Hong Kong - Hing Kee Restaurant at Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei (興記煲仔飯)

Hing Kee Claypot Rice's popularity is evident. It spans a few shop front and even has tentages in front of their shops. Everywhere at Hing Kee was filled to the brim and they even have a designated corner for their patrons to queue. There was also a huge poster informing patrons of their shopfronts and to warn them against copycats. Now, that means they are that good that people would bother to imitate right? Competition of claypot rice here at Temple Street is fierce indeed. Just down the next block, a queue was also forming in front of Four Seasons Claypot Rice.

The menu at Hing Kee Claypot rice comes in three languages- Mandarin, English and Japanese. They clearly have the tourists in mind. The variety of claypot rice offered was wide. There is the conventional claypot rice with chicken, beef or pork, and then there is the innovative claypot rice with cheese or curry. There is definitely something that appeals to both the conservative and the creative here at Hing Kee.

To get the most authentic taste, we chose the most traditional dish- the chicken and chinese sausage claypot rice. However, there is nothing ordinary about this dish at Hing Kee. The chicken remained juicy and tender even under the charcoal fire. The same is for the chinese sausage - crunchy on the outside and giving us a wonderful spurt of the juice that was still well retained within. The dark sauce added a nice fragrance to the rice, but we did find it a little too salty for our liking.

The rice at Hing Kee was cooked to such perfection, the rice at the bottom of the pot slipped out in neat pieces. We polished the claypot rice until we saw a very clean bottom, charred beautifully by the charcoal flame. The portion is a little on the small side, and I could have easily finish a second bowl on my own. In comparison, we found the portion to be bigger at Four Seasons. Their chicken was also more well-marinated and the rice more fluffy.

The oyster cake at Hing Kee was cripsy, but it was also drenched in oil which quickly turned a little unpleasant after being exposed for too long. Although the oysters were fresh, the egg and batter was a little bland. The chili that accompanied the oyster cake was a little watery and failed to create a punch.

We would stick to claypot rice at Hing Kee- afterall, it is what they are good at. The rice was skillfully cooked, and the overall hearty. A plus point of Hing Kee as compared to its contender Four Seasons Claypot Rice is its location- we were able to people watch and immerse ourselves in the hustle and bustle of the night market for we were sitting right behind a stall selling household knick-knacks that screamed "Shut up and take my money!".

Hong Kong Food Blog Review by Kumory

☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Hing Kee Claypot Rice (興記煲仔飯)

15 Temple Street

Yau Ma Tei Kowloon Hong Kong

ps: Check out our ultimate food guide to Kowloon for more goodies in Hong Kong!