So everyone associates Yung Kee with the best roast goose in Hong Kong. But do you know about Kam’s Roast Goose at Hennesy Road in Wan Chai?

Said to be the up and coming brand, Kam’s Roast Goose is actually owned by the Kam family too! We will get back to this story in a bit, because more importantly, we have heard so much about how Kam’s Roast Goose is way better than Yung Kee.

Of course, we had to make a trip down to develop our own conclusion. So, is Kam’s Roast Goose really better than internationally acclaimed Yung Kee’s?

If you are still confused, the Kam family started off with Yung Kee. Their reputation is built on decades of accolades and positive media coverages, but as with many other successors’ family politics, the Kam family had their own family drama, with the founder, Kam Shui Fai’s sons – Kinsen Kam Kwan-sing and Ronald Kam Kwan-lai - getting into disputes about the business and eventually leading to falling out.

Hardy Kam Shun-yuen, the son of the Kinsen Kam, then started Kam’s Roast Goose to continue his father’s legacy, and though Kam’s Roast Goose has only been in operations for slightly past a year, it has earned its 1-Michelin Star already.

Now, the difference between Kam’s Roast Goose and Yung Kee is glaring. The former is a small, simple and unpretentious outlet that sits not more than fifty, and has a concise menu that focuses on its roasts; the latter is now a multi-level restaurant that sits on the prime Wellington Street, with a full menu of Cantonese dishes on top of the regular roasts. And sure, their roast goose is good.

But Kam’s Roast Goose is no less fatty, juicy and fragrant; even better with the subtly sweet plum sauce! A regular portion costs HK$135, and needless to say, we finished the portion in the blink of an eye.

We tried the Char Siew (HK$55) as well, but this disappointed us quite a bit. Not too sure about you, but to us, a plate of heavenly char siew has to be chewy and juicy with a good ratio of fats, while boasting a slightly charred skin. But the ones here are Kam’s looked lacklustre and tasted mediocre. It could fundamentally do with more sweetness and oil.

What you really have to do when dining at Kam’s is to ditch the white rice, and go straight for the Prince Kinsen Noodles (HK$35). The price tag might set you back a bit, but know that you are in for a real treat. The plate of unassuming noodles is not your regular Hong Kong-style noodles.

Instead, look forward to a surprising braised flavour, because your egg noodles are cooked al dente, then tossed in the essence of a roast goose drumstick’s – its prized oil and juice. Forget about being healthy for now, and just enjoy the signature Prince Kaisen Noodles with their famous roast goose.

And back to the poultry. Here’s the million dollar question – does Kam’s Roast Goose really roast better geese? There are many versions of the verdicts, and we do think Kam’s is the winner. The overall experience of dining at the small outlet is more pleasant as well, with the staff being more hospitable and helpful with your questions and requests.

Nothing unnecessarily pretentious about dining at Kam’s; just sheer satisfaction from savouring the classic Hong Kong roasts. And yes, Prince Kinsen’s Noodles. Damn, we’ve got cravings again.

Kam’s Roast Goose
226 Hennessy Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2520 1110
Nearest Station: Wan Chai

Opened by The Press Room Group – which is behind other popular F&B dining concepts like The Pawn, SML, and Classified – The Principal at Star Street is a sophisticated and elegant restaurant which promises an epicurean adventure that you will never forget.

The décor is simple and nothing too extravagant. Yet it feels posh enough to sink into the plush seats for a nice dinner. The chef has opted to remove its regular ala carte menu to focus on delivering The Principal experience through its 7-course (HK$890) and 10-course degustation menu (HK$1080). For vegetarians, there is also a 7-course vegetarian menu (HK$890).

We started with ‘Snacks’, which consists of passion Campari, Mieric Peanut, Sesame Dentelle, and Pate Bonbon. Initially, we were skeptical as the starters appeared to be very ordinary. But we were taken by surprise after trying them. The Passion Campari burst in our mouths; the pate bonbon combines savoury and sweet, and the mimetic peanut was pure magic – two icing-coated peanuts unassumingly laid atop a bed of broken peanut shells, and exploded into a mind-boggling peanut butter of semi-glory consistency with every bie.

Next was the Uni – a course of chawanmushi with sea urchin, sake and dates. It was delicately prepared, with the sea urchin being nothing near overpowering and instead, gave a memorable richness in the otherwise all too predictable Japanese comfort food.

Following which, we had the Gnocchi – Parmigiano gnocchi and button mushroom with iberico ham consommé. Submerged in a serving of the addictive consommé, the potato dumplings were so raw and earthy, we never felt more drawn to the core of earth, quite a surprising rendition, though we felt it may not be suitable for the ones with lighter taste buds.

The Mackerel was a dish of mackerel with radish, tomato seed, jalpeno, and a strong hint of lemongrass.

Then the highlight of our dinner – Blue Lobster. An immaculately prepared blue lobster with a smooth, creamy and buttery béarnaise sauce. It was delicious.

Also good was the Oscietre – an egg yolk combined with cauliflower puree, bone marrow and caviar, this dish was presented beautifully and was well thought and showed a real understanding of flavours.

Halibut was served with zucchini foam, puree made from the sauce of halibut, and a black vinaigrette sauce.  The fish was prepared flawlessly. My only gripe was that the zucchini foam was more style than substance – it did not add anything to the dish.

The Pigeon was also another dish which we enjoyed tremendously. The Bresse Pigeon was perfectly cooked – not too tough, nor was it too undercooked, with a tinge of redness. Thew presence of bomba rice, cepes soil made of mushroom and hunter’s truffle made this a very well done dish overall. Not to mention that it was beautifully plated.

We are usually not big fans of white chocolate dessert, but the Snowball got our approval. Wrapped in a cocoa butter exterior which gave it texture and crunch, the snowball is a miraculous invention of chilled white chocolate mousse with a surprising passion fruit centre – so smooth, so sweet, so passionate and so much like the mysterious yet fascinating winter; Snowball is indeed quite apt.

The final course was a sweet ending – very addictive gianduja mousse paired with praline, brown butter ice cream and sweet potato.

The Principal
9 Star Street
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2563 3444
Nearest Station: Wan Chai
Note: This was an invited media tasting.