Near to KSL City Mall in Taman Century along Jalan Kancil, right beside August Drip Coffee (八月咖啡工作室), a gigantic roasted duck above a row of shops draws customers to Restoran Hao Bi (好比鸭王) for its range of Hong Kong-style roasted delights, especially its herbal roasted duck. Hao Bi has been in the roasting business for more than 30 years.
Hao Bi is well-known for its dang gui (Angelica sinensis, 当归) herbal roasted duck (当归药材烧鸭) and dang gui / Hong Kong-style roasted duck (当归 / 港式烧鸭) without herbs. There are roasted ducks in other herbal flavours too. Apart from roasted ducks, there are roasted suckling piglets, roasted pork, barbecue pork, roasted chicken and roasted goose (subject to availability). There are soy sauce chicken and kampung chicken dishes too.
Hao Bi's menu has a wider range of roasted delights that can be ordered as standalone dishes or mix-and-match as desired. There are other cooked dishes and soups too — Hao Bi is both a roaster and seafood restaurant. And the prices are reasonable too.
For single-pax dining, go for a Herbal Roasted Duck Rice/ Noodle (药材烧鸭饭/面) or Twin Mixed Roasted Duck Rice / Noodle with additional crispy roasted pork (烧鸭双拼饭/面+烧肉). The serving of herbal roasted duck and roasted pork is reasonably large. The duck meat has absorbed the aroma of the Angelica herb and is juicy and tender. I like the just-right herbal taste that lingers in the mouth — strong herbal presence tends to make the duck meat tastes bitter. The roasted pork with crispy skin is tasty, not too salty and do not have the "porky" smell that I feared most.
For larger group dining, order more dishes to try but herbal roasted duck and roasted pork are definitely a must. In one group dining of 5 pax, we have half a herbal roasted duck, a larger serving of crispy roasted pork, stir-fried kang kung (water spinach) and a claypot beancurd dish. We did not expect half a roasted duck to have so much meat.
The Three Mixed BBQ Delights (烧味三拼) is a dish with three selected roasted delights. This is probably the best way to try three meat from various roasted ducks, roasted pork, barbecue pork or roasted chicken for a smaller group. In another group-dining with 3 pax, we had herbal roasted duck, barbecue pork and roasted pork. It is meaty and very satisfying for meat-lovers.
I will be back for more roasted ducks of other flavours (available for larger group) and also their kampung chicken.
Address:
4, Jalan Kancil, Taman Century, 80250 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
*Note: Restoran Hao Bi has another 6 branches in Johor, including one near to JB City Square Mall, along Jalan Wong Ah Fook.
Opening Hours:
9:30am to 8pm | Daily
How to Get There:
From JB Sentral, take myBAS F100 to KSL City Mall and alight at Holiday Plaza. Read JB Bus Guide: Getting to KSL City Mall / Holiday Plaza in Johor Bahru.
Comments