Photo gallery: Vegetarians beware! Hong Kong hearts pork

Roasted, barbecued, deep-fried ... humble pork is transformed into myriad sublime dishes by its biggest fans -- Hong Kongers

By Zoe Li, photos by Marco Lui 11 November, 2009

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Roast suckling pig. Usually reserved for special occasions, the tender young pork is moist and flavorful with a crispy, potato chip-like skin and sweet Hoisin sauce for dipping.

Cha siu bao is possibly the most popular dim sum. A sweet, fluffy, snow-white bun parts to reveal barbecue filling.l

Regular roast pork has an incredibly crunchy, savory skin -- like pork crackling -- attached to thin layers of fat and thick layers of meat salted and spiced.

Famed Cantonese-style barbecued pork. A good piece has charred bits on the meat that fall apart in your mouth, all covered in a sweetness between caramel and honey -- perfect barbecue.

Pork blood pudding. A velvety texture, like the best kind of tofu, and a clean, porky taste -- you'd love it if no one told you what it really was.

Tonkatsu. Japanese-style breaded and deep-fried pork. The one-inch-thick version draws crowds daily at Tonkichi in Causeway Bay.

Shanghainese pork dumpling, "xiao long bao." The secret ingredient is aspic stuffed inside the parcel to create the soup inside the dumpling after it is steamed.

Pork liver congee. Al dente slices of pleasantly gamey pork liver add a twist to the wholesome bowl of rice porridge.

Braised pork belly. Fatty pork is slow cooked in soy sauce and rice wine. The best renderings of this dish produce thick layers of fat and skin that are not at all greasy.

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You can't escape pork in Hong Kong. It is the Han Chinese default meat -- in Chinese, pork is often simply referred to as "meat," as though all meat were pork -- and Hong Kong people reckon they know the best ways to prepare it.

Apart from the Cantonese style of preparing barbecued pork -- sitting in a marinade for days then hanging in a slow roaster -- Hong Kong people also love Japanese-style deep-fried pork chops and Shanghainese-style braised pork belly, as you'll see in the photo gallery above.

Like our stomachs, the gallery above can hold only so much meat. There are tons more pork dishes that we love. Baked pork-chop rice, another Hong Kong favorite, is made of a heart-stopping heap of rice, topped with giant deep-fried pork chops, all smothered in a tomato-based sauce and baked to achieve a slightly charred glaze over the top. Food coma is guaranteed to follow if you manage to finish a plate in one sitting.

This gallery is NSFW -- short-circuiting the keyboard with drool is highly unprofessional.

Getting there

Roast suckling pig: Hay Hay Kitchen
Shop A, G/F, 74-80 Johnston Road, Wanchai
Tel +852 2529 6616

Cha siu bao, roast pork and barbecued pork: Jade Garden Chinese Restaurant
3/F, Causeway Bay Plaza II, 463-483 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay
Tel +852 2573 9339

Pork blood pudding: Chiu Ting Kitchen
Shop A, 123 Wuhu Street, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
Tel +852 2356 7126

Tonkatsu: Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood
412, Podium 4, World Trade Ctr, 280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel +852 2577 6617

Shanghainese dumplings "xiao long bao": 3.6.9. Restaurant Shanghai Food
G/F, 30-32 O'Brien Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel +852 2527 8611

Pork liver congee: Law Fu Kee Congee and Noodle Specialist
G/F, 140 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong
Tel +852 2541 3080

Braised pork belly: Flower Trump Restaurant
Shop 1, G/F, Car Po Commercial Building, 18-20 Lyndhurst Terrance, Central, Hong Kong
Tel +852 2126 7265

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Photo gallery: Vegetarians beware! Hong Kong hearts pork

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