The roast pork mountain

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Four years ago I had a fantastic time making a trip out to Lam Tei (藍地) for a visit of the facilities at Wing Hing Yee Kee Roast Meats Factory (榮興儀記燒臘工場), where the staff showed us process of how they roast pigs which have been raised locally. This was followed by a lunch at nearby Red Seasons Aroma Restaurant (季季紅風味餐廳), during which I was completely stuffed until I sat in my chair in absolute stupor.

I had mentioned to my colleague about that experience, as he lives relatively nearby and would be interested in something like that. We had talked about planning a trip to the restaurant but never followed through. So when my friend KC Koo organized another group outing with the same itinerary, I didn't hesitate in rounding up a few people from work to join the festivities.

We did, once again, start with a tour of the factory. Unfortunately for those visiting for the first time, the pigs have already been roasted so we could not see them at work. I did manage to do a very quick walkthrough with my Insta360 camera.

When it was time to sit down for lunch, KC very kindly arranged for us to be seated with some of his VIPs. He knows I don't put up with idiots...

Deep-fried glutinous rice dumplings (咸水角) - despite this not being only lukewarm, the shell was surprisingly crunchy. A pretty good start to our lunch.

Deep-fried spring rolls (炸春卷) - the filling made with shrimp and yellowed chives were pretty nice, and the wrapper was very crispy.

Honey-glazed barbecued pork (蜜汁叉燒) - the flavor of the pork was pretty strong here. Not too much honey glaze.

Pig's lung soup with butterfly brisket and leafy mustard (豬肺頂蝴蝶腩燉菜膽湯) - this came with some pig's tripe, and the white pepper flavors weren't too strong. No almond in the soup as is often the case.

Steamed buns with barbecued pork (蜜汁叉燒包) - these were pretty damn good. Some of us tried to have just half a bun, but failed.

Steamed shrimp dumplings (季季紅蝦餃皇) - not bad la...

Steamed pork and shrimp dumplings (蟹籽干蒸燒賣) - these were pretty decent, too.

Golden roast pigs from New Territories Farms (新界農場大金豬) - BABY, THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR! There were 4 pigs weighing 30kg each served to our large group of more than 100 people, and we think our table got about 7 catties of pork.

I only managed to eat 3 pieces of pork last time, because it was served at the end of the meal. This time the pork came in the middle, so I had a little more room for the main event. I had myself 4 pieces... some of them pretty decent in size. The crackling was very nice and smoky, and very crunchy as expected. Very, very happy.

Goose roasted in stone oven (石爐燒响鵝) - this looked like it weighed about 4 catties, and unfortunately it was already cold when served. The beautiful, crispy skin had started to become a little chewy. Still very tasty, though.

Stir-fried kailan in garlic (蒜茸炒玉蘭) - pretty nice, actually.

Steamed grey mullet with black bean sauce (豉汁蒸烏頭) - it was a shame that the beautiful grey mullet (烏頭) came so late in the meal, because it was definitely very smooth and succulent. Most of it got packed home.

Fujian fried rice with scallops (瑤柱福建炒飯) - I had myself 2 spoonfuls just for a taste. OK la...

Osmanthus jelly with wolfberries (杞子桂花糕) - needed to freshen up the palate after such a huge meal, so this chilled dessert was very much appreciated.

Once again, this was enough food for double the number of people at this table. I totally forgot to bring boxes for takeaway, but in any case I had a dinner featuring roast Peking duck tonight...