The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
My first ever experience of Taiwanese Fried Chicken Steak was at the now defunct 3Q Fried Chicken on George St many many years ago (or was it at Hot Star in Melbourne 2013 ? I can’t remember but I don’t want to lie to you, and especially not to myself). Since then I’ve had many different styles of Taiwanese fried chicken, at many different places. The sheer ubiquity of the Hot-Star brand, and the generally dependable quality of its food make them one of my go-tos.
While I’ve eaten at Hot-Star on Liverpool St many times, most of which have been late at night, I only have this single, poorly mosaiced photo to share. Hot-Star, for the uninitiated, specialises in large fried chicken, basically breast that has been butterflied and beaten into flat submission, battered, fried, and offered with either regular or spicy seasoning.
The result is delicious and always fresh. While no doubt offensive to the cardiovascular system, they are quite appealing to the senses.
Hot Star Large Fried Chicken – Liverpool St 96 Liverpool St, Sydney NSW 2000
A non-systematic review of the available literature was performed using non-structured keywords. Further opinions from a lay audience were subsequently gathered by means of an online forum. An interactive social media feature of this online forum, that is positive votes signifying consensus concordance with recommendations was used to determine the location of the first Peking duck meal I’ve had since childhood.
The number one rated suggestion on this online forum was “Beverly Hills” with no additional descriptors. A quick internet search led us to Beijing Roast Duck Restaurant, though it was only on arriving in Beverly Hills that there were no less than three or four restaurants on the same strip of road serving Peking duck.
This Pig Ear in Soy Sauce ($12.80) was pretty good. A small hint of spiciness, but generally quite refreshing with its cool temperature and cool cucumbers. The texture of the pig ear was absolutely standard, and though it didn’t stand out it was what was expected of a staple.
Contrastingly, this Sliced Jellyfish ($15.80) was not what was expected. A second cold dish, the jellyfish came mixed with garlic and cucumber, which was appropriate. What was completely unexpected was the large and absolute chunkiness of the “slices” of jellyfish. While I guess what I had pictured in my mind would have been better described as “shredded” jellyfish, I hadn’t even processed that a cold plate of jellyfish in a Chinese restaurant could come in such large bitey chunks. This was not enjoyed by any member of our party.
The Eggplants in Chilli Sauce ($18.80) were extremely and unexpectedly good. Unlike your classic eggplant dish which is diced into small pieces, these eggplants were cut into larger chunks, covered in a thin batter, and then stir fried. The result was a nice crispness on the outside with a warm moistness on the inside. The sauce was more of variation on a sweet and sour sauce rather than a chilli sauce, but the dish was great nonetheless. A really surprising hit.
Next we come to the restaurant’s namesake dish and the reason for our little adventure. The Ordinary Roast Duck Set ($68) featured one whole duck cooked in two ways – served sliced in the classic pancake format alongside small shreds of shallot and wedges of cucumber, as well as in a soup.
The duck was carved by a man in a chef’s hat not at the tableside, but tableside-adjacent in a little alcove. This was really a missed opportunity in terms of the theatrics normally associated with freshly carved duck, as ultimately what we got to see was merely the man’s back, until the two plates of duck were delivered to our table. The duck itself was really OK. with a crispy skin but not as crispy as I had remembered or anticipated. There was plenty of meat to share between four people along with the other dishes ordered, which was nice as it provided something to chew on. One common complaint I’ve read about this restaurant is that the duck tends to lose its temperature quite quickly, and I agree that this is a problem. Some sort of heating device might be good to keep it warm throughout the course of the long meal.
While I did enjoy the Peking Duck, ultimately I don’t really know if it was much different to your average Cantonese/Hong Kong style roast duck. The skin was certainly a bit crispier than my local Cantonese BBQ restaurant, but not really to the level that I’d expect of a subcutaneously emphysematised duck, as is classic in Beijing cooking. The flavours and vibe were different however, and I will pay them that.
The Fried Duck Frame with Cumin ($8.80) was a reasonable amount of meat on a large amount of bone, quite nice, well flavoured without being too flavoured. I think however it was a victim of its own messiness, as eating it required hands with some dexterity, as well as a victim of our fullness by the time it arrived. Not much of it was eaten. I also didn’t realise, whilst ordering it, that getting the duck frame fried with cumin would mean that the duck frame could not be used for soup. Of course it all makes sense in retrospect.
COMMENTS As this is my first Peking Duck meal in a very long time, I have little to judge it by. I enjoyed most of the dishes here (apart from the Jellyfish) but will have to continue my adventures to compare this duck to the other ducks in the area. Price wise the meal represented good value, with large servings of everything. Stay tuned for further duck analyses.
4/5
Beijing Roast Duck Restaurant Beverly Hills 493 King Georges Rd, Beverly Hills NSW 2209 (02) 9570 5131
This is less of a restaurant review and more of a grocery store review. The only cooked, ready to eat item that they sell is an egg tart, which is itself only available on weekends.
The egg tarts ($1.50) are however very good, with great colouration, a nice sweet but not-too-sweet filling, and a delicate flaky puff pastry crust, which is in my opinion across the board superior to shortbread crusts. They are served room temperature, unfortunately, and having them warm would make them just a little bit more perfect.
The majority of Best Tastes Dim Sim’s business is in the frozen dim sum game. Best Tastes, along with Hurstville competitor Delight Dim Sim are my two go-to sources for frozen treats like siu mai (shao mai), har gao (xia jiao), and all kinds of other buns, dumplings, and things wrapped in bean curd.
The service at Best Tastes Dim Sim is also extremely straight forward and friendly, you essentially just pick out what you want from their freezers and take it to the front. I even dropped and destroyed an entire box of dumplings (my fault entirely, I was on the phone and holding way too much stuff), that I was not charged for, even though I offered to pay.
Their food is cheap and delicious, and got me through the recent COVID-19 Delta variant lockdown in Sydney without suffering yum cha withdrawal related delirium tremens. A little bottle of Koon Yick chili sauce also goes a long way.
Enjoy
Best Tastes Dim Sim 11 Henley Rd, Homebush West NSW 2140 (02) 8746 0498
Long Meng Zhu is one of many restaurants that serve Ma La Tang in Mascot’s recently developed high-rise area, located mere footsteps away from its nearest competitor.
The concept is much the same as every other Ma La Tang restaurant. There is a refrigerated display of a variety of meat, seafood, and vegetables. The selection is a bit narrower than what you would find at a larger competitor like Yang Guo Fu Ma La Tang, but still reasonably appropriate. The meat are fresh and were still being actively topped up by the time I visited at around 10:30PM. What sets Long Men Zhu apart from many of its competitors is the array of soup bases on offer. Along with the classic spicy malatang soup, Long Men Zhu also offers a pork bone broth, a laksa broth, and a chicken broth.
I had a selection of sliced meats, vegetables, balls, and tofu in the pork bone broth. Service was fast however I did notice that one of my fish balls was still cold inside. The rest of the food was thoroughly cooked, and I did not get sick afterwards. The pork broth was quite nice and umami, a lighter option in terms of flavour than the usual malatang soup. It was actually so good that I drank most of it at the conclusion of my meal.
A shoutout should also go to the nice man working front of house, who was friendly and made me feel welcome as someone who pretend not to speak Chinese. He is probably the reason why there is a reasonably multicultural patronage at Long Men Zhu.
VERDICT
Pretty good, worth a try! The boss asked me if he would be seeing me at his restaurant more, and I told him to be honest probably no as I’m moving away from the area soon. I do want to bring my girlfriend back though.
Yummy Duck BBQ and Brazilian Flame Barbecue sit on either side of a particularly long traffic light. It was this extended wait at a traffic light on my way to Brazilian Flame that first put me on to Yummy Duck BBQ, and I am glad that it did.
I visited Yummy Duck BBQ just before a night shift in the emergency department. I ordered in English, and asked to eat in but with an extra takeaway box in case I couldn’t finish my meal either due to abdominal or time constraints. It seems like something got lost in translation, however, as I ended up getting my meal served directly in those takeaway containers.
Roast duck and rice
The roast duck and rice ($13.80) was very cheap and very tasty. The amount of roast duck provided was extremely generous for the price, not to mention quality. The skin was nice and crispy, and the meat the perfect amount of juicy and tasty. The greens on the side were a nice touch, and the juices from the duck seeped into the rice below, providing it with a nice quacky flavour.
Wontons
The wontons ($10.80) are your average meat-focused wontons served in an extremely salty clear broth with seaweed and shallots. While the wontons themselves are good with plenty of meaty filling, the broth does let the dish down and takes it from a recommend to a don’t recommend.
DISCUSSION Yummy Duck BBQ seems to have its own cohort of faithful locals. During my brief visit to Yummy Duck I witnessed warm interactions between the staff and not only the predominantly student-aged Asian crowd but also middle-aged Caucasian men in high-vis alike. I would characterise this loyalty to Yummy Duck is well deserved – they have some of the best roast duck I’ve had in the past three years, and will definitely be my go to while I’m still living in the area.
