Succulent, juicy and unashamedly American. That’s the verdict on the recently-opened Smoke King in Nanjing’s Hexi area.
Smoke King is part of the dining empire that is Jieniu (解牛), with their catchy English slogan “Beef Art”. In Nanjing the rest of that empire comprises a Jieniu Chinese restaurant and a Pink Cutie burger joint, which sounds as much social media as it does beef patty and which this publication plans on reviewing next month.
But for now, it’s smoked cuts of meat all the way. And the emphasis is very much on the smoked. If you’re not a fan, stay away.
Next to One Mall in the Huadengfang development and so easily accessible by metro via Yuantong station, Smoke King offers up just about the right variety of slightly upmarket, fast-food options in an American diner environment that almost passes for funky.
Joining the pulled pork and a plethora of chicken wings is the steak sandwich which The Nanjinger ordered. They’re calling that a Smoked Brisket Sandwich (¥58), but who are they kidding; it’s a steak sandwich.
And it’s a mighty fine one at that. In fact, this correspondent cannot recall ever having a better equivalent, with the succulence of the quality cuts of meat matched only by their tenderness.
This succulence extends across the menu and, as it turns out, across their locations; The Nanjinger has also recently visited an outlet in Suzhou and can verify that juicy meat is something of a hallmark for Smoke King.
Special mention must also go to the French fries for their being several steps up from those in KFC, MacDonald’s or even Burger King. But at ¥30, they’d better be.
Then there were the Buffalo chicken wings (¥35); that combination of spicy, sweet and sour isn’t really to our taste but again, the succulent smokiness cannot be denied.
Smoke King is located at 109A in Huadengfang on Jiangdong Zhong Lu 江东中路华灯坊109A号商铺. Tel: 17368687898.
