Hay Hay Roasted — Restaurant in New York

I’m kinda lost with my words now but this is my real experience and I left the place feeling super uneasy. Might I say this is my first racism experience having lived in NY for 3 years. Note that I’m from a SEA background and do not understand a word of Cantonese/Mandarin.

I visited for the place for the first time and they had a big menu so I asked the cashier in English what’s your best-selling item or if you have any recommendations. Mind you there was only my friend waiting in line after me, not like I’m wasting anyone’s time. I even let 2 customers who came after us order first while we took our time looking at the menu. There were like a few staffs behind the cashier at that time and they turned to speak to each other in Chinese and just laughed among themselves while none responded to my question. I even tried to repeat it again. I do speak English well and never ran into a situation where restaurants don’t get my food order.

Feeling helpless I just decided to go on and ordered half a duck, which the cashier immediately keyed it in and told me they only take cash. In my head, I was surprised like oh apparently you can understand what I say so you probably chose to ignore my earlier question.

Later on my friend who could understand beginner Chinese told me they were talking about our nationality. So apparently they were talking about us. Imagine if you know your customers can understand you, will you be talking about any of their attributes in front of them at all?

I do not know if they say anything bad about us. But talking about your customers while they’re standing there not understanding you is already a poor work ethic. Ignoring customers to just laugh among yourselves in your language is bad service.

I came to this place excited bc I heard it’s good but I left the place feeling embarrassed, looked down upon, and just sad. Racism or not, take it what you want with this information. But I’m never...

Taste test of this popular Hong Kong style BBQ spot in NYC Chinatown:

Hay Hay Roasted serve roasted meat rice boxes starting at $10.25 (one topping), or you can grab a whole box of char siu for just $14.

What I really liked is that you can customize your meat cut — fatty (肥), lean (瘦), or half-and-half (半肥瘦) — depending on your preference, just like how we do it in HK.

Pro tip from a HK local: ask for ginger scallion sauce (薑蓉) to go with your rice. It makes everything taste even better!

＊Three Selection Rice Combo 三拼飯 $12.25 SO WORTH IT. The box was fully loaded with meat that you could barely even see the rice underneath! I went with char siu, scallion chicken (蔥油雞), and roasted duck (燒鴨).

The chicken and duck were a bit bony, but you can always substitute them for leg if you prefer. The sweet baby napa on the side balanced out the greasiness of the meat.

＊Char Siu (Honey BBQ Pork) 蜜汁叉燒 $14/lb Decent price for the quantity! The char siu was well-marinated and flavorful even without any soy sauce. The seasoning was spot-on, not too sweet or salty. I asked for half-fatty, half-lean, and it had the perfect balance of both.

I took the leftovers home and made char siu fried rice and slippery egg with char siu.

＊Crispy Skin Roasted Pork 燒肉 $14/lb It had a nice fat-to-meat ratio and crispy golden skin. It was too salty for my taste, but my friends all loved it. So I’d definitely recommend enjoying it with rice.

＊HK Style Milk Tea 港式奶茶 $5.5 - surprisingly authentic.

＊Lemon Ribena 檸檬利賓納 $5.25 - such a nostalgic drink! I haven’t had it in...

Hay Hay roasted nyc at 167 First Ave , NYC brings in traditional classic roasted /BBQ meats with variety of house special dishes to choose. It stands on its own and goes above and beyond standard dining experience. The choices on the initial small plates are so tempting that you might opt to assemble a group of those , and enjoy it with their amazing drinks ( I did it with Hana Sake , MeiJian Plum Wine , and Shibata Black Yuzu )

Food : authentic , delectable, luscious , and perfectly seasoned roasted /BBQ meats . Highly recommend : -wonton noodle soup in Rich Pork Bone Broth (the soup is super flavorful and tasty) hay hay spicy wonton hot pot duck ( The aroma of freshly cooked, and A true one-of-a-kind flavor melt my heart ) Honey Barbecue pork ( char siu) , honey roasted pork ribs, crispy skin Roasted pork ( must have ) and brine duck . Dan Dan Spicy Brisket Dan Dan Braised Pork Liángbàn Spicy Trotters

Services: Friendly staffs -our servers are attentive, observant, pleasant and efficient. And , a super friendly manager Alex . Ambience: modern contemporary, clean , bright seatings along with a nice open kitchen counter . Don’t forget to take a photo with the big duck. This is a popular photo spot

You can never go wrong to pay a visit to this outrageous flavor Roasted Restaurant. I will definitely come back...