PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAYou’ve gotta love a restaurant that attracts customers with a giant logo depicting hundreds of dead pigs hanging from hooks (unless, of course, you’re a vegetarian.) From BBQ King’s front window you can see more dead meat suspended around the kitchen: hunks of thick, fatty pork and glazed, brown-skinned ducks. It may be a little unappetising to some, but BBQ King’s duck and suckling pig are one of the true culinary delights of Chinatown. Inside it’s a warren of crowded dining rooms, all of them drably fitted out save for a few traditional Chinese paintings. The staff are pretty indifferent, but at BBQ King, service is a very minor point.
Whether you stick with old favourites or brave some real exotica like the deep-fried pig’s intestines, almost everything at BBQ King is outrageously tasty, and the servings won’t leave you hungry. The Chinese-style barbecued meats: crisp and juicy Peking duck and extravagantly tender, unctuous pork are must-orders. The rest of the meal can be filled out with noodles, congee, chilli salt squid, combination hotpot and steamed greens. With its 2am closing time, BBQ King is famous for attracting chefs from all over the CBD once their own kitchens have closed. It hasn't updated decor or menu since sometime back in the Ming Dynasty, but that’s what makes it a true Sydney institution.
Fiona Davies, August 2006
