Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Tell-A-Tale (Part 45): Donald's Not The Only Imported Duck

Initially, I wanted to blog about the gathering of monkeys (QwazyMonkey, Lyrical Lemongrass, Ciki and my furry self) on Labour Day at Four Seasons, CapSquare. As I searched for the photos in my archive, I realized that I’ve not posted my Duck King experience as well. So, it’ll be good to combine and compare these two celebrated imports; Four Seasons came all the way from London while Duck King was founded in Indonesia. All in all, ala Hong Kong roast joints.

Personally, crispy skin feels secondary. It’s always the taste that matters. I like my meat infused with additional herbs like dong gui (or Chinese angelica) which give the meat extra ooomph. And this type is usually moister and tenderer, which is great. So, even if the skin has gone soft, it will still be as good. Perhaps I’ve not traveled enough but I'd always thought that this (with additional herbs, I mean) is a local version of the roast duck. Enlighten me if I’m wrong.

At Four Seasons, the gone wild monkeys ordered some other dishes as well to complement the fried rice. I was quite disappointed actually, as the signatures were either unavailable or boring. Bland fried rice, blander stir-fried beef hor fun and a plate of char siew/siew yoke that tasted nothing beyond average. As for the roast duck...okay, it was well done and came with crispy skin but for a much hyped import, I couldn’t find the wow factor that has got Londoners raving. Best dish for me that afternoon? The claypot brinjal braise with minced meat (and salted fish?) which was very appetizing. With me still hungry and not really interested in ordering more dishes, we went to Delicious at Dua Annexe for desserts. And fun.

Nearer to home, Duck King was the talk of the town. With such majestic name compared to the humbler (but definitely more artistic) Four Seasons, one can’t help but be prepared to bow before a royal piece of roast. So, the duck. Yupe, it was good. Just good, nothing more. Again, crispy skin with tender meat. I had the braised beef too, which was delicious, given the well-spiced gravy and some pretty typical char siew/siew yoke. The King serves dim sum too. We tried the egg tart (which was subtly sweet), char leong (rice sheet wrapped yau char kuai) and steamed golden sand buns. I just love a good, runny salted egg/custard/milk filling but Duck King’s was not what I’d expected. I mean, yeah, the filling tasted rich and sweet but the texture was sadly more solid that liquid.

I admit that I’m a little skeptical when it comes to imported dishes or recipes that are already available back home. Fusion is another issue, I think. And to be honest, I’ve tasted better roast duck from Kepong and Petaling Jaya. Better? Well, I mean more aromatic, more flavourful and cheaper too. But taste is, again, subjective. The consistent hordes thronging Duck King prove just that. So, if one is interested in the above-mentioned restaurants, do check them out. Note attentive service as well.

Ohhhh, I’ve yet to compare the two!

Hmmm.....same-same lah.

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@Four Seasons

Claypot Brinjal

Roast Duck

Siew Yoke

@Duck King

Braised Peanuts

Roast Duck

Wanton Mee

Not-So-Runny Steamed Golden Sand Bun

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Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant
Lot G16/17
CapSquare Centre
Persiaran Capital Square
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (+603) 2698 9393

Duck King
8-G Block M, Jaya One
No. 72-A Jalan Universiti
46200 Petaling Jaya
Tel: (+603) 7957 9819

22 comments:

Selba said...

Wow! love Donald duck and for sure love roast duck! Hehehe...

I think the best roast duck in Jakarta is at the Grand Duck King, yup... make sure at the "Grand", not just the Duck King :)

Ciki said...

i really hate it when the runny center is not so runny due to overcooking! eergh.. return it :P

what's in the foreground of the siew yoke? i like dat shot!! as usual, if fotos speak a thousand words you have spoken too many:P v nice hairy.

qwazymonkey said...

Gorgeous pictures! The food? Same same lah!

LOL! Good stuff bro.

fatboybakes said...

doggone it boy. i shuldnt read yer blog before eating. now i am starrrrving.

stunning pics la. nice what, the duck at both places also. but yala, not spectacularly better than others...

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

yeah i love those herbal roast ducks like the 1 at dian something something in singapore ar..shioknya..

ck lam said...

Good to see a review on the duck as to the so much reviewed chicken.

J2Kfm said...

the other day me went to Capsquare, intending to try the Four Seasons duck. but the place like haunted only at lunch hour ... only one table occupied!

aiks. ran off somewhere else .....

of course, I read some less than positive reviews bout this place before, comparing it to the UK's outlet. hence the bias.

Babe_KL said...

is Onn Kee better than these??? :p

Tummythoz said...

Hmm no do lardy rice at Ducking?

UnkaLeong said...

Ahh..em duck pics gets my inner teo chew's thumbs up!

To me, nothing beats sei ngan chai's down in Petaling Street's duck!

LianneK said...

yeah me too Nic, I still prefer them with Dong Gui especially the one from Loong Foong, PJ. Beats any duck I´ve tasted. Not because you have not tasted enough lah, a lot of people have not tasted our yummy Malaysian food yet!

HairyBerry said...

selba, wow, there a Grand Duck King? i never knew that! must go surf the net on it already. thanks for the info! :D

cumi & ciki, i've been disappointed again and again la, when it comes to this kinda buns. where else can get a good one, i wonder. woah, thanks for the complement, dear! :D as for the foreground, it's steamed Chinese cabbage.

qwazymonkey, thanks for the complement, dude! ya lor, really same-same only. there's one at kepong called kong kee. it's delickcious!

fatboybakes, yeah, me too. with just some fruits for lunch, i think i can finish the whole duck la, tonight. haha! thanks for the complement, dude! i agree on the not spectacularly better ducks!

joe, oh, dian xiao er, you mean. i've not tried the roast duck there. the queues can get crazy on weekends. maybe i shd go try on weekdays. hehe.

ck lam, oh yeah, come to think of it, that's true! not usual that we talk about ducks. and goose! haha.

HairyBerry said...

j2kfm, haha, i like that "swat fly" phrase that u use on your blog..hehehe...actually, i've not really ventured capsquare at night. must check it out before it's un-trendied. haha.

babe_kl, me thinks kong kee at kepong baru pasar rocks! so old skool roast and tasty. a bit expensive la, RM60+ for whole duck but really nice!

tummythoz, i cant remember if it was available that day or not. cos if yes, then we wudda ordered that. that'll go really well with the duck and brinjal!

unkaleong, woah, i din know u are a TeoChew-ian. so, u must like braised duck la. yeah, sei ngan chai's is one legend la. almost everyone know of his little stall!

lianne, oooh, loong foong sounds familiar! i think that is famous for gong gui la. yumz! ya lor, more promotions shd be done to expose tourists to our incredible food!

choi yen said...

Curious to know which roast duck u mentioned at Kepong is tastier? Onn Kee?

backStreetGluttons said...

the fused colors are bright and happy enough !

which is primary satisfaction while that monkeying quartet is a delight to watch ( esp the leggy one )

ladyironchef said...

i love roast duck :)) I over-ate during the short few days spent in KL. I didn't want to come back!

Rebecca Saw said...

jeez...now i wanna eat duck rice...

~Christine~Leng said...

I tried Four Season's roasted duck in London and found them awesome! will be back to try the one in Msia. hehe.. and I like what u said about Donald Duck aka the imported duck!!

ling239 said...

aiseh... like that meh ?

if that is the case i prefer the one at sun rise lor... duno standard still maintain boh :p

HairyBerry said...

mimi, onn kee is very famous! :D but i prefer kong kee at the kepong baru wet market. let me know if u want the directions, ya! :D

backstreetgluttons, the leggy one?...with or without hair? hehehehehe...i must say delicious is a colourful place for picture-picture.

ladyironchef, yeah, i heard u met a few bloggers when u were in kl! kewl! too bad i couldnt join u in kl. hmmmm...

thenomadgourmand, i think unka knows a good one. he talks a lot about it. ask him to bring u there! :D

christine, glad u liked donald! u know, i actually like duck more than mickey..hehe...yupe, do check out the one in capsquare and do a comparison ya! :D

ling239, actually, both are ok la. just that i was expecting more since both were very famous. where in sunrise? u mean mont kiara ar? i must go check it out d...

jason said...

Runny custard bun? Try Chef Loong at SS2 but only available on weekends (Fri-Sun).

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