Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Crispy Ducky in Chinatown

Crispy duck and some fixings
Whenever I travel to London I always make it a point to visit Chinatown. The restaurants there are very authentic and reminiscent of the local restaurants of Hong Kong and China. My trip wouldn't be complete without having my favorite Asian appetizer; crispy aromatic duck. This time I stopped at the Four Seasons restaurant in the heart of Chinatown, who are said to have the best in all of England. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but they do make a really tasty duck.

This dish is very similar to Peking duck for those who are familiar. The duck is first marinated with spices, then steamed until tender, and finally deep fried until crispy. This leaves an amazingly low fat and deliciously crispy skin on meat. In most restaurants here the server brings the duck (whole, half, or quarter size) directly to the table on a platter and uses a fork and spoon to shred it into chunks. Accompanying the duck is a bamboo steamer filled with thin flour pancakes similar to soft tortillas, fresh cucumbers, and a plum sauce similar to but a bit sweeter than hoisen sauce. You're basically left to the task of assembling the given ingredients to your liking, like a make your own taco night. Spread the sauce on the pancake, add a bit of duck and vegetables, wrap and enjoy a mouthful of bliss.

33 comments:

  1. AS far as I know the "western" chineese food is not quite like the original :]

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  2. Great post! Keep up the good work.

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  3. @Janez
    Actually a good selection of the dishes available there are good authentic dishes, there are quite a few western options as well. Seems to be a good mix.

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  4. Hmm, that picture looks delicious.

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  5. I swear, there's this one place in San Francisco that has AMAZING peking duck.
    One thing I noticed about having Chinese food in the states(not sure if it's the same in England) is that generally the meat is fatter. I mean, good luck trying to find a duck of that size in Hong Kong. Right?

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  6. There's some really good food in Chinatown in melbourne

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  7. i wont eat anything from china.

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  8. i like chinese food! but not all of it

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  9. sure sounds delish!

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  10. Wow, sounds really good! I've never had duck, but now I want to try it.

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  11. This reminds me one of my friends been dying to try duck for a while lol

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  12. Ducks great when made the chinese way.

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  13. This is not what I need to be seeing, I'm so hungry right now.

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  14. Last time I went to london's chinatown I ate something from a street vendor, it wasn't very good :P Next time I'll check this place.

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  15. I love going to Chinatown, though for me it's usually the one in LA.

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  16. hmmmm that sounds awesome... not something I am going to find near me though ;(

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  17. Awesome post man! Keep up this excellent work!

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  18. I like one a restaurant is true to their origins and not try to adapt it to the locals

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  19. There seems to be a Chinatown almost everywhere, its weird.

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  20. mmmmm This makes me so hungry.

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  21. Hmmmm not sure if I've ever had duck. Looks pretty yummy though!

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  22. hmm i tried duck before, not a big fan of it :\

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  23. Interesting blog you got here! I agree that your posts make me hungry too!

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  24. That is Duck? looks like Roast beef, but your description of your food sounds incredible.

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  25. OMG I love crispy duck, spring onions and plum sauce.

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  26. Man I am so jealous I can't seem to find any good duck. I've tried several Asian joints. I need to make it myself.

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