https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/manly-daily/sydney-eatery-selling-do...

I WASN’T horsing around this week when I ate a donkey burger at a modest northern beaches Chinese restaurant.

At first glance there is nothing memorable about the Huoshao King in Manly Vale but they say it is the only place in Australia to serve donkey meat.

Their dish, called Donkey Huoshao (rrp $6.80), is a burger consisting of donkey meat served in a Chinese pancake style bun.

And before making an ass of yourself by turning up your nose, it should be pointed out that it is a traditional Chinese dishPrior to entering the Huoshao King I had never sampled donkey meat before — not that I was aware of anyway. And my only previous encounter with a donkey was at a bar in Tijuana, but that is a story for another time.

Restaurant manager Yanyan Xiao said since the dish was added to the menu on Monday they have been selling 30 burgers a day, the majority to Chinese customers and some to inquisitive locals.

While I was there another customer made a 40 minute trip to get a donkey burger and took another five away with him.

“Donkey is really very popular in northern China and we come from northern China. It is street food people really like,” Xiao explained.

“No one open this business in Australia so we want to try this.So many people know some people who want to eat (donkey) and live in Australia so we think there is a huge market here.”

The restaurant sources their meat from the Northern Territory where there is a huge population of donkey which are having a major impact on the environment.

There is a big market in exporting donkeys to China where there is a saying: “In Heaven there is Dragon meat, on Earth there is donkey meat.”

And Xiao said: “I am really curious why people don’t eat donkey meat before.”

The meat is cooked overnight in a secret blend of herbs to tenderise the belly and legs which are used in the burger that is placed in the pancake.

RightSaidFred wrote on Mar 16^th, 2018 at 4:04pm:


Don't eat the 'money meat' in China.

I often see goat meat for sale in restaurants. Goat curry in particular. This is a good sign. I've met people who hunt wild goats in national parks. If there was enough money in it they could probably get them all.

freediver wrote on Mar 17^th, 2018 at 10:38am:


Goat meat for curry is the best, better than sheep and I really like sheep meat.

Setanta wrote on Mar 17^th, 2018 at 5:20pm:



I agree about Goat.  Excellent in Rogan Josh (done the traditional way).

cods wrote on Mar 18^th, 2018 at 4:28pm:


Goat tastes like a gamey version of sheep. Very common in Indian dishes because sheep is hard to get and cow is sacred. Goat is delicious in curry, as others say.

We had a pet calf when we were growing up. We ate it.