Ka Kee

About

I had walked past this place many times and been intrigued by the traditional wooden front and the crowds inside, but never actually got round to trying it. Finally, in search of some authentic Cantonese food, I managed to get along and was really impressed by what I found. This place offers very solid Cantonese food at affordable prices.

Chinese soups can sometimes be watery and really bland, but here the seasonal soup was a pleasing way to start the meal. The broth was full of flavour, with the meat bones and chinese vegetables giving it a distinctive, slightly bitter taste and the addition of almonds balancing with this nicely. The large pieces of potato were really earthy and went well with this broth, adding a bit of substance.

After that, we had the steamed mince meat and cuttlefish in a copper pot. This is meant to be older Hong Kong people's favourite, probably partly because it is so soft they can eat it even if they've lost most of their teeth. The version here had really soft, spongy minced meat and cuttlefish which complimented each other well.  Instead of the rubbery texture in some places, the meat had kept a strong taste, added to by the dark sauce around it, which unlike some versions of this dish didn't drown the meaty flavours.

The drunken chicken here was superb and one of the best examples of this I have tasted. The chicken pieces beautifully juicy, their smooth white flesh holding the wine flavour in a way that made it even more succulent, but not tasting too potently of alcohol. Perhaps what really made the dish though was the fresh green vegetables scattered on top, and the really strong crushed garlic, both of which went perfectly with the texture of the meat.

The duck dish was also very satisfying, although it was hard to decide whether it was really that traditionally Cantonese or just a luxury dish. Still, to get such tender, perfectly cooked slices of duck for so little money feels like a real luxury to me. There skin was brown and slightly crisp, while the meat inside was still pink and soft and not dried out at all. The dish came with a taco basket full of fried tofu, the spongy texture of which went perfectly with the meatier pieces of duck. 

Photos

[caption id="attachment_131" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Seasonal Soup"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_133" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Miced Pork and Cuttlefish in a Copper Pot"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_132" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Drunken Chicken"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_134" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Duck with Fried Tofu"][/caption]

Directions

This place is easy to spot because of its very traditional looking wooden fronting. Walking along Queen's Road towards Kennedy town, its on the left hand side of  Queens Road, just after the road crosses Water Street. The address is 438 Queens Road West, Sai Ying Pun.

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110278381660667080594.00045eee009a4d17a789b&s=AARTsJriVjY5ys5W22Wjn7F_m96D7v_YyA&ll=22.286734,114.138111&spn=0.001737,0.00228&z=18&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

Cost

About HK$ 60 - 80 a dish.