Cantonese Roast Meats

Yes, department stores have their fancy streetside displays, but to me, the windows of a Cantonese restaurant provide far superior eye candy. I love the sight of a steamy Chinatown storefront filled with burnished roasted ducks hanging in rows; a glistening, juicy half pig; moist, soy sauce-glazed chickens; bright red barbecued pork shoulders brushed with hoisin sauce; and cuttlefish tinted by smoke. There's a visceral quality to all those glossy cuts dangling from a multitude of meat hooks that triggers a primal urge: it reminds me that I am a carnivore, and I want to eat meat right now! —Nicholas Oltarsh, Atlanta, Georgia