those places are just blocks away from where we stayed in Causeway Bay. I would love to go back to HK just for the food and Disneyland of course!

Unfortunately, I have no plans of travelling to HK anytime soon (but we’ll never know though). But the great thing is that in Manila, you can find places that offer authentic Hong Kong cuisine. If you’re into the HK roast food (which I am), you will surely enjoy Taikoo HK Roast. The restaurant derived its name from the private residential development in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. If you’ve been to HK, you will also find this name quite familiar because it is one of the stations on the Island Line of the Hong Kong MTR system.




I’ve never been to Taikoo when we were in Taiwan as the farthest we got was in Causeway Bay and it’s still a few stations away from east of Causeway Bay. I’ve been to Taikoo HK Roast in Podium Mall though. Last weekend I went there with some foodie friends to try their new and improved char siu, which is an ancient Cantonese pork-roasting technique featuring long strips of meat marinated in a spicy-sweet sauce.




Tai Koo HK Roast is owned by Mark Wang, along with his partners; Jose Magsaysay Jr., founder of Potato Corner; Marvin Agustin, actor and owner of Sumosam and several other restaurant brands and Kelvin Alibarbar, president of KJA Summit Corporation.

We tried A LOT of their char siu rice plate combinations together with other staple dishes on their menu, plus a couple of dimsums.

Wagyu Beef Noodle Soup – super tender Wagyu beef, dried egg noodles, bokchoy, tasty beef broth topped with toasted garlic and chopped spring onions.



Char Siu Pork and Wanton Tossed Noodles – char siu pieces, pork wanton dimsums, bokchoy, stir fried dried egg noodles, sweet and spicy char siu sauce topped with chopped spring onions.



Char Siu Pork and Wanton Noodle Soup –  char siu pieces, pork, dried egg noodles, bokchoy, tasty beef broth topped with chopped spring onions.



Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce and Garlic – gai lan is the Cantonese name a vegetable that is also known as Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale, steamed topped with sweet-salty sauce and then topped with roasted chopped garlic.



Broccoli Flower – blanched broccoli with sweet-salty sauce and then topped with roasted chopped garlic.



Fried Gyoza – minced pork wrapped in wanton wrappers and then deep-fried.



Bacon Siomai  – pork sio mai wrapped in bacons strips instead of wanton wrappers.



Hakaw – steamed plump shrimps wrapped in wheat and tapioca starch wrappers.



Chicken Feet – oriental style chicken feet with sweet and savoury sauce and black beans.



Char Siu Pork Belly Rice – the most basic among the Tai Koo HK Roast's rice dishes which includes their new and improved char siu, sweet-salty sauce and steamed white rice.



Char Siu + Roast Pork Belly Rice – new and improved char siu, sweet-salty sauce and steamed white rice paired with Taikoo's other best selling product roasted pork belly (aka lechon Macau).



Char Siu + White Chicken Rice – new and improved char siu, sweet-salty sauce, steamed white rice and white chicken which has a gingery flavor like the Hainanese chicken from Singapore.



Char Siu + Fried Siomai Rice – new and improved char siu, sweet-salty sauce and steamed white rice paired with fried pork siomai.



HK Roast Duck + Char Siu Pork – Tai Koo's famous roast duck (which is flown in from HK) with their new and improved char siu and steamed white rice.



Wagyu Beef Rice – super tender Wagyu beef on a bed of steamed white rice topped with toasted garlic and chopped spring onions.



Original Tai Koo Plate – includes all the best selling items from Tai Koo: soy chicken, char siu, roast pork belly, fried pork siomai, hard boiled egg and buchi.



Taikoo Milk Tea – Tai Koo's version of the HK milk tea.



Based on reviews, majority of people say that the meat has too much fat, so Taikoo reinvented their char siu with less fat in them and even tastier this time around. I haven’t tried Taikoo’s char siu before, but my friends who have eaten there before said they like the ones with more fat. We all know that taste is subjective. So maybe some will enjoy the new formulation and some will miss the old one. The char siu I tried in HK doesn’t contain fat in them, but I still like the ones served to us with just the right amount of fat.

I personally like the char siu that I’ve tried at Taikoo Podium Mall, as they were think, tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat, with incredible texture and smoky flavor. My other faves were the Char Siu Pork and Wanton Tossed Noodles (loved the chewiness of the noodles which worked well with their sweet and salty sauce); Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce and Garlic; Broccoli Flower; Bacon Siomai (come on,  who can say no to bacon?); Hakaw (my all-time favorite dumpling!). I also love their roast pork belly and white chicken rice among the meats. And the Wagyu Beef Rice is just so heavenly!

Have you tried the dishes from Tai Koo before? If yes, better try their new and improved char siu and let me know what you think! Which do you prefer, the old formulation or the new one?



TAI KOO HK ROAST
5F, The Podium, ADB Avenue,
Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
Contact Nos: +63 9957305281
Facebook: facebook.com/TaiKooPH


For more information, complete menu and restaurant reviews, check out their Zomato profile:
Tai Koo HK Roast Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato



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