Yat Lok Restaurant

I had roast goose, some leafy vegetable, and rice. Total 190 HKD.
I went alone on a Monday at 8pm and was seated immediately by the friendly staff.
Goose was fantastic. Tender, rich meat and a lot of crispy skin. Everything else was average to good.

I stood in my hotel room, hunched over the styrofoam container. Clear fat and sticky amber plum sauce ran streaming down my face. My final meal in Hong Kong had to be another helping of Yat Lok’s Michelin Starred Roasted Goose.
Crispy, rich, tender, savory… The list of adjectives you could use to describe this roasted goose is almost endless. It is one of those perfect bites that you dream about long after your vacation has ended.
In addition to the Goose, Yat Lok also serves Char Siu (BBQ Pork) and Roasted Pork. They were both great but nowhere near as exceptional as the goose. I would suggest some rice as you will lose a lot of fat with each bite and you do not want to waste it!
We had no wait at 5PM on a Saturday or at 11AM on a Monday. So perhaps it is best to go during off peak hours. Also be prepared to pay for things like napkins. And trust me, you will need napkins.

hella good! friendly servers too.

My aunt took me here since Yat Lok is suppose to be a well known place for eating goose. Yat Lok is a Michelin starred restaurant after all. I think I would say it’s a bit hyped for something that it’s really good at. In HK, I actually felt I ate a lot of good goose and it didn’t exactly stand out from other places. Since I had the cha siu with it, the cha siu is not as good as Tai Hing and they prob give the same amount of goose. The thing that really bugged me is that when you order duck/​goose, they usually are super stingy w/​the meat. It’s really 75% bones and 25% meat and skin. So does it really stand out compare to other chinese bbq places like Tai Hing?
There is one factor that actually makes Yat Lok stands out from the rest and that is their sauce. The sauce that they poured over on their rice makes it super delicious that I find myself enjoying the rice + sauce than the actual meal ingredients. If you’re already close to Central, then I say you might as well eat at Yat Lok. If you were to ask me if it was worth the bus/​train ride cause you’re rather far away, then I prob lean towards no. I would probably just recommend people to go to a HK local Tai Hing where it’s basically branched out all over HK.
Not to mention, it really bugged me when I was trying to sit on the table, their floor was superrrrrrr slippery/​wet. It was hard for me to sit down and it was even harder for me to get up and use the restroom. I’ll admit that the sauce they make is delicious but I question is it really worthy of the Michelin starred or was it perhaps a bad day for me to go in?

For a Michelin starred restaurant based on the premise of its roast goose, I was really disappointed. The goose was a bit flavourless, expensive and ultimately left me wondering how it had received its Michelin star.
What did stand out for me was the other roast meat including its pork — which had a distinct flavour that was really above the other I’d had in HK.
But I’m afraid that doesn’t change the fact that the goose here is average at best. I went to Chan Kee that exact same day to hunt down more roast goose and it was far better, and cheaper!

This store is walkable distance from the Central MTR station.
Decided to give this a try after going to one of the hobby shops around this area. And yes, it was through a Unilocaler’s recommendation too.
I was expecting it to be a big restaurant but I was pretty wrong. There were queues forming even though my brother and I arrive around 5.30pm on a Sunday (probably weekend, that’s why).
Was quickly seated towards the back of the store. They were out of Roast Pork when we arrived and so we could only try their goose. Decided to go for lower half (more tender — previous experience of other stores).
You will be sharing space with other customers and there will be a colorful set of utensils placed on the table. I am particular in this area and took a matching pair of spoon and chopsticks.
The goose — meat: juicy, tender and the skin was crispy. Portion wise was not as generous and price wise was a bit costly. But so far, I have to agree that it was one of the best stores that serve goose meat. Overall, a must try place if you are in Central area ;)

Quarter drum stick goose $ 150
Vegetable lo-​mein $ 25
Wow the duck was plump and juicy! Fatty and crispy. All the above. Goes well with their fine delicious noodles in hk. Recommended a must stop! Place is simple and customers are locals mostly. Napkins are hard to come by so bring your own. Tea is extra

Yat Lok is my go-​to place for roasted goose. Sure people flock to Yung Kee, but for something cheap, fast and delicious, I prefer to go Yat Lok. The first time I went, my friend ordered Siu Ngo (roasted goose) with Siu Yok (crispy pork belly), and I got the Siu Ngo and Char Siu. The roasted goose was tender and flavorful. Unfortunately the char siu was a bit tough to chew on, so when I tried my friend’s Siu Yok, I had immediate food envy!
During my second visit, we were overwhelmed by the long queue, but since it was just the two of us, we were seated very quickly (shared a table of course). Since the Siu Yok was already sold old (boohoo), I decided to give the Char Siu another shot. This time it was delicious and tender, and the roasted goose was yummy as always!

4.5 is my rating.
This place is known to have the best roasted duck. The duck meat was really tender and juicy, and the skin was nice and crispy. Super delicious! The noodles were transparent and not mushy, just the way I like. The bbq pork meat was also really tender and tasty, but I personally thought the duck was better.

I was excited to realize I was just a block away from Yat Lok when I found it on Unilocal,but I was quite disappointed. I went early evening on a weekday to try the famous roast goose. I ordered the roast goose rice (烧鹅飯) and a side of vegetables with oyster sauce. Perhaps my dish was just a fluke, but my goose meat (which was from the breast and included rib bones) was a bit cold, the skin wasn’t crispy at all but instead was rubbery with a layer of fat under the skin, and there wasn’t much flavor to the meat. I was surprised that the meat was a bit drier than I expected (but perhaps my standards were too high because this was my first time eating roast goose, and I was expecting it to taste like duck meat). Perhaps I went too early in the evening and I got leftover meat? I’m not sure, but it wasn’t exactly worth the 76HK (50 for the goose and rice, 26 for the veggies) that I paid :(

For what is supposedly a 1 Michelin star place the food at yat lok is rather ordinary not worth the effort of going out of the way to locate. They are known for roast goose which I found underwhelming even the BBQ meat at places in London chinatown taste far better?! Portions are tiny and prices quite high but I guess they are capitalising on their Michelin rating.

Unless one arrive early, there is usually a queue. However, the queue moves fairly quickly for singles and couples. This place is famous for its roast goose, so ordered a roast goose drumstick rice.
The skin is crispy. The meat is tender and juicy. The taste is rich and good. However, not sure whether it is the way they cut the drumstick (cutting more meat off) or the goose had been a diet, the drumstick is relatively small and skinny. The rice also came just with the drumstick; there was no vegetables (even 1 – 2 leaves that usually accompanying roast meat rice). One had to order extra veggie, which added to the overall costs. There was not even chopped onion/​ginger sauce. But it’s available if one asks for it.
The place is relatively small and cramped. Service was not particularly friendly, either.

This is a review about eating once here during lunch and eating once more 4 days later for dinner.
The first time experience I was truly blown away. Never mind the underwhelming interior and chairs that seem used for almost 20 years. Never mind, its all about the food. It’s the go-​to place, the 1 star michelin reputation, the typical HK alley roast shop appearance and the atmosphere of Cantonese speaking people throughout. You will find lots of tourists but certainly also many locals.
A bowl of roast pork rice costs around 55HKD and the two-​meat plate costs around 145HKD.
The roast pork, the char siew and the goose is to die for. You can read all about it on Unilocal.
But when night comes, the roast pork top doesn’t seem as crispy. The Char siew is still as good and you’d find the goose a bit too oily on the second try. They are still of high quality but not the kind of food you’d wanna visit a second time imo. Sometimes you get ushered into the «VIP» room which is the store room with two seats in it. Almost slipped while entering it. When you sit inside the «VIP room» with the cartons of soya sauce and rice inside, you might be a little afraid if there’s mice inside and the place reeking of oiliness kinda does not rub too well with me. They could certainly do some minimal renovations.
All that being said, I would strongly recommend to visit during lunch hours for the fresher safer taste that will leave you dangling for more. If you’re gonna eat at other roast place after this, you need not come back.

Visited Yat Lok after seeing Anthony Bourdain go crazy for the roast goose on No Reservations. Roast goose is not something you can normally find in the US, but seems to be one of the favorite BBQ meats in Hong Kong. I can say roast goose is one of the best things you can eat. Crispy skin, juicy meat, with just the right amount of fat. I also had some BBQ pork, which kind of was an afterthought to the goose. It’s that good.
One thing that stood out was the flavor of the BBQ. Living in the states, our Chinese BBQ is not usually roasted using charcoal or wood, which adds to the flavor.
The restaurant is small and was packed at lunch time. I was seated at a table with another family and when that family left I was asked to move seats in the middle of the meal to accommodate people waiting. I guess this is pretty standard in HK.

Best goose in my life! Ordered the combo plate of roast goose and pork. Ate every morsel of the goose, and left most of the pork. The Chinese dumplings were extraordinary! There was a queue, (about 1pm) but it moves very quickly. A real hole in the wall. From standing in line to paying for my food took only 20 minutes! They know how to move people!!! Inexpensive compared to other places in Hong Kong. A must if you want to try the goose. As a result, I am now going to try to do this at home — I never really liked goose before trying this place! Worthy of a Michelin star!

Came here for roast goose with ex-​colleagues. It has a 1-​star Michelin rating so I was expecting quite a bit. The place is super small and at lunch time it is almost impossible to get a table right away. We waited about 20 mins and you have to pretty much share a table with strangers — it’s called «dap toi» and it’s rather customary in HK to do this.
The roast goose was okay, the meat wasn’t all that juicy. In fact, it was a little dry. The soy sauce chicken was fantastic though. I wish I had only ordered that, but Yat Lok is famous for its roast goose so naturally, I had to try it.
For a dumpy place, the food is expensive probably due to the Michelin star, and especially due to the crazy rents in HK.
I suggest forgoing this place and go to Kam’s Roast Goose in Wanchai instead.

Yat Lok was on the top of my list after hearing how delectable their juicy and crispy roast goose is, and let me tell you — the hype is 100% spot-​on.
Their goose is one of the most delicious dishes (perfect solo or paired with noodles), well worthy of the Michelin star. The restaurant itself is your standard HK style café (with a big ‘umph’ on meats, obviously). 0 frills, but huge flavor, just as I like it.
We came around opening, so we didn’t have to deal with a line, but I would advise coming early anyways, to avoid the lunch rush.

The Michelin Star is for the food, and definitely not for the service. But that is fine with me.
Believe the roast goose hype. This was the best Chinese BBQ item I’ve ever had, hands down. The skin crispy, the meat tender, and the flavor out of this world. The char sui is no slouch here either. This place gets busy so you many need to wait to get a table but it is well worth it. They have a English menu with over rice combos but cheaper to order half or a whole goose with rice on the side. Service seems to be better if you come with a local or someone who speaks the language. They charge extra for napkins but that is common for HK. Not much else to be said except this place is a must go if you are in Hong Kong. Can’t wait for my next visit.

Heard everyone raving about the Roast Goose here so figured I would give it a chance. All the talk was about the Roast Goose over rice or the Roast Goose Noodles so I got an order of both. The goose is amazing, very flavorful and juicy. The broth from the noodles was much better than I expected it to be, I expected the goose to steal the show but the broth from the noodles was what I was most impressed with in that dish. My only concern in the noodle dish was that the broth, as expected, took away the crispy crunch to the goose skin. But that was where my Roast Goose over rice came into play.
If you are in Central HK I would definitely suggest stopping in and trying this dish.

I’d had take away from here when I was still new to HK so didn’t really appreciate it. Really craving some char siu and roasted goose, I had to come back and validate the recommendations. Dining in would be the only way to get the full experience too I decided.
After a brief wait in the queue, we were seated HK style at a shared table in no frills, packed to the brim restaurant. Upon request you will receive a menu that does have the English translations; however, just note one page is for soup noodles (1^st page I believe) and the 2^nd is for the dry noodle dishes. Although I wanted to see the full options, I already knew my order: char siu and roasted goose with lo mien noodles (dry).
The anticipation for my return visit did not disappoint. The char siu was tender and covered in the sweet bbq while the goose had a nice crispy skin and juicy interior. The noodles were a bit salty but that wasn’t my reason for being there. About 60hkd later, I’m already thinking about my next visit.

Michelin-​starred little humble shop on north side of street in LKF.
Roast goose rice… simple but perfect. Much leaner than duck, still succulent and packed with flavor. One of my fave meals in HK, even beating out all those delicacy sea cucumber, abalone, and specialty regions food.
So delicious. Snuck in :20 before they closed too!

The claws are out. It’s a fight out here.
Who has the best roast goose in Hong Kong?!
Well…Don’t ask me, but the BBQ here at Yat Lok can go in my books as some of the best that I’ve had. Given it’s location in Central, I was expecting this famous restaurant to be overpriced, crowded, and simply not worth it. It was not any of these!
You’re getting a pretty real Cantonese dining experience when you come here. Sure, it’s not the cleanest, nor is it the fanciest décor. You’ll probably/​definitely share tables with another party (hey, that’s how we keep the business going), but you’ll be satisfied with the meat on your plate.
Skip the duck and go for the goose. It’s meatier and more tender in my opinion. Accompany your meats with a side of white rice or egg noodles drizzled in soy and you’ll be good to go. It CAN get busy when dinner rolls around, so you’ll need to be persistent in flagging down a server if you want anything.
This joint is totally worth the trip!

I’ve heard many great things about 一樂. Known for their roast geese, people line up down the block at peak hours just to get a taste of it. There isn’t a foodie more swayed to tell the heavenly tales of good grubbins than that of a starving soul. When you are famished, everything tastes like that of milk n honey from the gods… MmmmMmmMmMmmm… Yesssssssss! Yums… 一樂’s roast goose… So succulent n juicy w just the right crisp of its skin roasted to perfection glazed w it’s own fats rendered from just the perfect temperature of the oven…
Hold it right there… (Rewind the tape please)
What had really happened was…
I was so starved and ready to go for the kill. This place has to be good since it was recommended by amazing foodies I trust most. We lined up and finally got in to this stuffy humid cramped little space packed w fanatics… Sounds horrid but I live for good eats in places like these. I ordered the roast goose and roast pork aka cha siu aka charsiu over rice. Oh yea and that over easy egg please… Yes sir over easy egg. My order arrived and I was in shock. This goose leg was dry and well overcooked. It lacked the glistening crispy skin of a goose prepped by the hands of a true master. The pork was good however but I came for the «famous» goose. The couple sitting in front of me got their order right after mine and theirs looked like what it was suppose to be. Juicy flesh and crispy bright glistening skin. I was sad. My excitement going there turned to utter disappointment. The inconsistency gave me a bad first impression. I will go back to give it another try but surely not today or anytime soon. For now I have better options. No milk n honey here for my growling hunger.
Better luck next time.
2.5 stars looking forward to that 4 – 5 star experience next time.

I am a huge fan of roast duck but there is one thing better — roast goose! This is something I try to eat on each visit to HK as we don’t have it back home in Australia. Goose is meatier but no less juicy than duck and when roasted well like Yat Lok with crispy skin, it is a spectacular morsel of meat. I ordered the #1 item on the menu which is roast goose with vermicelli soup. It might not be a big bowl, but it was a memorable dish due to the quality of the roast goose.
As mentioned, this is only a small eatery and not a place to loiter. I was the only foreigner dining at the time which is testament to the quality of food and not just a tourist trap.
I could be wrong but they hang the heads of every goose sold on the day up at the front and you can see how popular they are and will all sold out each afternoon.

If you don’t mind shared tables and «human Tetris» this place really delivers on the roast goose (燒鵝 /​Siu ngo) and BBQ pork (叉燒 /​Cha Siu) with rice (飯 /​faan).
And this place is relatively inexpensive being its a «hole in the wall» type place.
Just remember those words above for those who don’t speak any or much cantonese and all is good.
And lastly, this place is all about meat though so don’t come here if you are vegetarian or someone else in your group is or you’re going to be disappointed. And it’s probably not good for large groups too because of how small it is.

Who would ever thought goose in your noodles would be the best creation ever? FYI the lai fun noodles are almost impossible to pick up with your chop sticks. Be prepared to be slurpin loudly while you eat this amazing bowl!
When we came we came around 5 pm they were out of legs! So we basically had to order a quarter of goose with bowls of noodles on the side.
Their goose is amazing! They roast their goose nice and tender. And I wish the states would start eating goose. They goose in the back hanging and waiting to to be cut!
The ambience is nothing exciting at all. Pretty much just eat and leave!

honk! honk! honk! honk! honk! went the excited gosling as he waddled past yat lok.
mama goose: son, this is where you want to be when you grow up!
gosling: but mama, isn’t yung kee the more prestigious place to be?
m g: back then it was every geese’s dream to be branded a 飞机鹅 by yung kee!
g: so yung kee is no longer as good?
m g: many things have happened along the way and they have lost their plot.
g: so it’s yat lok’s time?!
m g: yes! michelin thinks so too!
g: just look at those humans queuing in line!
m g: fear not, they are a small but efficient set up, so the queue moves fast!
g: i see that it is best to dine here alone or max two pax?
m g: yes, they are better able to squeeze you in that way or you can order takeout?
g: yes, that Unilocaler nik t. did that! and he came back for more, a quarter goose now!
m g: they season our comrades well with their secret spices!
g: i smell cinnamon!
m g: then the master roaster painstakingly gives them a good even crispy tan!
g: a perfect glossy finish to die for!
m g: trust me son, them humans say they taste as good as they look!
g: i see juice dripping!
m g: yes, all that nutritious goodness will drench and flavour the rice well!
g: i bet the meat will be most moist and tender?
m g: yes! well put, son! something that makes us all proud to be a goose, not just any goose, a yat lok roast goose!
g: when i grow up… honk! honk! honk! honk! honk!

Why isn’t eating goose more commonly practiced in America? We need to change that because it’s freaking delicious! Especially at Yat Lok– their roast goose is famous for a reason!
I came by myself for lunch and was seated right away at a shared table. (There would have been a wait otherwise.) My «siu ngor/​char siu fan» (roast goose & roast pork over rice) arrived shortly after ordering, and it lived up to the hype!
The roast goose can be described in 3 layers: the first layer is of caramelized crispy skin, followed by a thin layer of melty fat, and lastly… the succulent layer of meat. The taste is similar to roast duck, but it’s a bit leaner and not gamey at all. Wow!
Their char siu (roast pork) was great as well, but the star of the show was the goose! The goose & pork were served side by side over white rice that absorbed the sauce from the roasted meats beautifully; all making for a simple but super tasty lunch.
Apparently, they can pack a goose for you if you want to bring it on a plane– «fei kei ngor» (airplane goose) is something I might seriously consider bringing home next time!

Five stars for the roast goose here. Mind you this place is tiny, and a hole in the wall sort of place, but the roast goose here is as good as it gets. We had it once more later in our trip and confirmed it was better here. The value here is great, and you’re certainly not paying for anything fancy.
The roast goose is similar to roast duck, but leaner and yet still succulent. I love roast duck, and given a choice would in fact favor the goose. It’s analogous to comparisons between say boar versus pork, and bison versus beef. This place is located in the tony Central district, and both 3-​piece suit ex-​pats and locals can be seen having their quickie after-​work meals here.