Melbourne Peking Duck, Bangsar Baru

Since its opening some months ago, Melbourne Peking Duck has garnered quite a following.  With a prime location in busy Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, it’s not surprising that many have flocked to this restaurant – some out of curiosity over its unique name but majority clamoured for a taste of its succulent fowls.

So… why “Melbourne” – isn’t Peking Duck supposed to be famed from Peking?  A quick check reveals that this is actually an offshoot from the popular ducks served in Old Kingdom Restaurant in Fitzroy, Melbourne.  It seems the masterchef from this restaurant (who’s actually a Malaysian!) decided to set up an outlet here, hence the name “Melbourne” being incorporated.

Duck, glorious duck!

The star of the meal – a golden glistening duck with thighs roasted rigidly apart, was rolled in on a trolley by the serving staff.  The duck was then exhibited to us, in all its shining glory and once we nodded our heads in approval, the duck was then carved meticulously into beautiful even slices.  Unlike most Peking duck-serving restaurants where only the crispy skin is carved out, here they include a sizeable portion of meat as well.  I like it that the layer of fat was not too thick and the skin was perfectly crispy.

Plates of thin dewy pancakes, scallions, cucumber and hoisin sauce were served.  The serving staff showed us how to fold and wrap the sliced duck: firstly, smear the pancake with the hoisin sauce, then place the sliced duck on it, top it off with a piece of scallion & cucumber and fold over the pancake into a neat quarter.  Well, actually, if you ask me, you can fold it however you fancy!

In order not to fill us out too quickly, the serving staff carved out a plate of just duck skin (sans the meat) for us to indulge… with or without the pancake.

 Golden glistening duck skin

The thighs and drumsticks were not sliced, instead they were served whole to us and I had one of the juicy drumsticks. The flavours of the marination were delicate, allowing the natural gamey sweetness of the duck to shine through.

The rest of the duck meat were used in 2 dishes:  Fried Rice and Fried Hor Fun, both at RM13.  I preferred the Fried Rice as it was nicely executed, with enough “wok hei” to it.  As for the Fried Hor Fun, it was just average to me and on the oily side.

Fried Rice with Shredded Duck Meat

Fried Hor Fun with Shredded Duck Meat

Duck Soup with Salted Vegetables and Tofu

The Peking Duck comes in 2 sets.  Set 1 is for 2-3 pax at RM78 – this includes 1 Duck sliced into 16 pieces served with pancakes, scallions, cucumber; Stir-fried Bean Sprouts with shredded duck meat and Duck Soup with Salted Vegetables and Tofu.  Set 2 is priced at RM88, meant for 3-4 pax; includes the same 1 Duck, the same Duck Soup but instead of stir-fried bean sprouts, you can choose either Fried Meehoon or Hor Fun or Rice with shredded duck meat.

Otak-otak

Prawns with XO Sauce

Besides the Peking Duck, the restaurant also serves a selection of prawn, pork, chicken, tofu, egg, vegetable, rice and noodle dishes.  We tried their Otak-otak which is a new menu item and found it to be just OK.  The Prawns with XO Sauce (RM38) were slightly spicy and appetizing but I felt the portion was a bit small. I liked their Steamed Broccoli Tofu (RM16), a healthy option of smooth white tofu surrounded by still-crunchy broccoli florets in a simple oyster-sauce based gravy.

Steamed Broccoli Tofu

I’d stick to the Peking Duck here as that’s their core offering.  As for the other non-duck selections, unless they are must-have’s for you, they shouldn’t divert you from the star of this restaurant.

 

Melbourne Peking Duck
24-1 Jalan Telawi 3
Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel/fax:  03-2202-1588

Open from 11am to 10pm Daily (break from 3pm-6pm)
Closed on Mondays