B.B.Q. King Restaurant

The King is dead. Long live the King!
A long time ago Bunt and I made Peking Duck from scratch, well actually we made it from a duck. It took us three days.
Step 194 was to make a small incision in the skin and, using a straw, blow the skin away from the body, so it would crisp up when we fired up the Weber. Quite apart from being the most unhygienic thing to do to food that I have ever heard, Keeno came over and caught me red handed with a straw up a duck. Deadpan, she asked did I realise the futility of trying to snort a duck.
I will never make that dish again. The King’s Peking Duck is just the best and shows what a waste of time it is trying to make something thats really difficult when you can buy it from a true master. I have had Peking Duck from the King many many many times. Whatever the collective noun for ducks is I have had one. It is one of Sydney’s truly great places. Check out the Unilocal reviews… one bloke reckons its the second best restaurant in the world… and his wife reckons it is the best!
Others don’t get it.
I panicked when I saw it had closed, became relieved when I read a sign that it was just being renovated, and panicked again when I saw the ‘For Lease’ signs go up.
Now I read in Broadsheet that they have bought their own place but no one knows where?
I wonder how they will make it look 35 years old and I wonder how long I have to wait to get another Peking Duck and some Char Siu?
Watch this space!
This just in… the collective noun for Ducks is a «Paddling».

The best bbq duck and bbq pork in Sydney by far. However I’ve only ordered through the takeaway window, haven’t been to the restaurant. Surprisingly the takeaway staff are super friendly every time. They have even thrown some bbq pork offcuts to our well behaved dogs that were waiting patiently for us to order. It’s a great thing to live within walking distance of bbq king.

Came by for their famed BBQ duck. It started off okay, but made the mistake of ordering in english, waiter didn’t understand gluten-​allergy, no soy sauce, etc, and brought out duck dripping in soy sauce. We explained the allergy situation and they brought the same duck back out, just drained of soy sauce. I’m very familiar with down and dirty chinese places but I did find a weird looking kinky hair in my gai lan as well as a maggot, which probably means they do not really wash their produce very well. But thinking back… what is a maggot doing in the veggie in the first place?
The staff is typical chinese. Rude or dismissive. Explained that basically everything on the menu except steamed chicken has wheat or soy sauce. So… no bueno on the gluten-​free deal.
Got the stink eye even though I still gave a good tip. Never again.

If a time machine collided with a restaurant and then ceased to work altogether it would be BBQ King. This is one of the four pillars of the oldest institutions in Chinatown Sydney. And to be certain the building hasn’t changed and neither has the décor since 1991. But most importantly the food and extremely long hours remain true to my memory.
Don’t be fooled by the unpretentious simplicity, there is insight and refinement in the menu. The service is above average and the range of dishes is very broad.
For me the best experiences are with a broad selection of entrees coupled alongside a single ingredient congee such as duck or scallops.

This is basically my local Chinese restaurant as it is only around the corner from me. Everyone has a local Chinese restaurant and I’m lucky enough to have BBQ King as mine. They have been here for a long time and know what they’re doing when it comes to BBQ meats and classic Cantonese style cooking. The only downer is that they also charge inflated CBD prices which could deter some patrons.
When you’re lazy and want a quick hearty meal, a plate of BBQ meat with rice and greens plus a bowl of soup is the ideal choice. If you’re craving something more elaborate they have all the usual favourites and also do live seafood.
TIP: The BBQ shop window is open until about 6pm but you can still get BBQ meats after that by ordering at the front of house.

Amazing food. Just a plain and clean restaurant. I think it is top 2 around the world. My wife says number 1. Don’t expect fancy service.

Ordered some soy chicken and some bbq duck from here and it wasn’t to bad. The chicken was reasonable, but the duck was a bit dry. The highlight of the meal was the spring onion dipping sauce, a variation of the famous ginger scallion sauce. It was suitably salty which pepped the soy chicken wonderfully. Apart from that its got nothing on The Good One bbq in Perth.

I’ve been coming here for many years and it’s always as good. The venue is old and by no means high brow, but the food is amazing and quick! Just order the duck pancakes and san choi bau — you’ll walk out satisfied and comfortable full :)

We had lunch and a dinner there. Great place and the prices are also great. This is not a fancy place. However, The owner and his staff are extremely helpful and very friendly. They make you feel very welcomed.
On our first visit, we had a steamed whole fish with white rice. It was delicious. Our next visit, we ordered BBQ duck and we were not disappointed. It was very meaty and not greasy at all.
The best way to judge an Asian restaurant is by how many local Chinese eat there. If you go, there will be meany Chinese patrons there.

They definitely have decent Chinese food here — nothing short of authentic. The best dish was the vegetable clay pot with noodles — everything about the vegetables and flavor was delicious and done well. The duck and the BBQ pork were good, however it wasn’t anything special. Same with the spicy noodle dish we ordered. If you’re looking to cure a quick BBQ pork/​duck craving — this isn’t a bad place to stop by at!

Waaaaay overrated and overpriced for the quality of food. I should have known better but I thought it was worth a shot. Wrong… The duck is good, not great. Whoever says this is the best duck they ever had has never had the real deal in Beijing. Everything else we had was average at best. I wouldn’t of cared so much if not for the fact that it was was too expensive for what I got, a shabby interior with rude service and average food. Avoid this place or end up spending a lot for mediocre food.

This is easily my favourite Chinese joint in Sydney. I went in a number of times and got the duck over rice dinner plate. It was always good. The staff is really friendly and the restaurant is quaint and fun.
Highly recommended.

«Oy. Did… did we go to the duck place last night?» — often follows a flashback to a boozed up evening at this place. And no, I didn’t know the name of it until now… Also also, yes, I have been here sober, so please take the below seriously.
You might feel absolutely disgusting after eating here, but it’ll be totes worth it! I usually start with the dim sum – BOTH fried and steamed – if I’m feeling especially gluttonous, then roast duck and bbq pork. You’re going to want a tub of steamed rice to soak up all the juices, too. Basically, here’s how the REAL peeps – who will likely be watching and judging if you’re DOING IT WRONG – eat: make a little nest of rice in your bowl/​cup, top it with whatever tasty proteins you’ve ordered, and don’t you dare ask for «soy sauce».
Wine list is pretty decent and has a wide range of pricing. Overall, the place isn’t what I’d called cheap eats but the portions are more than enough.
PS. Anyone who says this place is doing it wrong was, well, doing it wrong! Stick with the bbq pork and roast duck specialties and you won’t be sorry. Shout out to the salt and pepper chicken, too!

Open until 2am and serves great duck pancakes. What more do you need?
BBQ King is not the place to come for a romantic dinner, or with anyone who expects cleanliness, polish or good service in a restaurant. Or vegetarians who might get queasy at all those delicious, glistening dead ducks in the window. However, for heavenly duck pancakes and decent other dishes late at night, there is nowhere else.
Bonus — you can get a bottle of Bolly for $ 65. Yes, you have to drink it out of tiny wine glasses which are dirty, chipped or cracked (or all of the above). But that’s still cheaper than most bottle shops!!!

went here with a group a friends and we decided to order the banquet meal which might have been a bit ambitious. we expected small portions, but were pleasantly surprised when each dish that came out was massive.
2 course Peking duck, bbq duck and pork, Chinese broccoli, beef, soup, salt and pepper seafood. everything was great, but the shredded beef was great. it was so much food and well worth the $ 48 price tag. if you’re super hungry and with a group a friends i would recommend ordering the banquet. it’s quite the feast!
the service is average, but got the job done. you basic service at this sort of establishment which had no complaints or compliments from me.

Decided to go to Chinatown and randomly picked BBQ King as opposed to some of the other flashier restaurants in the area. Had amazing BBQ pork and Mongolian beef. Crispy skin chicken was OK — a little dry — but still tasty. We’ll definitely be visiting again.

Let me preface this review by disclosing that I’ve had several bouts with food poisoning over the years and have a natural tendency to avoid places that appear moderately unclean. Strolling into this establishment, despite the rousing tales of previous exploits from my companions in support of its spoils, I made a silent promise to myself to stick with a can of soda (and a straw) and call it a night. And then, they brought out the duck. Let’s just say I threw caution to the wind (my rationale: all of those late nights at Waffle House in 2000 – 2002), and I have zero regrets. The only rumbling in my belly that night was the sweet cry for more delicious duck. Honestly, I don’t remember what else we ordered (aside from some wine that was definitely a miss, even in our state of elated inebriation), but it was overall an excellent experience.

I really wanted to like BBQ King (can you sense a «but» coming?).
I love the almost macabre & arguably unappetising shop sign with the thousand dead ducks hanging on hooks (pic). I love the 1980s décor & the tanks of fresh seafood that nobody has probably actually eaten anything from (or cleaned?) since they were put in. I like the staff, the plethora of lucky waving cats — I love the restaurant’s eccentricities…
…BUT (see you were right), seriously Sydney, what is all the fuss about the food? For a place that is considered a «…Sydney institution…» by some I was expecting a lot.
The special fried rice was, hats off, very good. Dry, not oily, delicious & generous helpings of prawns, beef, pork, chicken & egg. Yum. But (there I go again) not very difficult. I can whip up a very passable special fried rice, you’ll have to do better than that to impress me.
The spring rolls were awful, definitely frozen; and those nasty cheap frozen ones too where all the innards turn to mush when they’re cooked.
So, those didn’t hit the mark, but this is a Chinese BBQ restaurant, a BBQ King no less. Their reputation must be made on the hot coals of the BBQ grill, surely the barbecued crispy duck would be a winner?
Sadly, no.
BBQ King? BBQ Shy more like. The duck was in my opinion hugely undercooked. It’s hard to get a crispy skin when the duck has not even been given time to get properly acquainted with the grill, and worse, underneath that there was the layer of uncooked duck fat completely unrendered. Great to roast spuds in, horrendous to get a mouthful of.
Overall, massively disappointing. A Sydney institution? Well, after eating here once, you’ve my permission to put me in a Sydney (mental) institution if I ever go back.
(Did you see what I did there? Comedy gold. I’m here all week folks, try the veal).

Maybe we missed it because we didn’t have the duck.
We ordered shredded beef, fried and steamed shu mai, and sweet and sour pork.
The shredded beef was slightly battered and had a sweet sauce on it. The sweet and sour pork was more sweet than sour. The shu mai did not taste freshly made.
It tasted like there was too much sugar on everything. Chinese food in the US is made with a lot of sugar too to adapt to American taste buds and it tasted the same here. I was in China and Hong Kong in March 2012 and it did not taste like authentic Chinese or Hong Kong food to me.

«Holy DUCK, what have you done to my taste buds?!» This is what I yell in my brain each time I visit BBQK and is easily one of my top 5 restaurants in Sydney.
When opening the menu skip straight to the DUCK portion of the menu and do your friends and yourself a HUGE favor and order the Duck Two Ways. There’s no getting around it, this is a MUST if you visit BBQ King. Duck pancakes are essential and you will not go wrong with any of the remaining choices. Then you can decide on the supplementary dishes like green beans or roast pork dry noodles.
Come with a group and you can order more items from the menu and share family style. Order a couple of Tsing Tao to control your hyper salivation and practice your Chinese by knocking your bottles and yelling, GAM-​BEI!
The only thing I’ll say about service and ambiance is, do not come here if you’re looking to score a romantic evening. In fact, your love affair will be with the food only and you’re going to leave feeling pretty fat-​tastic and smelling like a wok for the rest of the night. There will be no ounce of regret though because the food is off the charts.
If you don’t believe me, please accept the approval from my difficult-​to-​please parents as a gesture that this place is legit. This really is as good as it gets.