Three Uncles
One thing I do miss from my youth in Hong Kong is the meats hanging in the window.
Although I do recognise that it is a surprising display for some that think that perhaps eggs grow in a box. If only life was so clean and easy but life in the animal kingdom as it was in days gone by is/was in the words of a famous jurisprudential scholar, nasty, brutish and short.
In an attempt to recapture my youth, futile as that is, I visited the eatery below.
The happy porks (pork belly and honey glazed) as well as the headless ducks and chickens tempting you in.
An enterprising family from Hong Kong have set up shop catering to the City crowd around Devonshire Square. There have been other attempts to replicate roasts meats in London but they all were rather more upmarket affairs than this. They know their audience as people likely to eat these foods are looking for taste, value and speed. They don’t care about the ambiance. They don’t care about decor. They don’t mind efficiency (see walls easy for a hose down cleaning) being reflected in the decor.
It just matters that the food tastes good.
To help entice people like me in, they even have that nostalgic, flourscent and slightly irritating sign.
Pork belly and duck. I must applaud the pork belly. With crispy skin overlaying salted fat and meat, it was a delight and transported me back to Hong Kong. At least for 2 minutes which was how long it lasted. The duck on the other hand was not particularly awe inspiring but this is perhaps because there are rather good specimens of these around Bayswater.
Pork belly and chicken. Speaking only to the chicken, it was nice but I prefer a different style from Rice Guys. It was nicely boiled with delicious garlic/ginger/spring onion sauce but I prefer chicken with a heavier taste (yes, lock down has not been kind to my girth). The cabbage was tasteless and watery in the way I would expect. That is not a negative comment but more a reflection that they have got the authenticity right.
An indecently happy cat. The final touch at the entrance/exit. Someone to wave you hello/goodbye.
Well, a good reflection of how I felt at the end. It was a satisfying meal at an affordable price for the portion. As a no frills taste of Hong Kong, in the words of my eloquent dining companion, it “hits the spot”.
A quiet eating 8/10.
A rice box (two meats, rice and vegetables) was GBP9.50 excluding drinks and service.
12 Devonshire Row,
Liverpool Street,
London, EC2M 4RH