The roast goose taste test

One of the topics that's been discussed ad nauseum is the roast goose at Yung Kee (鏞記酒家).  The goose has a reputation many feel is no longer justified today, yet loads of tourists and long-time customers still flock to the restaurant for it. 

My office is just up the street from the restaurant, yet I found myself having patronized it only once in the 4 months that I've been here.  Meanwhile we've been getting our roast meats elsewhere - in particular roast goose from Yat Lok Restaurant (一樂食舘) on neighboring Stanley Street.  I've always really loved their roast goose drumstick with thick rice flour noodle soup (燒鵝脾瀨粉), and we've always felt that the goose here would give Yung Kee a run for its money.

For lunch today we decided to do a taste test.  I bought a quarter goose (bottom, with drumstick) from Yung Kee, and a standard portion (例牌) of goose from Yat Lok.  There was also an order of char siu (叉燒) and choy sum (菜心) from Yung Kee.  I laid the food out on our conference room table and we dug in.

As we expected, we still preferred the goose from Yat Lok.  While Yung Kee gave us bottles of their nice home made gravy and plum sauce, the goose itself just wasn't as good.  I thought Yat Lok - or whoever they source from - had done a better job roasting, which was all the more apparent when it comes to the drumstick.  They also seasoned it a little more and the meat had more flavor.  By comparison the meat from the Yung Kee goose was a little more bland.  It's still a decent roast goose, but just doesn't measure up.

So there you have it.  Totally subjective, and the opinions of a couple of amateurs.  But for me, I'd always rather go to the hole-in-the-wall nearby rather than the overrated establishment.