Foodie Paradise

BBQ King
18-20 Goulburn St
Sydney 2000

Ratings: 7.5/10

Roast Duck

Before I went to Sydney, I heard some comments from friends that the roast duck in the Chinatown there is delicious. I was very sceptical about their comments. I was thinking to myself that the chances of me finding great Chinese food will be so much higher in countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and our own Singapore, rather than in cities like….Sydney? Furthermore, I was keener on trying the Modern Australian cuisine while I was there, rather than trying out Chinese food, which I can always try at home.

However, since the apartment in which we were staying was located just a stone thrown away from Chinatown, it became inevitable that my occasional dinner will be settled there, which I did during my first day in Sydney. We randomly went into a restaurant at Chinatown owned by some Hong Kongers. Not surprisingly, the food pretty much sucks. And it pretty much “confirmed” my suspicions that no good Chinese food can ever be found outside Asia.

Then came one day whereby we were wondering what we should have for dinner. Wandering into Chinatown again, we saw BBQ King, a restaurant that was also recommended by the Lonely Planet Guide. Again, I was pretty sceptical. Lonely Planet Guidebooks are definitely not a good “where-to-eat” guide.

Yet curiosity got the better of me. As we walked past the shop, I noticed that there is an article pasted on its doors - a food review about some of the best cheap Chinese eats around the world. Three places were mentioned in the article - a Vietnamese restaurant in France, our local Boon Tong Kee, and BBQ King. That article definitely piqued my interest regarding BBQ King, mainly because Boon Tong Kee is my favourite place to savour our local Hainanese Chicken Rice. So how good is BBQ King to be mentioned together with one of my favourite food haunt?

A quick search online regarding BBQ King will show that lots of flak has been garnered regarding its bad service, the lousy interiors which desperately requires a facelift, and its overcharged prices. True enough, this place doesn’t look at all like a popular restaurant in Chinatown from its exterior and its service was lousy at times when I was there.

But food wise?

Dark Soya Sauce Chicken

Char Siew

Personally, I love the food at BBQ King. For the roast duck, its skin was crispy while its meat was succulent and tender, and it’s very different from the usual roast duck we had in Singapore. I usually avoid duck, but when even I, a non-duck meat lover, was so bowed over by this dish, the duck is indeed delicious. Thick chunks of meats were served for its char siew, unlike the usual thin slices that are usually served in Singapore. And its delicious factor is definitely not lesser than the roast duck. I think I almost proclaimed BBQ King to be a meat-lover heaven that day.

We enjoyed that meal so much that we went back to BBQ King again the very next day. This time round, besides calling the roast duck again, we also ordered its dark soya sauce chicken. The chicken, no surprise, was also tender and succulent, and had this tinge of sweetness in it that makes the dish even more savoury.

The only thing I dislike about the food at BBQ is its plum sauce, which I attribute to the acquired Singaporean taste buds that I had, that is, to have our local chilli sauce to accompany such Chinese cuisine.

BBQ King has definitely changed my previous assumption that no good Chinese food can be found outside Asia. I also blamed BBQ King for part of my weight gain, as greedy me couldn’t resist those delicious yet artery-cloaking meat chunks.