It hadn’t been an easy week at work, but it was finally Friday! With a backlog of unused annual leaves, I decided to take the afternoon off to ease some of the pressure off my shoulder.
I took the rapid train from West Kowloon station and as always, arrived in Futian without a sweat. It was nice to see an almost empty Futian station. Before rushing to the game center, it was time to first get lunch out of the way. Rather than going to Tao Tao Ju again, I decided to try something new this afternoon. Something I wanted to try for a long long time. Without hesitation, I went straight towards COCO Park shopping complex (next to PAFC, or now called PA Mall).
First opened in 2007, Dagefan (大鴿飯) is a restaurant specialized in pigeon themed dishes. It operates numerous branches in Hunan and Guangdong, with its own farm to raise its pigeons. Reports indicated that the restaurant group sold over 3.5 million pigeons last year alone. Now, that’s a lot of pigeons!
At 2:30pm, I wasn’t expecting a crowd there on a Friday afternoon but I was wrong. The dining room was still buzzing with Hongkongers everywhere and there was a modest lineup that took me almost 15 minutes to finally get myself a table.
But everything was a breeze from this point on.
My pigeon rice would have been taken off the bill if it hasn't been served within 30 minutes (I thought I heard 15 minutes).
Dagefan, or “Big Pigeon Rice” with black truffle (黑松露大鴿飯) (¥69) – Its namesake dish. The signature rice was cooked in a pigeon and pork bone broth, boasting a crispy golden crust on the bottom and topped with steamed pigeon meat and gizzards.
I had the limited-edition version with black truffle (from Yunan?) and not surprisingly, it was full of lovely fragrance. The rice was flavorful but not over the top (I found the seasoning in Shenzhen or China in general to be more subtle compared to places like Hong Kong). In fact, most of the savory flavors came from the steamed meat and gizzards, while the rice played a supporting role, allowing the pigeon to take center stage.
Roast pigeon (爆汁紅燒鴿皇) (¥59) – In my opinion, this was even better than the rice. The perfectly crispy skin and juicy flesh were simply irresistible. Just as the name of the dish suggested, each bite released a burst of rich, flavorful pigeon juices.
Interestingly, there was a small glass of passion fruit and mango juice served alongside the roasted pigeon which we were supposed to sip after enjoying the baby bird.
Finally, I got to cross this one off my Shenzhen "to-do" list. Still plenty more to go, I'm afraid.
Food Rating: 6.2/10
Price: ¥¥
Address: Shop L3-021, L3 COCO Park, 268 Fuhua Road 3rd, Futian, Shenzhen, China
深圳市福田区福华三路268号星河COCO Park 一期L3层L3-021号铺
Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)
Tel: +86 8256-6375
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:30pm daily
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