Chinese BBQ
What is Chinese BBQ?
It does not meet the definitions of Texas BBQ for sure. All the meats are roasted. Some much longer than others. The three types of meat I love are BBQ pork, roasted pork, and roasted duck. The BBQ pork aka char siu is red, sticky, and sweet. Typically the cut of pork is shoulder or loin. When my sister and I were growing up, our mom would often make char sui in the oven at home. Roasted duck (sometimes called Peking duck) was my favorite growing up. The meat is fatty and rich. I can probably eat half of a duck and a few bowls of rice by myself. I am more of a fan of the roasted pork now. It is essentially pork belly with less fat and a skin of a crackling together. If done right, the results are spectacular.
I grew up eating Chinese BBQ in Cleveland, OH. There were a couple of places that did it in town. We had cousins that lived in Toronto, Canada so we would visit them a couple of times a year. The drive was not that bad at all. Under five hours. The Chinatown in Toronto is one of bigger ones that I have been to. I remember on every trip, we would come back with a few roasted ducks and some roasted pork. When growing up in Katy, we go to Chinatown in Houston almost every weekend. We get our BBQ fix there. Houston's Chinatown is humongous. Some of the street signs even have Chinese characters on them.
There are three places in Austin that does Chinese BBQ. Here are my thoughts for each one.
Din Ho Chinese BBQ
This was the first place I ever ate at in Austin. It was when my parents drove me to Austin for a campus visit at UT. I ate here every chance I had in college. The char siu was dry on this visit. The duck was juicy and had a lot of flavor. Outstanding. The roasted pork was salty, and the skin was not as crispy as I would like it to be.
Ho Ho Chinese B.B.Q.
I did not know this place existed for a long time. I would go here frequently if it was closer to me. The char siu here was moist and soft. Nice flavor. The duck was juicy and had a lot of meat on the bone. Out of bounds. That is how I describe the roasted pork here. The meat is tender and flavorful. The skin is nice and crispy. If I bought a slab of pork from Ho Ho, I can finish it in two days. No lies.
First Chinese BBQ
It is located in the Chinatown shopping center. When I go shopping at MT Supermarket in Chinatown, I would often go to First Chinese and order some of the meats to-go for future meals. The Char Siu was sweet and candy-like on this day. The meat was a little chewy though. The duck was rich and fatty. Solid. The roasted pork was nice and tender. The skin was crispy. It looked like the skin was separated from the meat and then were both chopped. Weird.
Overall, each place has their strong point. The roasted pork at Ho Ho is wonderful. The roasted duck is superb at Din Ho. Din Ho was my go to and then it was replaced by First Chinese. Ho Ho is now on top. I am not sure Austin could support a fourth Chinese BBQ location right now. Maybe someday, preferably in South Austin. Who knows?
Until next time, happy smoking...
Din Ho Chinese BBQ
Address: 8557 Research Blvd #116, Austin, TX 78758
Phone: (512) 832-8788
Website: http://www.dinhochinesebbq.com/
Ho Ho Chinese B.B.Q.
Address: 13000 N IH 35, Austin, TX 78753
Phone: (512) 339-9088
Website: http://www.hohochinesebbq.com/
First Chinese BBQ
Address: 10901 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78753
Phone: (512) 835-8889
Website: http://www.firstchinesebbq.com/
It does not meet the definitions of Texas BBQ for sure. All the meats are roasted. Some much longer than others. The three types of meat I love are BBQ pork, roasted pork, and roasted duck. The BBQ pork aka char siu is red, sticky, and sweet. Typically the cut of pork is shoulder or loin. When my sister and I were growing up, our mom would often make char sui in the oven at home. Roasted duck (sometimes called Peking duck) was my favorite growing up. The meat is fatty and rich. I can probably eat half of a duck and a few bowls of rice by myself. I am more of a fan of the roasted pork now. It is essentially pork belly with less fat and a skin of a crackling together. If done right, the results are spectacular.
I grew up eating Chinese BBQ in Cleveland, OH. There were a couple of places that did it in town. We had cousins that lived in Toronto, Canada so we would visit them a couple of times a year. The drive was not that bad at all. Under five hours. The Chinatown in Toronto is one of bigger ones that I have been to. I remember on every trip, we would come back with a few roasted ducks and some roasted pork. When growing up in Katy, we go to Chinatown in Houston almost every weekend. We get our BBQ fix there. Houston's Chinatown is humongous. Some of the street signs even have Chinese characters on them.
There are three places in Austin that does Chinese BBQ. Here are my thoughts for each one.
Din Ho Chinese BBQ
This was the first place I ever ate at in Austin. It was when my parents drove me to Austin for a campus visit at UT. I ate here every chance I had in college. The char siu was dry on this visit. The duck was juicy and had a lot of flavor. Outstanding. The roasted pork was salty, and the skin was not as crispy as I would like it to be.
Ho Ho Chinese B.B.Q.
I did not know this place existed for a long time. I would go here frequently if it was closer to me. The char siu here was moist and soft. Nice flavor. The duck was juicy and had a lot of meat on the bone. Out of bounds. That is how I describe the roasted pork here. The meat is tender and flavorful. The skin is nice and crispy. If I bought a slab of pork from Ho Ho, I can finish it in two days. No lies.
First Chinese BBQ
It is located in the Chinatown shopping center. When I go shopping at MT Supermarket in Chinatown, I would often go to First Chinese and order some of the meats to-go for future meals. The Char Siu was sweet and candy-like on this day. The meat was a little chewy though. The duck was rich and fatty. Solid. The roasted pork was nice and tender. The skin was crispy. It looked like the skin was separated from the meat and then were both chopped. Weird.
Overall, each place has their strong point. The roasted pork at Ho Ho is wonderful. The roasted duck is superb at Din Ho. Din Ho was my go to and then it was replaced by First Chinese. Ho Ho is now on top. I am not sure Austin could support a fourth Chinese BBQ location right now. Maybe someday, preferably in South Austin. Who knows?
Until next time, happy smoking...
Din Ho Chinese BBQ
Address: 8557 Research Blvd #116, Austin, TX 78758
Phone: (512) 832-8788
Website: http://www.dinhochinesebbq.com/
Ho Ho Chinese B.B.Q.
Address: 13000 N IH 35, Austin, TX 78753
Phone: (512) 339-9088
Website: http://www.hohochinesebbq.com/
First Chinese BBQ
Address: 10901 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78753
Phone: (512) 835-8889
Website: http://www.firstchinesebbq.com/
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