Hong Kong-style roast meat shop tucked in Taipei’s alleys – must-try glossy roast duck leg

Text & photos byXiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog

[Taipei Main Station Eats – Xu Ji Authentic Hong Kong-Style Roast Meat] Recommendation: ★★★★¼

Because of my previous job, I almost never go into cafeterias or bento shops, but “Hong Kong-style roast meat” is the exception—especially the “roast duck leg.” Whenever I hear about a place that serves good roast legs, I can’t wait to rush over.

About two months ago, a netizen left a comment recommending this shop’s roast duck leg, but they only wrote the name and gave a rough location, which had me, a notorious direction-challenged person, searching twice without success. But I believe there’s still some fate between people and food, so I eventually stumbled upon it by chance when I saw a crowd queuing up in the alley…

Then I got curious looking at the menu on the wall—for example, curry chicken rice and other items not commonly found at typical Hong Kong-style roast meat shops—so I picked a time to slip in during off-peak hours. The dining space isn’t large, but it has air conditioning, hot soup, and iced tea.

At the time, I think it was a little past the opening hour, but the roast duck legs were already sold out. In despair, I opted to try the curry chicken rice I was curious about. First, let’s talk about the chicken—it seems to be from bucket oil chicken—with thin skin, smooth and tender texture, and just the right level of sweetness. Even though mixing it with the curry slightly distorted the flavors, the aroma of the chicken skin was still quite captivating.

Next is this curry, which is a bit Taiwanese yet different—it’s slightly more viscous and has a silky-smooth texture reminiscent of beef with egg. The flavor is Taiwanese curry infused with a lighter Hong Kong-style note, salty with a hint of sweetness. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’s good enough to bring me back.

On my second visit, I deliberately tried something else and went for “fried rice,” choosing the beef fried rice. When it arrived, the presentation wasn’t great, but the rice was stir-fried decently and the taste wasn’t bad. I did feel the beef’s oiliness didn’t fully seep into the grains, and it lacked the egg fragrance I love, but overall it was still pretty tasty—at least it wasn’t greasy or dry.

Another thing that might be considered a downside is that the beef slices are very small and there aren’t many of them… I felt like ordering plain fried rice might’ve been better XD

Finally, the make-or-break item: the “roast duck leg.” When it arrived, the glossiness, color, and even the oil in the plate were all satisfying. The moment you get close, the slightly charred, sweet and oily aroma is quite enticing. The texture features thin, slightly crispy skin, and while the layer of fat underneath isn’t thick, it’s still very smooth. The duck meat itself is soft, tender, not dry or tough—really delicious. The accompanying scallion oil isn’t chopped too finely, so it doesn’t get overly oily or salty, which I personally like. Overall, the roast duck leg is delicious, even if it doesn’t make it into my top three favorite roast duck legs.

Lastly, the pickled radish on the table, because it’s mixed with dried fish, has a more layered and unique flavor—even eating it on its own is good, though it’s a bit on the salty side.

Xu Ji Roast Meat
Address: Intersection of Lane 52, Chang’an West Road (Exit R2 of Huayin Street)
Phone: N/A
Business Hours: 11:00–20:00 (closed Sat & Sun)

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