Best Roasted Meats Rice Plate in Chinatown

[CambridgeFoodie]

Have a hankering for a 3 meat rice plate (duck, roast pork, roast pig) in Chinatown.

Would appreciate your suggestions.

Thank you.

[nsenada]

The Hong Kong Eatery is my fave for meat and rice plates. Love the roast pork, in particular.

[gourmaniac]

Each place has different strengths. For the trio that you request, I like the Cafe downstairs from China Pearl. For chicken, I think wai wai (on oxford) is the best and I like the roast pig at chinatown cafe on Harrison south of Oak. Hong Kong Eatery is OK at all three but I think that char siu (roast pork) is just OK.

[CambridgeFoodie]

do you know the name of the cafe downstairs from china pearl? trying to do a run in and out takeout.

Thank you.

[Taralli]

Any of several rice plates at Vinh Sun BBQ on Beach: http://boston.menupages.com/restauran...

[yumyum]

Second Vinh Sun. Got super duper roast pig from there a few weeks ago. You can order at the counter to take away (meat only) or get a rice plate off the menu.

Mmmm... really good.

[9lives]

After many years of being an HKE fan, I've had my last few roast meat meals at Vinh Sun.

[MC Slim JB]

Love Vinh Sun. But they get really mad if they catch you snapping photos.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[CambridgeFoodie]

Thanks, I am heading to Vinh Sun.

BTW, do you recommend ordering a rice plate - or meats individually and a side of rice?

[MC Slim JB]

A rice plate if I'm eating immediately, individually (and usually in larger portions) if I'm taking home.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[FoodOfTheWorld]

You will be glad you did. The food is great, the place is super clean, and the meats are delicious. On a return trip try the congee. They use a heavy hand with the amount of ginger in the jook and it is pure winter comfort food and perfect for the coming weather. Bon apetit!

[CambridgeFoodie]

thanks to all for the recommendation - Vinh Sun was indeed very yummy!

[Taralli]

So don't keep us in suspense - what did you have?

[CambridgeFoodie]

three meat (duck, pork, pig) rice place for 7.50 - which I took out. All excellent. If I were to do it again, I would follow MC's suggestion and perhaps get a half pound of pig and another half of pork - and a small rice. A better value.

Nonetheless, Vinh Sun is now my go to place for cantonese roasted meats.

[Zatan]

I love their soy sauce chicken too! Need to get to the salty chicken, and whatever other versions they have there, not so clear on the differences for the chicken or the duck offerings. Anyone?

I enjoy watching the butcher guy chopping up the meat, thunk thunk thunk, methodical and precise, wish I could ask him to teach me, but he always seems a little uncomfortable when I watch.

[StriperGuy]

I'm with you, love that thunk thunk.

[9lives]

I love the thunk thunk too, but I've found that when buying a whole duck or big piece of pork, it reheats better in a very hot oven as a whole duck or larger piece of pork. Then I give it the thunk thunk at home with a cleaver on a big built in butcher block.

More surface area dries it out more during reheating., and bigger pieces crisp up the skin better without drying the meat.

. Of course, if I'm eating it right away, I let them chop it up.

Do love the sound though..:)

[barleywino]

I like the soy sauce chicken ("Empress Chicken") at Best Little Restaurant...however they do not have roast pig

[Taralli]

Most recently was there for a sitdown lunch. We absolutely loved the roast suckling pig, which I'll order for takeout by itself next time I'm there.

[nsenada]

Just went there today for lunch, and remembered your warning just as I was sliding the phone out. Had the roast pork, it was excellent. My dcs got the thread's eponymous plate (three meats). We noticed they used a microwave to heat up the meats - is this a standard practice at the meats-swinging-in-the-windows places?

[kobuta]

No on the microwave.

[StriperGuy]

I've also really been wanting to hit the place next to Hei La Moon. Very modest but have heard the meats are really excellent.

A hoot that the chicken at Wai Wai is good. I have eaten there once or twice and the food was homey and good. Not exactly a whole lot going on decor wise ;-). That place is nearly, literally a hole in the wall.

If you are out in Allston, the Roast Meat Place in the old Super88 food court is passable.

[hyde]

you mean Kantin? the place with the dry fried beef chow foon and the pea pod stems? what exactly do you order there? im always a bit overwhelmed by the pace and end up sticking to the tried and true? help me branch out.

[StriperGuy]

Kantin it is. May not be the very best Hong Kong style roast meats in Boston but I like it well enough.

They will do 1, 2, 3 meats with veg and rice for very reasonable $.

I like the char siu (lacquered pork), duck, chicken, crispy pork. They also sometimes have various funky bits as well. Be sure to get their oily garlicky dipping sauce, in fact ask for two, it is killer.

They also do a very acceptable rendition of Singapore (thin curry) noodles.

[MC Slim JB]

Any connection between the Kantin in Chinatown and the one in the 88 Connection food court at the Hong Kong Supermarket / Super 88 in Allston?

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[StriperGuy]

Excellent question, I have no idea.

[Zatan]

In studying a bit of Mandarin I learned that Canting (or something like it, Pinyin transliteration....) means restaurant, dining hall, cafeteria, something along those lines. So perhaps Kantin means that, and also wonder if our "canteen" comes from that word as well. Ok, so I'm a nerd about these things, but seems too coincidental to me.

The bbq at Kantin in Super 88 is ok. I like Vinh Sun more, have not tried the place by Hei La Moon yet, though have often wondered....

[StriperGuy]

As a one time English major I am always entertained by a bit of etymology. I agree that Kantin is okay, not great.

[kobuta]

Except the pronunciation in Mandarin or Cantonese sounds nothing like Kantin. The chinese pronunciation for the words you're referring to is more like chan-ting (or tsan ting) in mandarin.

The one by Hei La Moon is really good and offers a variety of meats. I think that the eatery around the corner is a cafe, serving that BBQ shops meats, though I've never dined there personally. My parents used to love getting takeout rice plates with their BBQ meats.

[Luther]

And anyway, the people at Kantin don't speak Mandarin. The Chinese name of Kantin (at least in Super 88) is hou2 sik6 dim3 好食店 (tasty shop/store).

To throw in my two cents, I think the roast meats at Kantin are pretty awful and not at all worth ordering. The 3 or 4 times I've had them, they were dry, chewy, and unpleasant, especially the cha siu and the duck.

[StriperGuy]

Not the best, but not bad in my book. A chacun son gout.

[Zatan]

Sure, I know, but it was my first thought when I heard the word in my Mandarin class so perhaps a stretch for some but not me....probably just coincidence.

[theparegorickid]

where is kantin in ctown?

[Taralli]

K is not in CT, it's in Allston at Super 88: http://boston.menupages.com/restauran...

[theparegorickid]

MC Slim JB mentioned there was also one in CTown
is this true?

[MC Slim JB]

Sorry for the confusion: I misread the earlier post. It looks like the only Kantin is in the Super 88 Food Court in Allston.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[galangatron]

i like the roasted meats at kantin too. they recently added a plate with roast pork belly and roast duck on rice that i am eager to try. they also make a nice salt and pepper pork chop

[StriperGuy]

Yeah, I really do think they are decent. I get it once a month or so. Perhaps not exemplar of the art, but I am never disappointed.

[PinchOfSalt]

Oooooh.... cool November weather.... duck.... yessssssss

[kobuta]

I think most places offer a decent version, since this is pretty standard "fast food lunch" for Cantonese cuisines, and as others have mentioned, different restaurants may be stronger on one type of roast meat then the other. I also like HK Eatery because they are more like a true HK style cafe, with noodles, congee, etc. Vinh Sun offers good version too. As much as I enjoy Wai Wai, I don't like that they skimp on their vegetables, offering lame napa rather than the better green leafy vegetables (usually yau choi).

I had a roast duck wonton noodles at Great Taste the other day that was pretty good, but need to sample more dishes. Have not tried QuicPic or the place below China Pearl since they re-opened.

[kobuta]

Bah, why is this pointing to Great Taste in Milford??

[nsenada]

Does anyone know if Wai Wai is still in business? I went once for ice cream, but noticed their meat plates looked pretty good.

[gourmaniac]

Wai wai is still in business (as of a couple of weeks ago). Agree on the lame vegetable but the chicken and duck are really good. I think the place below China Pearl is called Best Cafe (not to be confused with Best Little Restaurant). I've tried Vinh Sun a couple of times and I think it's a notch below for my taste, but others like it alot. Second the BBQplace next to Hei la Moon. The duck is quite good there and a little more generous in size when buying a whole or half duck. I've not tried Quicpic or the little place on Hudson and would be interested in comments.

[muscles_marinara]

Quic Pic is excellent for a cheap meal ($4.75 for a rice place with Meat, Chinese broccoli, sauce , the scallion condiment and an HK style iced tea), though the skin on their duck tends not to be super crispy as I've heard other BBQ ducks described. I haven't tried any of their pig products, though they look good. I did have a container of BBQ chicken livers there where the sweet glaze nice and crunchy. Optionally comes with honey and a great value at $2 for about 1lb. They seem to consistently have a hotel pan full of tasty looking cooked pig offal by the door when you walk in. I think I'm going to try something from it next time I go in.

[gourmaniac]

Thanks. i'll give it a try. $4.75 including a drink is quite inexpensive. Also on the bargain front, Chinatown cafe will send the ends of the roast pig for a couple of dollars a pound. Not as succulent as a center cut, but tasty nonetheless.

[galangatron]

i tried quic pic for the first time a few weeks ago. i ordered roast duck on rice and i agree that the skin wasn't crisp enough. the rice plates are cheap but i felt that they skimped on the meat. next time i would concentrate on the pork options and order the meats individually as opposed to a rice place

[gourmaniac]

I tried Quic Pic today and thought it was pretty good. I got soy sauce chicken and roast pork (crispy skin). Meat servings were generous especially for $5.25 but the napa cabbage was a little funky. Rice and scallion sauce were tasty. Soup was a nice bonus but no milk tea. As I think about these places the day to day variations in succulence may overrule differences in restaurants and so most of the listed places are almost equivalent. I still give the nod to Wai wai's chicken and Pearl Best Cafe for char siu though

[muscles_marinara]

I'm itching to try the other places out. Great thread.

[theparegorickid]

Here's a list of Ctown BBQ joints
let me know if I'm missing any and feel free to add to or correct my chinese
I usually go to Vinh-Sun, Best Bar B Q or Wai Wai, though have tried most of them at one time or another

Quic Pic BBQ
50 Beach Street
[phone]

Vinh-Sun 商家名稱
58 Beach Street
[phone]

Rainbow Cafe 椰林閣
60 Beach Street
[phone]

Best Bar B Q Restaurant
86 Beach Street

See Sun Market 時信雜貨
25 Harrison Avenue
[phone]

Hong Kong Eatery 香港小食
79 Harrison Avenue
[phone]

Wai's Style 威威美食
99 Harrison Avenue

China Pearl Best Cafe 廳英文名叫做
11 Tyler Street
[phone]

Great Barbecue 食得福烤味館
15 Hudson Street
[phone]

Wai Wai 威威餐室
26 Oxford Street
[phone]

Hua Fu – Chinatown Cafe 華埠餐廳
262 Harrison Avenue
[phone]

Ming's 平價超級市場
1102-1108 Washington Street
[phone]

[StriperGuy]

NICE job.

[tysonmcneely]

Agreed, awesome list and awesome thread. A few notes on the places I've been to:

I Checked out Best Bar B Q today (because of this thread) and got duck, Crispy Pork (not Char siu) and soy sauce chicken. First off, let me say that the portions of meat they gave were enormous, by far the most meat I've gotten at any of these places. The box didn't close after they filled it up. The soy sauce chicken was great, and the pork and duck were above average. Napa cabbage was the Veg, and instead of the normal green onion sauce, they had a green onion/ginger sauce which was very good. $7.50 for 3 meats.

Wai wai - Best duck I've had out of all these places. Very good green onion sauce. I feel like they have been skimping more and more on the meats lately though. Price is around $5.75 for 2 meats, however they charge $1 more for Veggies and they don't give you much.

Quic Pic - $4.75 for 1 meat, $5.25 for 2, etc, comes with Veggies and you have the option of Brown Rice. Definitely not the best duck, but the other meats are good. Probably the best value as it is the cheapest and it comes with a milk tea.

HKE/Vinh Sun - I put their meat on the same level. Both are pretty average and both come with veggies. HKE starts @ $5.25 for 1 meat, + $1.25 for every additional meat. VS is $5 1 meat +$1 additional meat. HKE comes with a soup, I forget about VS.

[MC Slim JB]

Choy on the rice plate at Vinh Sun (pork, duck, chicken is $7), but no soup.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[Pia]

This is great, thank you!

Which of these places is best for a take-out quick lunch? People have been mentioning taking home containers of meat, but are some of these places better than others for stopping by and getting lunch to go?

[StriperGuy]

All about the same on that regard. Sort of goes with the territory.

[buffet king]

I know this may sound like a dumb question but what is the difference between roast pork and roast pig? What part of the pig are they serving? The rice plates sound interesting. Are they served with white rice? I see that a few of the restaurants are on Beach Street. Are they near Eldo Cake House? If so, which restaurant do you like better for a 3 meat rice plate?

[barleywino]

the roast pork (cha siu) is marinated and has a slightly sweet red glaze, typically boneless, often seen thin sliced in pan fried noodle dishes or in small dice inside steamed or baked bbq pork buns at bakeries or during dim sum. the roast pig typically is fattier with a crackling skin (considered by some to be the best part) and is usually served hacked into chunks with perhaps some hoisin sauce for dipping (ask for center cut if you can). some say the part of the pig by the neck is even better than the center cut or end cut.

[Luther]

I've never seen "roast pork" and "roast pig" to mean two specifically different things. More commonly, people will refer to cha siu as "BBQ pork" since it has a sticky glaze, and siu yuk as "roast pork" because it is crispy on the outside.

[barleywino]

for some reason, HKE calls the crispy skin pork "BBQ pork" and cha siu "roast pork"...go figure...

[galangatron]

i like the smaller wai wai restaurant on oxford street for roast duck, roast pork, and chicken on rice (sam bo fan). the service is a little gruff and there is zero atmosphere but the food is good. i also love the roast suckling pig at vinh sun on beach street

[9lives]

Superb roast duck from Vinh Sun last night. Bought the duck,had them leave it whole. Brought home and heated in a 400 degree oven; few mins under the broiler to crisp. Nice crispy skin and moist meat. I haven't done a serious tasting to say this is the "best" but it's really good.

[cdoobiest]

Went to Chinatown Cafe to get the 3 meat combo. I agree with previous poster that their crispy roast pork is the best. Best crispy pork skin of everyone I try. Downside is that their roast port (cha siu) isn't that good. Roast duck ok, but I do get the meaty part every time compared to the others where it is a crapshoot if I get bones or lots of meats

Also, Does anyone know if you get more meat if you only order 2 bbq meats vs 3?

[kobuta]

Usually you get a little more of each item when you order 2 vs. 3, but I don't find it to be that much more. When you order two vs. one meat, you get about half per item than what you would get if you ordered a rice plate of each individually.