Hong Kong BBQ — Restaurant in Chamblee

Some a y’all may remember that I lived in Hong Kong for 2 years, and this past Thanksgiving, I decided what I wanted a smoked Duck (especially since the price of an 8-10 lb Heritage turkey was about $150)!😡😡

We heard about HK BBQ from a colleague, and after checking around on cost, this one was THE most reasonable. Whole roasted Duck ($31.99) Half Duck ($16.89) if you’re just curious and want to try. Ducks hang in the window so you can pick out the one you want.

So, a couple things: You can buy the duck, but they don’t sell the “pancakes”. I asked. The owner, who was very nice told me, “That’s how they do it in Hong Kong, we don’t sell it that way here.” I thought that was curious.. u kno.. since you named your business HK BBQ🙄🤷🏼‍♀️😂

The duck was excellent (even though we didn’t have the pancakes)! I want to take a moment to mention the facility that the cafe is located in: as you approach the restaurant/cafe there’s a beautiful sitting area that brings the outside in (as you’d expect in Asia). It’s very serene and a nice enclave to have lunch if you have time to stop.

HK BBQ is located in a food court. There are a few other cafes in the court, but from what I saw, they didn’t seem as popular, as HK BBQ were the only ones with a line.

The last thing I’ll say is that their menu is QUITE extensive! It’s two sided, separated by a black and white side. If you dig Chinese food, you’ll have a ball going...

As it's been years since visiting the food court of Chinatown--excluding the visit right before the Pandemic--it was pleasant to see some things had changed and some things hadn't.

Hong Kong BBQ is one of few places I would get duck, so that what I sought for a drawing session\date with my SO. While the duck plates presented nice, there was something a miss with our meals. For my SO, she was served the spine of a duck which was mostly pink, as to have been excessively tenderized by salt or some agent. Some portion of my duck was the same, but the other portion of it was meatier and normal in coloration. The bed of carbs her duck was served on was made fresh, where my carbs were likely not fresh and so was drowned in soy sauce, or something. This all had taken on the appearance of the vendor serving us what it thought we preferred based on what we are instead just serving us an authentic experience through food.

In observance of a couple of young guys nearby, I had forgotten the concept of sharing a meal, which even a man had pointed out to his much older companion. Coming out of an interracial marriage with an Asian, sharing a whole meal over individual plates was quite familiar.

Of course, there was the option to just order a whole duck and leave, but the idea of just going out and enjoying ourselves seems to be difficult.

Perhaps next will be better.

No...

I’ve been coming here since 2014 for its well-prepared Chinese BBQs like roast/pipa duck, crispy pork, BBQ pork, soy sauce chicken, and squid. The BBQs were appropriately cut and marinated properly. The fat to lean ratio has always been good, earning a solid 4.5/5 rating imo.

However, recent changes in ownership have led to a decline in quality. The crispy pork lacks flavor and is excessively fatty, while the barbecue pork no longer has its former honey like consistency and depth of flavor, resembling something you get in a standard Chinese takeout restaurant, duck has become fattier, less fresh and the meat is now bland/chewy.

Some corners are being cut in the preparation, I hope the owner would maintain high standards for the sake of your...