Hong Kong: Tao Heung 稻香集團, Shau Kei Wan

In Hong Kong, you know there is a bargain when a lot of people are lining up (and you join the queue without even knowing what is actually for sale) or everyone in the restaurant is ordering the same thing - this is the case at Tao Heung:

Entrance to Restaurant

In Chinese, there is a saying that something is real cheap and totally worth getting - "$1 chicken" - except here it is in the literal sense in that you can order a whole cooked chicken for the measly price of HK$1! Even in HK, where you can eat a meal for under HK$20 on the streets - This. Is. A. Bargain!

Okay, the quality of the chickens vary - some were plump and fat whilst others were scrawny little things - but you can order just as many as you want to your hearts content (in our case, we ordered a total of 6 chickens for 6 adults and 2 teens):

Above: Sign Advertising $1 Chicken Top & Bottom Right: Plates and Plates of Steamed Chicken

Above: Sign Advertising $1 Chicken
Top & Bottom Right: Plates and Plates of Steamed Chicken

There are sauces and condiments that you an also eat with your chicken as well:

Sauce Bar
(From Top Left, Clockwise: Satay; Spicy; Spicy Bean; Chilli; Spicy Bean with .... ; Soybean; Savoury Paste; Sesame; Sesame #2)

Condiments Bar
(Freshly Minced Garlic; Dried Sichuan Pepper; Dried Chilli; Chilli Sauce; Green Pepper; Minced Spring Onion; Celery Grain; Minced Red Cluster Pepper)

Along with this deal, you can also pay an additional HK$12 per person to gain access to the unlimited, buffet-style dessert/drinks bar (note that there is a requirement that everyone at the table must take be part of this, i.e. you can't have one person at the table paying for the dessert/drinks bar whilst the others don't):

Above: Mini Tubs of Streets Ice Cream (Chocolate; Mango; Sesame) Top Left: Chinese Sweet Dessert Soups (Green Mung Bean; Azuki/Red Bean; Black Sesame; Ground Almond) Middle Left: Slushie Machine (Mango; Blackcurrent) and Soft Drink Dispenser (Soda Water; Cold Water; Diet Coke; Fanta; Sprite; Coca Cola) Bottom Left: Drinks Dispenser (Soy Bean Milk; Common Self-Heal Fruit Spike; Sour Plum with Osmanthus)

Above: Mini Tubs of Streets Ice Cream (Chocolate; Mango; Sesame)


Top Left: Chinese Sweet Dessert Soups (Green Mung Bean; Azuki/Red Bean; Black Sesame; Ground Almond)

Middle Left: Slushie Machine (Mango; Blackcurrent) and Soft Drink Dispenser (Soda Water; Cold Water; Diet Coke; Fanta; Sprite; Coca Cola)

Bottom Left: Drinks Dispenser
(Soy Bean Milk; Common Self-Heal Fruit Spike; Sour Plum with Osmanthus)

My (non-cheapo) relatives also insisted on ordering additional non-chicken dishes so they ordered the following:

Egg Omelette with Prawns and Truffle

Dried Seafood and Vegetable Hot Pot
(Half-Eaten/Attacked Before Photo =( )

Portion from Hot Pot

There were actually tiny specks of truffle in the omlette (not that you could really taste it...) and the vege hot pot is just your average hot pot but costs more than the chicken + dessert combined for the entire table =P .

Given that this deal is on every so often at Tao Heung, you're likely to hit the jackpot and get a "$1 chicken" for a steal - especially when it costs HK$60+ for a cooked chicken at the local supermarkets, or even HK$100+ for a live one at the markets!!

Tao Heung also do yum cha during the daytime with the occasional daily specials (e.g. HK$3.80 steamed rice pots or rice congee):

Pot of Steamed Rice with Chicken and Preserved Vegetables (Bo Jai Fan 煲仔飯);
Glutinous Chicken Rice (Lo Mai Gai 糯米雞)

Link to Open Rice: Tao Heung, Shau Kei Wan