BANGKOK — The Cantonese roast franchise Kam’s Roast makes its debut in Bangkok this week, just in time for Chinese New Year.
The Hong Kong-based restaurant is set to open its doors Thursday on the seventh floor of CentralWorld mall, boasting an impressive array of roast duck and pork dishes to quell even the most raucous family gatherings and nitpicking relatives. Media were invited to a preview on Monday.
I may still continue to dream of the Toro Char Siu (445 baht), slices of warm moo daeng pork belly ribboned with just the right amount of fat, dipped into plum sauce. The Crispy Roast Pork (410 baht) is a delightful mix of thin, crunchy skin and flavorful fat. When dipped in spicy mustard, one wants more of both.
The Char Siu (374 baht) is the leaner cousin of the Toro Char Siu, with just the right amount of toughness around its red edges.
The roast duck (price from 410 baht for one-fourth of the duck to 1,507 baht for an entire duck) takes three days to prepare, the restaurant says, and only 12 can be made at a time. The birds are marinated for a day, air dried for another, and roasted on the third day. It’s dense but neither tough nor stringy.
Even more delicious than the roast duck was the Pipa duck, with its crispy skin and lighter flesh. It’s been marinated in a variety of Chinese spices, including orange peels dry-aged for 23 years.
Indeed, Kam’s Roast happily replaces memories of cold plates of neon red duck and alarmingly-green egg noodles one is forced to eat at clan reunions, ordered in bulk by aunties who insist on their consumption for the occasion.
However, the famous roast goose is nowhere to be seen – staff said goose would be on the menu in May.
The honey glazed soya beans (59 baht) provided a chewy, sweet break from the meat as ddi the marinated black fungus with vinegar (70 baht).
The decadent meat dishes overshadowed other fare, such as the Soya Chicken (328 for a small portion to 1,158 baht for a whole chicken), the Shrimp Wonton Soup (281 baht) or the noodle side dishes. The eggy noodles are imported from Hong Kong. A normal Red Bean Soup (94 baht) is provided as a warm dessert.
The original Kam’s Roast in Hong Kong is famous for earning one Michelin star, and retaining it, for seven consecutive years from 2015 to 2021. The first branch debuted in July 2014 by Hardy Kam Shun-yuen, and won their first star just four months after opening.
Kam’s grandfather, Kam Shui Fai, founded another famous roast goose restaurant, Yung Kee in 1942.
Kam’s Roast also has branches in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The Thai store is the largest store in its overseas franchises, with a seat capacity of 120.
Kam’s Roast Thailand is open from 11am to 10pm every day and is located on the seventh floor of CentralWorld, a short walk from BTS Siam or BTS Chit Lom. This review is unsponsored and based on a hosted visit.
