Shenzhen Cantonese Roast Meats (烧腊) — Roast Goose, Char Siu & the Siu Laap Counter

Q: Do Shenzhen roast-meat shops take cash, and is there English?

Small roast-meat counters (烧腊店) in Shenzhen mostly take WeChat Pay and Alipay; some accept Chinese yuan cash, but almost none take foreign credit cards. Link a Visa/Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat before you travel. Old-school shops in the old neighbourhoods like Dongmen (Luohu) or Shekou (Nanshan) usually have no English menu — just point at the meats hanging in the window, or say 叉烧饭 (char siu rice) or 烧鹅饭 (roast goose rice). Larger restaurants like Laurel (丹桂轩) have picture menus and staff who can help.

The tradition

Siu laap (烧腊) — the meats hanging in every Shenzhen window

Shenzhen is a young city — it went from fishing villages to a 17-million-person megacity in under fifty years, with people arriving from every province in China. That makes its food famously diverse, so much so that there is really no single "native Shenzhen dish". But one thing underpins the whole city: Cantonese cooking. Shenzhen sits in Guangdong, and nothing says Cantonese more plainly than that glass-fronted counter with glossy mahogany roast geese hanging in a row, long strips of honey-lacquered char siu, golden-skinned roast pork chopped into squares, and whole dark-glazed chickens. That is siu laap (烧腊, Mandarin shāo là).

Siu laap is the family of Cantonese roasted and cured meats that people here eat as routine, not as a festival treat. For a great many Shenzhen workers, lunch is simply a single rice plate — steamed rice topped with char siu or roast goose and a drizzle of sweet soy, eaten in fifteen minutes before heading back to the desk. And because Shenzhen is right next door to Hong Kong, Hong-Kong-style roast-meat shops (港式烧腊) turn up all over the city — some of them long-standing places that Shekou or Dongmen residents have eaten at for a decade or more.

Every Cantonese roast follows the same principle: the skin is the hero. Goose and crispy pork go through a process of separating the skin from the flesh with air, brushing it with a maltose-and-vinegar wash, and drying it completely before it ever meets the fire — so that the heat puffs the skin into thin, brittle scales. Char siu and soy-sauce chicken, meanwhile, are all about the marinade and the glaze soaking deep into the meat. Simple plates that hide more technique than they let on — and the best starting point if you want to understand Shenzhen's Cantonese kitchen.

The essential four

Roast meats worth knowing by name

Ordered by how often you will see them on a Shenzhen roast-meat counter — the four that tell you something true about this kitchen.

Char siu — Cantonese honey-glazed barbecued pork, deep red and glossy with charred caramelised edges, sliced into pieces

Char Siu (叉烧)

Honey-Glazed Barbecued Pork · the dish that measures a roast-meat shop

Pork shoulder or collar — often cut to the 3-fat-to-7-lean "golden ratio" that the trade swears by — marinated in honey, soy sauce, rice wine and five-spice, then skewered and roasted until the edges caramelise to a sweet char and a final honey glaze leaves it glossy. The name means "fork-roast", from the way it is hung on a fork over the heat. Good char siu has those slightly burnt edges, stays moist inside, and lands sweet first, savory second. Several Shenzhen shops make a "black char siu" (黑叉烧) — glazed so dark it is nearly black, sweet and intense — and the roast-meat shops around Meilin are known for it.

Where: Dacong Roast Goose (大聪烧鹅 · Meilin · famous for black char siu) · roast-meat counters citywide

Price: ¥28–58 a plate (~฿140–290) · char siu rice ¥18–32 (~฿90–160)

Tip: Ask for 肥叉 (fattier char siu) if you like it juicy · spoon the sweet soy over the rice

Cantonese roast goose — crisp lacquered mahogany skin, chopped into pieces on an oval platter with sauce and choy sum

Roast Goose (烧鹅)

Crisp-Skinned Roast Goose over Plum Sauce · the Cantonese star

This is the dish Cantonese cooking is proudest of, and the real thing — not Beijing's duck. A large goose has air blown between its skin and flesh, is brushed with maltose, dried, then roasted in a clay pit over lychee-wood charcoal — the 深井烧鹅 style that began in Shenjing village, Guangzhou — until the skin puffs into thin crackling scented with lychee smoke. The flesh stays juicy, the fat under the skin melts to silk, and it is chopped and served with sour-sweet plum sauce (酸梅酱) to cut the richness. In Shenzhen you will also see 烧鹅濑粉, roast goose with thick lai fun rice noodles, as a local favourite. The crack of the skin on the first bite tells you the shop did it right.

Where: Shekou Deji (蛇口德记烧腊 · Shekou · sells out fast) · Laurel (丹桂轩 · Luohu)

Price: half goose ¥98–168 (~฿490–840) · roast goose rice ¥28–45 (~฿140–225)

Tip: Order 下桩 (thigh-and-leg section) for more meat and skin · go before noon while the goose is fresh

Crispy roast pork belly — golden blistered crackling skin, sliced and plated beside char siu on a white plate

Crispy Roast Pork (烧肉)

脆皮烧肉 · Pork Belly with Skin Blistered into Golden Crackling

Pork belly whose skin puffs into tiny golden blisters — like crisp sandpaper. That texture comes from pricking the skin with hundreds of tiny holes, rubbing it with salt, drying it out, then roasting it hot until the skin explodes into crackling that snaps like popcorn when you bite. Below the skin sits a thin layer of fat and tender meat; you dip it in yellow mustard or, the Cantonese way, in plain sugar. It is a fixture at celebration tables, where the red-gold skin is read as a symbol of prosperity.

Where: roast-meat shops around Shekou · Hong Kong Xinfa (香港新发 · Luohu · known for crackling)

Price: ¥32–58 a plate (~฿160–290)

Tip: Pair it with char siu as a 双拼 (two-meat plate) · dip in sugar to cut the fat

🍗4

Soy-Sauce Chicken (豉油鸡)

Poached in Master Soy Stock · glossy dark skin, silky flesh

A whole chicken is dipped and poached in a master stock of soy sauce, rock sugar, rice wine and spices — star anise, cinnamon, ginger — in a repeated dip-rest-dip rhythm until the skin turns a deep, glossy brown and the meat soaks up the savory-sweet flavour right to the bone. Served warm or cool, chopped into bite-size pieces. Locals often order half a soy-sauce chicken alongside a roast goose or char siu on a shared platter. Don't confuse it with white-cut chicken (白切鸡), which highlights the clean taste of the bird — soy-sauce chicken is the roast-counter version, deeper and darker.

Where: Kangji Siu Laap (康记烧腊 · Shekou) · roast-meat counters citywide

Price: half chicken ¥38–68 (~฿190–340) · soy-sauce chicken rice ¥20–32 (~฿100–160)

Tip: Ask for the thigh-and-leg if you like it juicy · spoon the braising stock over the rice

About that skin: why do goose and crispy-pork skin stay crisp so long? Because of the "air-and-dry" step before roasting, which separates the skin from the flesh and removes all moisture. When the heat hits, the fat beneath pushes the dry skin up into scales — and the drier the skin, the longer the crackle lasts. It is also why roast meat taken back to the hotel rarely crackles the way it does at the shop — if you do take some away, eat it within the first hour.

How locals eat it

Rice plate vs shared platter — which to order

烧味饭 — the single-plate rice meal (solo / quick lunch)

Eating alone or in a hurry? Order siu mei faan (烧味饭) — hot steamed rice topped with one or two roast meats and a drizzle of sweet soy, usually with a side of blanched greens (choy sum) and a clear soup. The favourites are 叉烧饭 (char siu rice) · 烧鹅饭 (roast goose rice) · 烧肉饭 (crispy pork rice) · 豉油鸡饭 (soy-sauce chicken rice). This is the standard Shenzhen office lunch — cheap, filling, fast.

Want two meats on one plate? Order 双拼饭 (a two-meat rice) — char siu plus crispy pork, say, or roast goose plus soy-sauce chicken. Another dish you will see a lot here is 烧鹅濑粉 — roast goose with thick, slippery lai fun noodles in a hot broth. Expect ¥18–45 a plate (~฿90–225).

拼盘 — the shared platter (with a group)

With three or four people, a shared platter (拼盘, pīn pán) works out better — half a roast goose (¥98–168), a big plate of char siu, half a soy-sauce chicken, all set in the middle of the table. Add plain rice and a stir-fried vegetable and share everything.

Group size: two people — a quarter goose plus two bowls of rice · four people — half a goose plus char siu, a vegetable and rice. Per person: a humble roast-meat shop runs ¥30–70 (~฿150–350); a comfortable sit-down place like Laurel ¥80–150 (~฿400–750).

Paying — sort it out first

Old-school shops in the old neighbourhoods like Dongmen (Luohu) or Shekou (Nanshan) usually have no English menu — and that is fine. Point at the meats hanging in the window, or say a simple dish name like 叉烧饭 / 烧鹅饭. A little effort goes a long way and the welcome is usually warm.

Cantonese roast-meat shops

Where to go — every budget

Places Shenzhen locals actually queue for, from a back-lane counter in Shekou to a citywide name.

Laurel (丹桂轩)

Citywide Cantonese restaurant · Luohu · since 1988

If you want roast meat at restaurant-level skill in a comfortable sit-down setting, Laurel (丹桂轩) is the first name Shenzhen locals reach for — a long-running Cantonese restaurant founded in 1988 with branches across the city. It is celebrated for both dim sum and roast meats: the roast goose has crisp, glossy skin and tender, gently smoky flesh. It suits a morning visit for tea and dim sum just as well as a shared dinner platter for a group. Dinner brings a queue; arrive before 6pm or after 8pm to be seated faster. Picture menu, staff happy to help.

Address: several branches in Luohu (near Dongmen / Laojie) and across Shenzhen · Metro Line 1/3, Laojie
Hours: ~10.00–22.00 (dim sum in the morning) · Price: ¥80–150/person (~฿400–750)

Shekou Deji (蛇口德记烧腊饭店)

Old-school roast-goose shop · Shekou · near Nanshui pedestrian street

A long-established roast-meat shop in the Shekou neighbourhood that locals have eaten at for years. The signatures are roast goose, roast duck with lai fun noodles (烧鸭濑粉) and honey char siu (蜜汁叉烧), with the meats on open display at the counter. Between about 5pm and 7pm it gets busy with people buying takeaway, and the roast meats tend to sell out quickly — go before the peak if you want the full spread. A humble, well-priced place, but its quality is taken as a given in Shekou.

Address: 55 Nanshui Pedestrian Street (南水步行街), Shekou, Nanshan · Metro Line 2, Shekou Port
Hours: ~10.30–20.00 (roast meats sell out in the evening) · Price: ¥35–70/person (~฿175–350)

Dacong Roast Goose (大聪烧鹅)

Quick-service roast goose · Meilin · famous for black char siu

A long-running roast-goose shop tucked behind the Meilin Yicun residential blocks in Meilin, a spot Shenzhen locals share as cheap and very good. The roast goose comes in generous portions — crisp skin, fragrant meat, rich juices — but the real draw is the black char siu (黑叉烧), glazed so dark it is nearly black, sweet and edged with caramelised char. Around ¥30 a head will fill you up. It is a no-frills local fast counter, but a favourite of the office crowd around Meilin.

Address: Meilin Yicun (梅林一村) area, Futian · Metro Line 4/9, Meilin
Hours: ~10.30–20.30 · Price: ¥25–50/person (~฿125–250)

Hong Kong Xinfa (香港新发烧腊茶餐厅)

HK-style roast-meat cha chaan teng · Luohu · open 24 hours

Hungry at midnight? This is the answer — a long-running Hong-Kong-style cha chaan teng (茶餐厅) in Luohu that stays open round the clock. It is known for its crispy char siu (脆皮叉烧), sweet and so tender it almost melts, ordered over rice or with noodles. The room has the feel of a classic Hong Kong diner, with roast-meat plates, rice dishes and HK-style milk tea on the menu. Handy when you have been exploring Dongmen and want a comfortable seat at any hour.

Address: Luohu (near Dongmen) · Metro Line 1/9, Laojie or Renmin Nan
Hours: open 24 hours · Price: ¥50–90/person (~฿250–450)

Frequently asked

FAQ · what to know before you eat Cantonese roast meats in Shenzhen

What is siu laap (烧腊), and why is there so much of it in Shenzhen?

Siu laap (烧腊, Mandarin shāo là) is the family of Cantonese roasted and cured meats: char siu 叉烧, roast goose 烧鹅, crispy roast pork 烧肉 and soy-sauce chicken 豉油鸡. Its biggest star is roast goose. Shenzhen sits in Guangdong province, so its food base is Cantonese — these roast meats are everyday eating, not festival food. And because Shenzhen is right next to Hong Kong, Hong-Kong-style roast-meat shops (港式烧腊) are everywhere, both in malls and in the old-neighbourhood lanes.

What is shenjing (deep-well) roast goose and why is the skin so crisp?

Shenjing roast goose (深井烧鹅) is named after Shenjing village (深井村) in Guangzhou's Huangpu district, the birthplace of Cantonese roast goose. The technique uses a pit dug into the ground (深井 means "deep well") with lychee-wood charcoal at the bottom and iron bars across the mouth from which the goose hangs, so heat circulates evenly around the whole bird. Before roasting, air is blown between the skin and the meat, the skin is brushed with a maltose-and-vinegar wash and air-dried until completely dry — which is why it puffs into thin, brittle crackling and carries a faint lychee-wood aroma. Good roast-goose shops in Shenzhen use the same method.

How do you order a roast-meat rice plate (烧味饭)?

Siu mei faan (烧味饭) is steamed rice topped with one or two roast meats and a drizzle of sweet soy — the single-plate meal Shenzhen office workers eat every day. Popular choices: 叉烧饭 (char siu rice) · 烧鹅饭 (roast goose rice) · 双拼饭 (a two-meat plate, e.g. char siu plus crispy pork). Expect ¥18–45 a plate (~฿90–225). In a group, order a shared platter (拼盘) instead — half a goose or a large plate of char siu in the middle of the table with plain rice and a clear soup. A local favourite here is 烧鹅濑粉, roast goose with thick lai fun noodles.

What is the difference between roast goose and roast duck?

Roast goose (烧鹅) is the original and the prize: a larger bird, meatier, with thicker fat and a deeper flavour. Roast duck (烧鸭) is the cheaper, more widely available alternative, a touch more tender. Many roast-meat shops in Shenzhen offer both. If a menu lists 烧鹅 (goose) it will always cost more than 烧鸭 (duck) — order goose for the real thing, but if you are on a budget or in a hurry, roast duck over rice is delicious and good value too.

How is soy-sauce chicken (豉油鸡) different from white-cut chicken (白切鸡)?

They are two different Cantonese chicken dishes. Soy-sauce chicken (豉油鸡) is poached whole in a master stock of soy sauce, rock sugar and spices until the skin turns glossy dark brown and the meat is soaked through with savory-sweet flavour; it belongs to the siu laap family. White-cut chicken (白切鸡) is gently poached in barely-simmering water, plunged into cold water, and served with a scallion-ginger oil dip to highlight the clean taste of the bird. Different categories — but many roast-meat shops sell soy-sauce chicken alongside their goose and pork.

Do Shenzhen roast-meat shops take cash, and is there English?

Small roast-meat counters (烧腊店) in Shenzhen mostly take WeChat Pay and Alipay; some accept Chinese yuan cash, but almost none take foreign credit cards. Link a Visa/Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat before you travel. Old-school shops in the old neighbourhoods like Dongmen (Luohu) or Shekou (Nanshan) usually have no English menu — just point at the meats hanging in the window, or say 叉烧饭 (char siu rice) or 烧鹅饭 (roast goose rice). Larger restaurants like Laurel (丹桂轩) have picture menus and staff who can help.

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