Hong Kong Siu Mei Stall Names with Jyutping Audio

A 燒味 stall is not a tea house and not a fish-ball cart. Roast meats hang in the window. You name the meat, then the cut and the portion. Unlike dim sum, the 叉燒 here is the hanging strip, not 叉燒包. Unlike street snacks, this is not 魚蛋 or 車仔麵. Unlike the wet market, nothing here is raw.

Each line below has Jyutping playback. Mandarin speakers often bring the wrong word, then misread the right characters. Shadow the audio before you guess from the spelling.

What 燒味 is

燒味 (siu1 mei2)

Meaning: Cantonese roast meats from a hanging oven: char siu, roast pork, roast goose, soy chicken.

Hong Kong speakers say 燒味. 燒臘 is more written, or a broader Yue label. 滷味 is another stall: braised in master stock, not roasted. “Go to the 燒味檔” means that window of hanging meat. 味 is mei6 alone; in this name it is mei2.

Learn the pairing first

Hong Kong speakers say the stall name. Mandarin often brings a different word, or folds in buns, barbecue, and braised pots. Match this table first, then drill the entries.

叉燒包 lives in the tea house. See dim sum. Speech here is the meat in the window.

Learn the order words first

Before the meat names, get the cut and the portion. Eat-in is 叉燒飯. Takeaway meat is 斬件. Without those, the stall asks again.

1. 斬件 (zaam2 gin2)

Meaning: Chop it now, into pieces—a takeaway plate of meat.

Not a dish name. Meat to eat with rice at home, with no rice from the stall, is 斬件. 件 is gin6 alone; in this name it is gin2. Do not import the rhythm of Mandarin qiekuai.

2. 半隻 (bun3 zek3)

Meaning: Half a goose or chicken.

燒鵝, 油雞, and 白切雞 sell by the bird. Half is enough for two or three. 隻 is entering tone: zek3—clip it. Do not read it as Mandarin zhi.

3. 一斤 (jat1 gan1)

Meaning: Order by the catty. Common for 叉燒 and 燒肉.

Ask birds by 隻 first; ask the strips by weight. 斤 is gan1. If you cannot judge the weight, point, then add 咁多.

4. 叉燒飯 (caa1 siu1 faan6)

Meaning: Char siu with rice. The hanging stall’s most common full order.

Hong Kong speakers name the dish: 叉燒飯, 油雞飯, 燒鵝飯. You do not say 叉燒, then add a separate 要飯. Three syllables: caa1 siu1 faan6.

5. 飯底 (faan6 dai2)

Meaning: The rice underneath in a two-dish rice or plate-rice shop.

This is fast-food counter talk, not a hanging-window order. The window says 叉燒飯. A two-dish shop asks about 飯底: plain rice or fried. 底 is dai2.

6. 瘦啲 (sau3 di1)

Meaning: Less fat. Common for char siu.

Stalls split char siu into fatty, lean, and 半肥瘦. 半肥瘦 is the usual ask. If the fat is too much, say 瘦啲. 啲 is di1—light and short.

7. 打包 (daa2 baau1)

Meaning: Take it away.

Use 打包 for leftover rice, or rice to go from a sit-down shop. At the window, 斬件 already means takeaway meat. 包 is baau1—same syllable as the bun in 叉燒包, different job.

The hanging meats

8. 叉燒 (caa1 siu1)

Meaning: Roast char siu. A strip, on the sweet side, fat optional.

The meat in the window. Eat-in is 叉燒飯; takeaway is 叉燒斬件. Not the tea-house bun—see dim sum for 叉燒包. Two syllables: caa1 siu1. Do not paste Mandarin chashao tones onto it.

9. 燒肉 (siu1 juk6)

Meaning: Crispy roast pork, usually belly.

Not grill-stall barbecue, and not char siu. The crackling is already on the roast; you do not order the skin as a separate line. 肉 is entering tone: juk6. Eat-in is 燒肉飯; takeaway is 斬件.

10. 燒鵝 (siu1 ngo2)

Meaning: Roast goose.

The stall’s front-of-house bird. 鵝 is ngo4 alone; in this name it is ngo2—keep the ng-; dropping it is a lazy-sound slide. Do not treat 燒鴨 as the same word. 半隻 and 斬件 both ride with 燒鵝.

11. 燒鴨 (siu1 aap3)

Meaning: Roast duck.

Goose is larger; some stalls hang duck more often. 鴨 is entering tone: aap3—clip it. Drill ngo2 and aap3 back to back or they collapse.

12. 油雞 (jau4 gai1)

Meaning: Soy-sauce chicken. Mandarin often says 醬油雞.

Red-brown skin, not the white poached bird. The stall says 油雞; the full 豉油雞 is rarer as the first shout. 油 is jau4, 雞 is gai1. Eat-in is 油雞飯; takeaway is 油雞斬件.

13. 白切雞 (baak6 cit3 gai1)

Meaning: White-cut chicken. Poached, then chopped.

White skin, ginger-scallion on the side. Not the same bird as 油雞. 白 is entering tone: baak6. 切 is cit3, also entering. Do not lengthen the two short syllables.

14. 乳豬 (jyu5 zyu1)

Meaning: Roast suckling pig. Crisp skin; whole or chopped.

Everyday street stalls rarely hang a whole one. Banquets and larger siu mei shops do. The syllables are still worth the drill. 乳 is jyu5—do not borrow Mandarin ru. 豬 is zyu1.

Shadow the names together

You do not need every meat on day one. These three lines are enough to hear the rhythm: rice for eat-in, 斬件 for takeaway, 半隻 for a larger bird.

What these names train

Street Cantonese is living speech. Stalls differ. Your goal is not insider coolness. It is to hear the meat name and keep the tones stable.

FAQ

燒味, 燒臘, or 滷味?
燒味 here is hanging roast meat. 燒臘 is more written. 滷味 is a braised stall with a different word list.

Is 叉燒 the same as 叉燒包?
No. The window hangs meat. The bun is dim sum.

Can I say 燒鵝 for 燒鴨?
No. 燒鵝 is ngo2, 燒鴨 is aap3. The wrong name gets the wrong chop.

Can I just point if I cannot speak Cantonese?
Yes. Pointing at the hanging piece is always correct. This page trains the reply when staff ask 斬件 or 叉燒飯, 半隻 or 一斤.

How do I avoid lazy pronunciation?
Shadow the Jyutping audio here first—especially 鵝, 乳, and 隻. Then listen at the stall. Field accents can be wide; your foundation should not be.

What next for listening practice?
Try the wet market for raw stall names, dim sum for steamer names, or annotate your own siu mei list with the Jyutping converter.