Roast Goose @ MC Charcoal Goose 味宗烧鹅

MC Charcoal Goose is a Hong Kong restaurant chain that has opened a chain of franchise restaurants in China. The signs, posters and menu all over the exterior and interior of MC Charcoal Goose (味宗烧鹅) proudly proclaim: 鹅香不怕巷子深. This roughly translates to "if the goose smells fragrant, you do not fear if the restaurant is tucked in an alley." This restaurant certainly appears very proud of the quality of their roast goose. And roast goose is their title event. So I walked in with high hopes of finding great food. The place is tiny and I thought it had pretty intriguing decor with lovely faux marble tables and stools. The stools were not very comfortable though but it would suffice for a quick meal and exit.



First disappointment came when I looked at the open kitchen. There is a microwave and the food is heated in the microwave before serving. Uh-oh.



I ordered the roast goose drumstick and Macanese roast pork with rice. The portions are reasonable with a generous helping of boiled vegetables. Picking up a piece of the roast goose with my chopsticks provided a second disappointment. The goose was chopped in portions that appear to be targeted at people with mouths the size of a hippopotamus. The chef who chopped the meat is clearly an amateur. I could do better than that and I admit that I am hopeless at this. That said, the goose meat was poor for what is supposed to be a Hong Kong restaurant chain coming to China to show the locals how to do goose properly. Firstly, the skin was soggy and no longer crisp and while the skin and the meat was nicely separated, the fat was not roasted off properly and there was still way too much fat between the skin and the meat. Taking a bite of the meat, it was a bit on the tougher side. While it is by no means bad, having tasted well roasted goose, this in comparison is not an example of good roast.

Roast pork was even worse. The roast came with a thick hard skin that was neither crisp nor edible. Chewing it was a challenge. A well done roast pork should have a crispy skin that you could crunch and enjoy. On the bright side, the meat below the skin was tender and done quite nicely.

The vegetables were old and overly fibrous. So that topped off a rather poor meal with more downers than highlights. You might wonder why I am rather hard on the food. The main reason is their boast plus the price - 44 RMB for that plate, more than double the price of the same serving anywhere else in Shenzhen. In fact, this is probably even expensive by Hong Kong standards. So the disappointment is magnified.



It seems that this is a franchise store and I think the franchise owner needs to know how badly their name was being dragged in mud by not controlling the quality of the food they serve or the operators that they license their name to. Especially when they are premium priced.

The address:
MC Charcoal Goose, Coastal City East Tower Block facing Kempinski Hotel, Nanshan, Shenzhen 味宗烧鹅 深圳南山海岸城东座凯宾斯基酒店对面
Google Map Directions