Roast 28

CHINA 🇨🇳
HONG KONG 🇭🇰

Roast 28 is permanently one of Sunset Park's busiest restaurants, with patrons coming and going at all times of day. Most of the popular goods on offer hang right in the front window, they do a brisk business in roasted duck ($19.95 for a whole bird, which they can chop for you) and roasted suckling pig ($17.95/lb, the Chinese version of lechon or whole hog BBQ). The thud and thwap of large cleavers on thick wood blocks never stops.

This branch is actually an offshoot of another popular spot in Flushing, Queens called Corner 28, and at the back of the restaurant they have a large sign brandishing this name. On the menu it seems the spot is called simply "The Roast." Whatever they want to call themselves, the food is worth seeking out.

If it is your first time, the system can seem a little frenetic, as people pack the place and there seems to be a lack of order. But it actually runs very efficiently, with a man near the door taking orders and printing you a receipt. This will not start being prepared until you find the cashier in the back and pay. Most of the people you see standing around are just waiting for orders, so politely push through and take care of your own.

Another specialty of the house are the claypot rice dishes known in Chinese as bo zai fun (煲仔飯). Ever since a personal favorite A-Wah closed in Chinatown, the search has been real for a replacement. Roast 28 comes fairly close.

The various Chinese preserved meat ($6.25, above) option is usually the first selection, and "sausages" may be a more positive word for what this entails. The clay pot is here simulated by an iron bowl, and this does not seem to have the exact same effect in making the outer layer crispy and wonderful, but the ingredients they use are very tasty indeed.

Also sampled was the minced pork with salted fish ($6.95, below), a combination that should be used more often.

A good way to start sampling small portions of the products hanging in the window is to order them over rice or in noodle soups. The barbecue rib noodle ($5.50, below) gives you ample portion of the tender rib meat still on the bones. These Cantonese style soups are somewhat bland but this is intentional and necessary for the product.

If you do not specify, these choices will come out with thin mei fun noodles, which is recommended for this type of soup. The top of the line choice is the roast suckling pig noodles ($7.50, below), which is presented with the pork on the side. Two fatty layers are given, one with the crunchy skin and one more meaty underneath. This can be eaten with or without the sauce they offer, and with or without the soup and noodles, each flavor combination is your choice.

A large selection of rice noodle rolls are also offered and quite good. The dried shrimp rice noodle roll ($3.25, below) was ordered on this day but untouched at the table because the soups were just too filling. Steamed at home later, it was a perfect snack.

There also may be other types of dim sum sitting around. On one visit, a tray of turnip cakes was on offer and delicious. The congee seems very popular. Other roasted meats available run the gamut, with all parts of the pig, whole chickens cooked in many ways, and even cuts of beef.

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SUNSET PARK Brooklyn

5124 8th Avenue