Hong Kong BBQ in Castro Valley?

Hey Castro Valley-ites, how's Hong Kong BBQ? Jonathan Kauffman reviewed it in the East Bay Express, and also includes some tips from Big Dog, Jim Leff, on building a chow-rewarding relationship at Cantonese restaurants.

Link: http://eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2005...

[Robert Lauriston]

Went to this place for lunch today because the European Market next door is takeout-only on weekends. HKBBQ smelled good and was full of Chinese customers so we figured it would be good (didn't see the Kauffman piece in the window until we were leaving).

Roast and BBQ pork, big pile of pea shoots with garlic (they were out of ong choy), and chow fun with beef and sour cabbage came to $27 including tax and was twice as much as two of us could eat. All good. Pork was warm enough that the crackling skin was tasty. Just a couple of blocks from BART.

[rworange]

Unfortunately that is probably the only place you can find the Kaufmann review. Another company not knowing the value of content, the East Bay Express just tossed most, if not all, of Kaufmann's reviews. The link in the OP to the East Bay Express is dead.

address

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hong-kong-bbq...

[Robert Lauriston]

The review's still there, they just reorganized the site:

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/neg...

[rworange]

That's wonderful. They did reorganize since the last time i tried to find reviews over a year ago. At that time, even with current reviews after a specific time, all you could get was a summary even if you clicked on the review link. i do love the way Kaufman writes and i usually agree with how the food tastes.

Actually I stumbled upon this place a couple years ago and posted my brief take.

Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

Thanks for the reminder, Dave. Yes, the Castro Valley outpost of Cheung Hing.

Very nice review and some good tips for restaurants in general. No wonder Kaufmann is my favorite reviewer. In addition to being entertaining and matching my tastes, he seems a pretty decent person. Nice mention of the Chowhound guide.

Kauffman bonded with the Alpha Hound over preserved bean curd. They both love it. Little known fact about Jonathan Kauffman --- he worked as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant when he was in college.

HKBBQ is probably below average compare to any Oakland Chinatown BBQ deli's, but as JK pointed out in his article, HKBBQ is one of a kind in CV and Hayward. You're not going to find any roast duck or pork within a 10 mile radius.

The pluses at this joint:
- Extoic Asian veggies - On Choy or Kong Shing Zai (Chinese Watercress)and big pea sprouts
- 13 different Jook all day long
- Roast pork, duck, BBQ pork, ribs, soysauce inners, you know, all the good stuff you find at Oakland Chinatown deli
- Good portions
- Variety of menu items

The minuses:
- At times BBQ items are not that fresh
- Soysauce seems to be the main sauce for every dish
- Stay away from won-ton soup
- Too much oil in their cooking, thus making the dish seems unfresh

If you do go I would stay with the BBQ items and order either pea sprouts or on choi if it's available. Don't order the Chinese-American dishes (sweet and sour pork, general's chicken, and kung-pao's), that's not their strong point. If you like the Chinese-American dishes go across the street to Sun Flower. I just love to watch the chef at Sun Flower cook. Though, I've often amazed at how much oil is used to cook the dishes...

Thanks, and I hope Cece will let us know what she thinks when she tries it. I really appreciate all you've contributed to the effort to increase the chow intelligence on what's good in the 880 corridor.

P.S. Remember to ask for fu yee on the ong choy. (g)

Link: http://chowhound.com/chowbooks/index....

For home-bound commuters heading for the Tri-Valley, HKBBQ is literally a hop off the Redwood Rd exit on 580 East. You turn left at the light and start looking for parking, cause it's right there. You won't find chow like this in Livermore. Yet.

What are your favorites at HKBBQ?

I'm such a chump, with all the choices available there and all the new things to try, I get roast pig over rice almost every time, and a soy basted chicken to go. Roast pig to me is like the full moon to a werewolf.

What timing. I've been scoping this place out for about a month. That review is front and center, taped to the glass door/window of the restaurnt. I've been trying to memorize the suggestions. My girlfriend and I are vacilating bn HKBBQ and the Curry Corner in Hayward for our Friday lunch. If we go to HKBBQ, I'll report back.

Cece