Jiu Kee Beef Brisket is the oldest beef brisket restaurant in Hong Kong, formerly known as "Clear Soup Beef Brisket". In the past, beef brisket stewed with Zhuhou sauce was popular in Hong Kong, but Jiu Kee pioneered the beef brisket with Chinese medicine, which has a softer and fresher taste than stewed with Zhuhou sauce. Cai Lan commented that it is "the best beef brisket noodle stall in Hong Kong", not to mention Michelin's recommendation, and celebrities and dignitaries such as Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung, and Donald Tsang are all frequent visitors here.
Starting from a tin shed to a well-known shop on Gough Street in Central, Jiu Kee's life story is quite legendary. The boss, Pan Quanhui, known as Brother Jiu, was a member of the club, so he hid an iron rod under the cash register for a long time to prevent the enemy from coming in and making trouble. Later, my father died, leaving behind a beef brisket noodle shop, and no one of my siblings was willing to take over. Brother Jiu stood up and did it for thirty years.
Jiu Kee is the most picky restaurant in Hong Kong, with only six tables in the store, and only a full number of people can be seated, and no one can enter the restaurant. No reservations, no takeaways; Suitcases and strollers are not allowed. No credit cards, 1,000-dollar bills, no redemption, no dimes, only Hong Kong dollar cash; The minimum spending per person is HKD50. Closed on Sundays and public holidays, and around 7 p.m. every night, no matter how long the queue at the door is, Jiu Kee closes for staff to eat.
In the eyes of outsiders, all kinds of incredible regulations have never stopped the enthusiasm of diners from all over the world to queue up. Jiuji beef brisket soup is rich, but not greasy at all, beef bones, traditional Chinese medicine, rock sugar, fruit peel and other materials are directly boiled in the pot, after 6 hours of intermittent boiling, stop the fire to bake out the aroma of the meat, time-consuming and laborious. The fat and thin beef brisket is chewy, but not too "tough", more is too much, less is too little, both the concentration and hardness are just right, it is difficult to imitate.
Most places eat clear soup belly with pho, but in Jiuji, it is best to serve it with Yi noodles. Because Yi noodles can absorb the essence of clear soup better, accompanied by soup to "suck" a mouthful of Yi noodles, chewy and delicious. It is reported that someone once offered 30 million yuan to buy the recipe of Jiuji beef brisket, but was rejected by Boss Pan. Until now, Boss Pan will also participate in the daily production of brisket, from the purchase to the selection of ingredients. Hong Kong people divide beef brisket into three types, sand brisket, shuang belly, and pit brisket. Among them, the shuang belly is the rarest, and a cow is only a few catties cut down. In Jiuji, the refreshing belly is pure refreshing, and there will be no ambiguity. For so many years, he didn't open a branch even though the queue at the door had lined up for a few streets.
