2025-02-02. Sun Hong BBQ & Seafood. Windsor, ON…read more
The problem with finding a place that does a dish well is that it sets the bar by which all else is compared. That's why food reviews are so subjective. They're all based on personal tastes and flavors. So, as I write this review, you may want to take it with a grain of salt. I don't frequent Windsor very often, so I don't know what the competition is like here. Maybe Sun Hong is "as good as it gets" for Windsor and other places are even worse, who knows...
For Roasted BBQ meats, my favorite is still Yummy Wok BBQ (in Toronto). Their flavors are inexplicable, but I can tell you it's all in their rub and their marinade.
To me Sun Hong duck wasn't even in the same league. The duck was roasted the traditional way, but it had so little flavor, it barely registered. When I asked for duck sauce, they gave me packets of Plum sauce. Wait whut? Now for many, plum sauce is what you have with duck, but I have never eaten roast duck with plum sauce. At Yummy Wok, nobody asks for plum sauce. In fact, I don't even know if they have plum sauce. When you order a duck there, they douse it with their marinade (which is 5-spice based), and let me tell you, it's the crack of duck sauces! Once you try that, you'll never go back! On the bright side, the duck at Sun Hong was not dried out. 2-stars for the proper cook.
The roasted pork was a little overdone and the meat was drier that I liked. I got the piece just below the ribs. The pieces had a medium amount of fat. On the bright side the skin was crispy as it should be. The sauce with this is Hoisin, and aside from the cook, you really can't go wrong with this dish. Yummy Wok uses their signature dry rub on their roast pork, which makes it a little salty for most, but it makes up for it in flavor. Sun Hong has no such rub and their pork was barely salted. Combine this with the overcook, and I have to go 3 stars here.
Lastly, I ordered some BBQ pork (aka Char Siu). This is a baked pork that is honey glazed. I asked for a leaner cut here as I wanted to use any leftovers to make a fried rice and they did a decent job in getting me some leaner pieces. Like the roast pork, the char siu was overcooked which dried it out a bit. Flavour wise, it was pretty much as expected. Again, it's five-spice based and there's little variation outside the other main ingredients. The only variable is the quantity they use to make certain flavors more prominent than others. They did cut the slices quite thick, more than I'm used to, and that added to making it a bit more tough. When overcooked, the key is to slice it thinner to make it more tender. Despite this and the overcook, this was probably their best dish. 3.5 stars.
The other shocker for me was the price. 1/2 Roast Duck, 1lb of Roast Pork, and 1lb of Char Siu came to a whopping $62!
Overall, if I'm being honest, this was very underwhelming for me. But keep in mind, everyone has different standards. Many people do prefer that their meats are fully cooked (I'm not one of them. I like these types of meats, just cooked -- no pink.) and many prefer it super lean (again, I'm not one of them. I like a little fat as cooking with the fat is what gives it the flavor!) Lastly, many prefer milder flavors, whereas I like mine bold and intense. My standards are most likely different from others, as are my taste preferences.
If You would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit!
