Beijing roasted duck is the national symbol of China. It was mentioned in the Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages Manual since BC400 and became the most famous dish in the Southern Song Dynasty. The skills of roasting duck were spread to Beijing in the Yuen Dynasty. By the Qianlong Period, the duck entered the imperial court food menus and is now served at thousands of Chinese restaurants around the world. (Source: The menu book at the Empire City Roasted Duck Restaurant, HK)
The first time I tried Peking Duck was around three to four years ago in our favorite Chinese restaurant in Melbourne - The Eastern Palace Chinese Restaurant. I loved it then and enjoyed assembling the "roll" using all the raw vegetables and the sauce/s that they served it with.
My respect for the "art of making the dish" grew even more when I watched an episode of Kung Fu Kitchen wherein an experienced Singaporean chef went to China to learn how to make the dish. It takes a lot of knowledge and skill in roasting and serving the ducks: from the cleaning of the duck to the proper way of removing the organs and intestines, to how they blow air into the duck's empty stomach cavity, to how it must be placed in a special oven for roasting, to how the roasting is timed to perfection and to how precise they needed to slice the meat and the crispy skin to bite-sized portions. Chefs who wanted to learn this dish will need to spend a few months to a few years in order to perfect the art.
I was just glad that in our trip to Hong Kong this year, we found a good restaurant serving this dish. It's the Empire City Roasted Duck at the K11 Art Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. By the way, we had the duck for dinner two nights in a row!
The first time I tried Peking Duck was around three to four years ago in our favorite Chinese restaurant in Melbourne - The Eastern Palace Chinese Restaurant. I loved it then and enjoyed assembling the "roll" using all the raw vegetables and the sauce/s that they served it with.
My respect for the "art of making the dish" grew even more when I watched an episode of Kung Fu Kitchen wherein an experienced Singaporean chef went to China to learn how to make the dish. It takes a lot of knowledge and skill in roasting and serving the ducks: from the cleaning of the duck to the proper way of removing the organs and intestines, to how they blow air into the duck's empty stomach cavity, to how it must be placed in a special oven for roasting, to how the roasting is timed to perfection and to how precise they needed to slice the meat and the crispy skin to bite-sized portions. Chefs who wanted to learn this dish will need to spend a few months to a few years in order to perfect the art.
I was just glad that in our trip to Hong Kong this year, we found a good restaurant serving this dish. It's the Empire City Roasted Duck at the K11 Art Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. By the way, we had the duck for dinner two nights in a row!
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