Hong Kong BBQ Restaurant
118 Hopkins Street, Footscray
03 9687 8488
Cantonese, Chinese
$$$
Food
- Stir-Fried Chinese Broccoli with Garlic
- Golden Fried Chicken
- Tomato Beef
- Roast Duck
- Seafood Claypot
- Rice
The Good
Nothing.
The Mediocre
We found most of the dishes rather ordinary.
Chinese Broccoli was fresh though portion size was less than generous. With an abundance of cornstarch as base, the overall result was glucky and bland.
The Golden Fried Chicken was fried well, though the batter lacked flavour. The inner was juicy and tender but again lacked seasoning.
The Tomato Beef was passable though rather unspectacular. Sparingly littered with slices of beef, the bulk of the dish were made up of cheap tomatoes that didn’t have quite enough flavour.
Roast Duck was the most promising dish, but we found more bone than duck within. The skin was also far from crispy and it felt like the duck has been out for at least half a day.
The Bad
The Seafood Claypot was disappointing. The seafood within sparse and not very fresh, most of the dish was composed of overcooked vegetables and yes, yet more corn starch.
When we found a worm, YES A WORM in our rice, we tried to raise this issue with the waiter. We received the most outrageous response, and were told “this is normal” and asked “what do you want me to do about it?” No offer to change the rice nor any other remedy.
Absolutely appalling service and complete lack of care, both in terms of food safety and customer satisfaction. They even tried to bill us for the rice! What a complete and utter disgrace to Chinese food.
The Verdict
I don’t normally go out of my way to review family meals, but I felt the food safety issues here most definitely needed to be raised.
While of the dishes were passable and mediocre, same can’t be said about the disgraceful service and the disgusting. With a total and utter lack of concern for food safety and disinterest in what’s actually being served to customers, why do these guys even bother running a restaurant?
Would Penguin Eat Again?
Not a chance. I strongly advise against visiting this disgraceful Chinese restaurant, and they will be reported to the relevant authorities for breaching basic food safety standards.