“OK – grabbed a table next to the row of hanging ducks…” Geoff SMSes me when I am busy trying to cross the city to meet him. And why this particular location in front of a row of hanging ducks? Why a merry group of seven are on the pursuit to find the best Peking Duck in Sydney just in time for Chinese New Year! Accompanying me this afternoon and evening I have David (the chef from Perama), his wife Belinda, Anna & Phillip, Geoff & Rachel and Mr NQN!
We’re starting at the afternoon hour of 3:30pm and our aim is to try as many Peking Duck restaurants as possible given stomach space and time. Although it’s not a scientifically controlled study, it’s about as accurate as we could get given time and various factors etc.
The brief was simple
- We would only order Peking Duck and any drinks we needed. We wouldn’t waste space on any other food.
- We would eat it as it was served to us and not ask for any variations
- Our second course would be sang choy bao (filled lettuce leaves)
- We would score the pancakes and lettuce cups each out of 10. We were permitted to adjust our scores on the first three places to ensure that they weren’t judged too easily or harshly
- We tried to not take up too much time at each place as they were busy so the tables could be used on other customers
So without further ado, read on for our quest to find the best Peking Duck!
East Ocean, Chinatown
Our first meeting point was auspiciously blessed with a nearby row of hanging ducks. I was a little unsure as to how this whole evening would turn out but I think the ducks were a good omen.We told the waiter “We’d just like One Peking duck, that’s all, and the second course will be Sang Choi Bao”. He didn’t bat an eyelid and before long the wooden trolley is rolled out. It sat there for a few minutes until someone came along, strapped on some latex gloves and started carving. David calls this special brand of knife skill a “Dexter” rating.
Most of the skin is used in the duck which is an advantage of having the duck carved in front of you. Many that I’ve dined with feel that sometimes the whole duck isn’t used for your serve or a very small duck is used so you don’t get value for money. Here we see that most of the skin is used bar some areas.
East Ocean Peking Duck Pancakes
As Geoff explains, some Peking Duck is served with a sweet hoi sin sauce but some are also served using sweet bean sauce called Tian Mian Jiang. Here they use the sweet bean sauce. They wrap each pancake up and tuck in the bottom to make for easy eating but I do notice that the pieces of skin are small enough for them to fold it up easily and I prefer larger pieces of skin. There is also meat on the duck pieces whereas for me, having just the skin is ideal as it lends it a delicious crunchiness. I ask him about the skin and he hands us the drumsticks. “Here you can try those” he offers by way of answer.
East Ocean Sang Choi Bao
The sang choi bao aren’t too bad although they’re not particularly packed with meat which we find more pronounced as the night goes on and we try other sang choi baos that have more duck meat. This appears as mostly finely diced vegetables.
Overall rating:
Pancakes: 39/70
Lettuce: 35/70
Cost of Peking Duck $62.50
Number of pancakes provided: 12
Charged for tea? Yes $2.50 each
Cost of Tsingtao beer $7
Wet napkin provided? Yes
BBQ King, Chinatown
Whenever you ask where to go for Peking duck, many people suggest BBQ King. After all if you call yourself the King of anything, you have to follow up with some rather good food in that genre. It’s a shrine devoted to duckdom from the display at the front and the many, many images of hanging ducks in every form. David spots the chef wandering around sporting a cleaver.
BBQ King Peking Duck Pancakes
We take a seat and order our Peking Duck and some beers for the boys and a sparkling mineral water for me. The drinks never materialise but they set down a hoi sin sauce which is incredibly sweet and some spring onions with chilli. Chilli? We are intrigued. Now how will that work? They also tell us that even though there are 7 of us, you only get 4 lettuce cups and they’re not being flexible about it. At $72 it’s the most expensive duck too.
Some duck slices are meaty whereas some are skin only
The duck isn’t carved at the table and they bring out the pancakes and the waiter very liberally applies the sweeter than sweet sauce. The duck pieces themselves have some meat on them, some pieces much more thickly than others so I choose a skin only piece. We take a bite, hesitantly at first because there is chilli in it but we find that it actually isn’t so bad. The chilli balances the sweetness of the sauce well. The pancakes are more yellow in shade and resemble crepes and Anna finds these “rubbery” and they’re slightly cold even though the pancakes are brought out in a warming dish with a candle underneath.
BBQ King Sang Choi Bao
The lettuce cups are huge here and quite overfilled which is not surprising as they only gave us four cups. They’re almost impossible to eat without spilling and it leaves us wondering why they set a 4 lettuce cup limit to this course as lettuce isn’t that costly a commodity. The filling is very strong in bamboo shoot and not much else. We offer Phillip an extra lettuce cup and he says sagely “I don’t want to fill up on a 4.5 score duck”.
Overall rating:
Pancakes: 36.5/70
Lettuce: 34.5/70
Cost of Peking Duck $72
Number of pancakes provided: 12
Charged for tea? No
Cost of Tsingtao beer: It never arrived although they did try to charge us for them.
Wet napkins provided? Yes, although they smelt very strongly of lemon disinfectant
Golden Century, Chinatown
Golden Century has always been a reliable place for my family. If people ask us where we eat, it’s usually here (except yum cha where we go elsewhere as the lines are too long here). Whilst it can sometimes miss the mark it usually does well especially as far as the live seafood goes. Belinda and Anna talk to the Walkie Talkie wielding Cheongsam wearing hostesses who tell them “You have to be gone by 8pm” she says. Not a problem!
Golden Century Peking Duck slices
We sit down at a massive table suited for 10 and Geoff’s wife Rachel has to leave but Mr NQN who has finished sailing takes her place. We’re greeted with a warm real towel although it does have that childhood comfort smell of Dettol. The duck serve is for 8 pieces only and is $60.
Minimal meat underneath-YAY!
There’s no carving done in front us here but I get excited when they set down the plate. The skin is almost translucent which means that there’s no meat lurking underneath. It comes with the sweet bean sauce and when I sink my teeth into it I know that I’ve found my favourite. The skin is beautifully crispy and flavoursome and the pancake is delicate and the glorious fat drips down onto my hand and I just don’t care. This is the Peking Duck that my dreams are made of and others are nodding in agreement. Scores are high for these pancakes.
The lettuce cups are also very meaty and delicious with the unmistakable aroma of Peking Duck and they’re excellent indeed. We’re struck by how meaty these are compared to the previous two. We leave a little refreshed and Phillip is quite taken by the name of one of the counter staff: “Heaven”. Indeed.
Overall rating:
Pancakes: 51/70
Lettuce: 48.5/70
Cost of Peking Duck $60
Number of pancakes provided: 8
Charged for tea? Yes $1.50 per person
Cost of Tsingtao beer: $7
Wet napkins provided? Yes, as soon as we walked in we were given refresher towels
Marigold Citymark, Chinatown
Marigold Citymark Peking Duck
I used to love Marigold Citymark a decade or so ago for dinners as it looked a bit more elegant and I loved the silver spoons and silver chopstick rests. We’re shown to a small table at the back (without the silver spoons) which is fair enough as we haven’t booked. We’re given a plate of prawn crackers and order the duck. The duck is brought to the table and carved in front of us. It’s hot and steaming and the duck juices run appealing out of the duck when it is cut.
Marigold Citymark Peking Duck Pancake
The staff are very efficient with four staff members tending to our Peking Duck. Its hot and tasty although there is the overpowering flavour of the spring onion which is too strong and overpowers most of the other flavours. Everyone except for Mr NQN and I give it a rating of 8 out of 10 whereas Mr NQN rates it a 6 and I rate it a 7. The pieces have a layer of meat underneath and David likes the carving action of the man here and gives him a Dexter rating of 4.5/5.
Marigold Citymark Sang Choi Bao
We try the sang choy bao and it’s not bad at all although there isn’t a very even distribution of meat and the vegetables. They’re a little stunned when we request the bill.
Overall rating:
Pancakes: 52.5/70
Lettuce: 46.5/70
Cost of Peking Duck $58
Number of pancakes provided: 12
Charged for tea? Yes $2 per person
Cost of Tsingtao beer: $7
Wet napkins provided? No
Rhodes Phoenix, Rhodes
We’ve decided to branch out a bit further and try Geoff’s suggestion of Szechuan Garden although Szechuan cuisine is quite different. We high tail it over to Crows Nest and by now it’s getting late. We get a bit lost and when we sit down Geoff realises that the Peking Duck is no longer on the menu. Lotus chef @danhong tweets his recommendation of Good Luck Chinese in Enfield and this is a place that Maeva O’Mara has recommended to me only that very afternoon so we make frantic calls there to try and secure us a duck. Most Chinese restaurants in Chinatown have duck at the ready but not so much in the suburbs. Especially Good Luck Chinese where they make it to order. Maeve mentioned that “If you show up a minute late, they’ll give your duck to someone else” and she affectionately calls him the duck nazi. The idea of visiting a duck nazi is thrilling and we make a frantic phone call to him.
“Can we come tonight for some Peking Duck?” I ask.
“Hang on a minute” says the female voice on the other line. A man picks up the phone and I repeat my request.
“OK 75 minutes from now you come please. At 9:45pm. We’ll see you at 9:45pm”
A minute later he rings back and tells us that there was a no-show so if we come in in the next 30 minutes we can have their duck. Phillip is on the other phone to Rhodes Phoenix and they close at 10pm so we decide to try and get to Rhodes Phoenix and then to Good Luck in time. We pick up our legs and start running to our respective cars yelling “We’ll see you at Rhodes!!”. We have just 1 hour to get to Rhodes Phoenix, eat our Peking Duck and then to Good Luck Chinese in Enfield so that our duck isn’t taken away from us. Breathelessly we throw open the car doors and the Finn inside Mr NQN takes control of the wheel. We’re in SMS contact with each other and we agree that whoever gets there first should just order as time is of the essence.
My phone buzzes and it’s a message from David. “We are 5 mins away…except…ahhhhh road works” and before we get the chance to comprehend what he means, we hit the said road works where three lanes merge into one and then merge with another road. It’s like the scriptwriter for our Duck Off movie has thought that there wasn’t quite enough drama and they’d throw a spanner in the works. We’re craning our necks and Mr NQN does some advanced Finn driving again and we make it through the roadworks with a huge sigh of relief. Desperate, I ring Good Luck restaurant and beg him to let us arrive at 10pm which he agrees to. The car screeches to a stop outside the Rhodes Shopping centre and I leap out of the car in a blur ignoring the expression of the startled youths sitting outside the shopping centre and Mr NQN yells “You go first!” as he has much longer and faster legs. I grab the camera and I run towards the sliding doors which open much to my relief, and we run up the escalators to Rhodes Phoenix. Geoff is already sitting at a table nursing a cold glass of Coke and he tells us that he has already ordered and informed them that we are in a hurry. “You have 30 minutes, don’t worry!” the waiter says.
Rhodes Phoenix Peking Duck pancake
Everyone else arrives and we are all excited at having made it. We order drinks – after all duck chasing is thirsty and thrilling work. The duck is carved ahead of us by an efficient team although it’s carved using an entirely different method from other places. The duck is almost cut roast duck style rather than lifting off all the skin and we have a look at the duck when he has finished carving and I see one half has almost all the skin intact (much to my horror). And next to them is an even more efficient team of people spooning some sang choi bao mix into lettuce leaves. Of course it’s not the meat from our duck as there was no time to remove the meat from ours but we appreciate the efficiency with which the men with earpieces take our orders and administer to us.
The piece above this one was swapped for this less meaty piece
The pancakes aren’t bad but again there’s a mix of meaty and less meaty pieces although most are very meaty. I manage to swap mine and take a bite. Even though I’ve had a few pancakes already, the running around has served to stimulate my appetite and it’s tasty with nice thin pancakes.
Rhodes Phoenix Sang Choi Bao
The Lettuce cups contain a lot of meat and skin but Anna finds that there are some burnt pieces in her sang choi bao.
We’re given a complimentary serve of fortune cookies with frighteningly prophetic sayings such as “You will overcome many obstacles” which of course we immediately understand to be what we’ve just endured. Little do we realise that there would be one final test.
“So nine thirty…. are you’re seeing a movie here?” a waiter asks?
“Errrm” we say contemplating having to explain our Duck Off concept to him and dreading doing so. “Yes yes” we nod smiling. Sometimes, like with parents, they’re better off not knowing what you’re up to.
Overall rating:
Pancakes: 44.5/70
Lettuce: 43/70
Cost of Peking Duck $53.80
Number of pancakes provided: 12
Charged for tea? Yes $2 per person
Cost of Tsingtao beer: $6.50
Wet napkins provided? No
Good Luck Chinese Restaurant, Enfield
Our last stop was of course one that was made even more exciting at the prospect of the whole process of having a duck made to order for us and the fact that it could be snatched away from us if we were late. It was 9:25pm by the time we left Rhodes Phoenix and we high-tailed it over to Enfield. A miscommunication meant that there was confusion and we got slightly lost on the way having gone too far. While frantically backtracking Geoff calls me”Is it Good Luck Chinese on 182 Liverpool Road in Enfield? he says “Because I’m standing outside it and it’s closed“. Eek! I panic and call them and the man answers the phone. I explain and he laughs and lets Geoff in (who we figure must fly places as he gets there so quickly). Phew! We had one man in the door!
It’s raining lightly and we are the last to get there and walking up to the restaurant we see the large picture of the Peking Duck in the window. At this hour of 10pm, we are the only table there. The chef is still in his chef’s whites but he is friendly and perhaps rather relieved that we turned up to claim our duck. They bring out our duck, head and all and we fill our own pancakes. The duck is good although some parts aren’t as crispy as I’d like but we can choose meat or skin pieces. It reminds me a bit of a roast duck rather than a Peking duck as some pieces of skin are quite soft. The sauce is a favourite with everyone and the pancakes are slightly thick but most definitely homemade. You lift off one and it is actually two stuck together as that is the way they are rolled. According to the waitress, each Peking duck is cooked to order and takes 75 minutes from ordering to serving so people need to call ahead in order to try some. They sell about 10 ducks a day and 20 on weekends.
Good Luck Peking Duck
“Is that a 5D?” the chef asks Mr NQN who is holding a camera and it turns out he is photography buff. Our waitress asks about the photographs curious at the photo taking and we tell her of our Duck quest. She tells us of a how there are some groups of seven people who order two ducks and we chuckle at the idea of two ducks for seven people until Philip points out that we’ve had six ducks this evening! David kisses the duck beak and then take a bite of it and pries out the brain which he reports tastes just like offal.
Good Luck Soup course
The second course is a soup and when she sets it down we’re immensely happy. It’s the perfect end to our duck quest, the soup flavoured with the duck bones which still sit in the soup, pieces of wombok and other vegetables and pieces of duck that weren’t used in the first course. Anna is so enamoured she drinks straight from the bowl and it hits the spot with all of us perfectly. As if you’d come home with the rain pouring outside from a big day of drama and your mum made you the most perfect comfort food. I ask everyone for ratings for the soup and a round of “Nine!” and “Ten out of ten!” abounds as this very satisfied group depart after having six ducks over the space of seven hours. We had so much fun that plans are made for a Part Deux.
Overall rating:
Pancakes: 53/70
Soup course: 64/70
Cost of Peking Duck $60
Number of pancakes provided: 12
Charged for tea? Not sure
Cost of Tsingtao beer: Not sure (sorry it was late!)
Wet napkins provided? No
Impressions from our intrepid Peking Duckers
What we learnt early on was that at first everyone had slightly different preferences when it comes to how they like their Peking Duck, most of us agreed and points didn’t differ very much at each establishment. We all concurred on what made a tasty Peking Duck.
Anna:
Peking Duck-I think I started this pilgrimage believing that I liked quite a lot of duck flesh in my pancakes because I like duck so much. But the hands on education I got during our duck off converted me to more crispy skin and a small amount of moist duck meat, to achieve a balance of texture and flavour. I much prefer the sweet bean sauce served at some of the restaurants to the hoi sin sauce which was slathered on some of our pancakes. Also prefer to ‘build’ the pancake myself to get the right balance of ingredients. So: pancake, needs to look and feel handmade, light and silky in texture. not rubbery or flabby. Crisp skin, small amount of moist duck meat, some sweet bean sauce, a moderate amount of spring onion/shallot, some cucumber and if the sweeter hoi sin is used, a small piece of mild fresh chili to offset the sweetness.
Sang Choi Bao-Plenty of Duck meat, a good quantity of textural ingredients, waterchestnuts, bamboo shoots, crispy fried vermicelli. Combined thoroughly to create an even presentation. Small servings to as not to overwhelm the lettuce cup. It must be fragrant and moist but not too wet.
Highest ranked pancake: Good Luck, Enfield. Highest ranked sang choi bao: Rhodes Phoenix, Golden Century & Marigold (equal).
Belinda:
I have always preferred Peking duck that has a generous amount of flesh attached to the crispy skin. However after sampling the one at Golden Century I am a convert to the skin only pancakes as this ensured that the following course of San Choy Bao was flesh filled and there was no mistaking you were getting your money’s worth of duck.
A truly memorable gastronomic journey! Great company and delicious duck. My favourite choice for best duck was from Golden Century. Crispy duck skin (devoid of any duck flesh), hoisin sauce perfection and delicate pancake made for a stunning mouthful. Their San Choy Bao was also my number one pick. Juicy and flesh filled, will definitely be returning to indulge in the near future.
Last on the list was BBQ King, minus points for sloppy serving style and sickly hoisin.
Highlight of the evening was the high adventure of driving maniacally to fit in as many Peking ducks as possible. Finishing near midnight with the duck soup at Good Luck, was true comfort food and a fantastic way to end the Peking duck quest.
Highest ranked pancake: Golden Century. Highest ranked sang choi bao: Golden Century
David:
You know there is a perfectly good scientific and medical reason why physicians and nutritionists strongly advise that 6 portions of peking duck a day is highly inadvisable. But I can give them 7 hours why they are crocks. They are 7 hours in your life when you live…and 7 hours of no regret ( except when your personal trainer gives you a dressing down for your shortcomings) but nevertheless when in jest I said to Lorraine that we should do a peking duck crawl I said it as a passing fancy I didn’t in my wildest dreams think that Lorraine and six others would agree that was one great idea. And what a wonderful seven hours of adventurous trepidation of textures,tastes,smells,sights and community sense that the peking duck delivers. It was the centrepiece of a communal gathering of varying tastes…some liked the crisp skin only some the meat, some liked the sickly sweet bottled hoi sin, some the more subtle fermented bean flavoured. Others regaled in the oily discharge of the san choy bau the others the deep nutty chestnut crunch..but it was unanimous the peking duck rules as a wonderful way for family and friends to come together and be joined by the sharing of a wonderful thing that is the peking duck…..
Highest ranked pancake: Marigold and Good Luck (equal). Highest ranked sang choi bao: Rhodes Phoenix.
Geoff:
Lorraine:
Peking Duck Pancake-I am a traditionalist when it comes to Peking Duck and have a strong preference for skin only and only skin in the pancake. This means as little meat as possible with a generous portion of skin in the pancakes and the skin must be very crispy (differentiating it from a roast duck). I prefer the sauce not too sweet and not too much green spring onion preferring the white part. I like delicate, thin pancakes.
Sang Choi Bao- For the lettuce cup, I look for a lot of duck meat, the contrasting crunch of freshly fried noodles and I like diced water chestnuts and an even distribution of each ingredient.
Tonight was such a fun filled evening and like Belinda, I really enjoyed our race against time to try and make as many Peking Duck restaurants as possible. I like to think of it as a Race Around Sydney-The Peking Duck edition!
Highest ranked pancake: Golden Century. Highest ranked sang choi bao: Golden Century.
Mr NQN:
First course-crispy skin without too much meat, a relatively sweet sauce and sufficient cucumber/spring onion. More than one helping.
Second course-For the sang choy bao I like a largeish lettuce leaf which is structurally sound, I don’t like it when the leaf breaks and oozes all over my hand. The lettuce leaf should have a lot of filling and it should look like we got the rest of the duck from the first course.
I thought it was fun, a bit of a crazy adventure around Sydney. I’m used to doing these crazy sorts of things being married to Lorraine.
Highest ranked pancake: Good Luck. Highest ranked sang choi bao: Rhodes Phoenix. Did not visit East Ocean or BBQ King.
Phillip:
Peking Duck Pancake-When I started on the mission to find the best peking duck in Sydney I thought that I preferred my duck with more meat than skin. However as the night progressed I realised that my preference was for mostly crispy skin with a little bit of flesh for moisture. In terms of the pancake I like it thin with a bit of spring onion a slice of cucumber and a bit of chilli to offset the sweetness of the sweet bean sauce which I prefer to Hoisin Sauce which some were made with.
Sang Choi Bao-My Duck Sang Choi Bow would be moist, not wet, meaty with all ingredients water chestnuts, bamboo shoots etc well mixed and importantly not over full making it unmanagable.
Highest ranked pancake: Marigold. Highest ranked sang choi bao: Golden Century.
So Dear Reader, we know we didn’t make it to a lot of places, so for our Part Deux, if you have any Peking Duck suggestions, feel free to let us know!
Eerily prophetic fortune cookie messages
East Ocean
1/421-429 Sussex St, Haymarket
Tel: +61 (02) 9212 4198
BBQ King
18-20 Goulburn St, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9267 2586
Golden Century
393 Sussex St, Haymarket
Tel: + 61 (02) 9212 3901
Marigold Citymark
Level 4 & 5, 683-689 George St
Haymarket NSW 2000
Tel: +61 (02) 9281 3388
Rhodes Phoenix
Rhodes Shopping Centre
Level 5, 1 Rider Boulevard
Rhodes NSW 2138
Te: +61 (02) 9739 6628
Good Luck Chinese
182 Liverpool Rd, Enfield
Tel: +61 (02) 9747 4625
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98 Comments | Add your own
Hi Lorraine – this is easily THE article that I have most enjoyed reading in your blog. There is a sense of real adventure in the event, not to mention the fantastic camaraderie shared as well as the very informed opinions of your fellow ‘duckists’. There is also (please pardon me here) not so much gushing where your sponsored articles are concerned. Its not that I don’t enjoy reading those – merely that this has got (again, begging your pardon) more gravitas to it. Brava, madame!
You guys are hilarious. Anyone else foresee a movie deal?
Excellent post…I love reading about food quests such as this one.
Two questions though, was it Peking duck overload?
And will you be able to eat it again in the immediate future?
Syndney is for my next poem!
I’ve never had peking duck…as a blond duck, I just can’t do it.
That is quite some challenge! Six restaurants in a day, what fun! So comprehensive and detailed and eclectic! I especially love the ‘Wet napkins provided’ criterion, so crucial! LOL. Personally I’d love to see Peking goose, yummo.
I love it!! This would be my dream way of eating Peking Duck. I’m very impressed you guys made it to many places in one night. Very wise to not waste valuable stomach space on non-duck dishes.
Happy CNY!!
And a comparison to Eastwood Gardens??
This is an extensive and detailed guide about peking duck in Sydney!
As I’m a fan of this bird, now I know where to go if I visit Sydney.
Fantastic and tasty research Lorraine
Cheers,
Gera
What an adventure! I loved reading every bit of this post Lorraine – it was brilliant! Mr BBB loves peking duck – so I will be getting him to read your review tonight for sure
I’ve never had peking duck with a crispy skin, Ive only ever tried it with the meat… now I am very keen to try otherwise, particularly given there are many converts!
I love the food at the East Ocean, and agree that the duck is quackin’ good. Also check out the restaurant’s salt and pepper squid – copied by many, and fail to meet the mark. Yummo
So much fun! I do hope you stopped off for something sweet on the way home
That’s a LOT of duck. This was excellent reading thank you.
so much duck in one night i take my hat off to all of you hehe
oooh, nice one lorraine… i love peking duck (PD)…. what an awesome PD crawl u had!!
It’s all bout balance, crispy skin, sweet sauce, crunch of shallot and silkiness of pancake… yum. We frequent Bambusia in Bondi Junction for taste and value and often make the trip to Dee Why to Top Barbecue Restaurant… these have been my discoveries over the 27 years living here.
Wow, you guys rock!! Great post, thank you, I’ve eaten at almost all those restos and never tried the Peking Duck. I certainly will next time!
WOW!
This must be the best Peking Duck review in the world!
Ok, ok, in SYDNEY!
Well done Lorraine & team!
I hope I can still see some ducks swimming in Centennial Park this w/e….hehe
This challenge sounded like so much fun! And a fabulous recount of it as well – I really enjoyed this post.
Oh my goodness – I am salivating at the though of all that Peking Duck and it’s not even 10am in the morning! I too think that this is one of my fav posts on your blog to date (: Looking forward to Part Deux!
Wow! What a post! Although I was initially disapointed that my old favourite (pre-Beijing days) of BBQ King seems to have slipped alot, I am very excited my the possibilities for our next Sydney adventure!
What can anyone say but ‘can I come next time’????
Hi Lorraine,
Thank you for taking me on your Peking Duck adventure. Sounds like a lot of fun with great people. I have not tried Peking Duck before. I would personally like crisp skin also if I liked the flavor. I quickly passed the photo with the duck head. I cannot see anything in whole form before eating it. I love ducks. They land in our backyard pool on occasion. I guess the visual before eating like a fish turns me away. This was your best post that I have read. You put everything you have into it and made it a very easy and fun read. Thank you for that. You made my day. At least I can visit Australia’s restaurants through you and your wonderful Blog.
Oh, Lorraine, this was an EXCELLENT post!
I think David summed it up best, about life and no regrets. I’m sure you all had a wonderful duck affair to remember.
I think for an authentic experience, Good Luck at Enfield is the place to go – the duck is perfect there, and it’s always packed.
I used to work near Chinatown and each Friday night my workmates, myself and our respective partners would say in unison “mmmmmmm duck” and off we’d trot for our Peking duck. The restaurant we used to go to has sadly closed but their duck was great.
However fab Peking duck is – and yes I agree it is one of the most enjoyable of eating pleasures – even better in my mind are the “aromatic crispy duck” pancakes that you will find in UK Chinese restaurants. Go see for yourself if you are a duck fan at our favourite Chinese in Sydney – Mr Chows Peking Restaurant in Kent St, the Rocks. Oh and don’t miss their toffee apples for desert either
This post is making me want to eat peking duck!
Too bad they don’t do mini peking duck for one….
This makes me so bummed I didn’t go! Brilliant – drama, high-stakes risk, laughter, I can just imagine you running through Rhodes shopping centre!
That’s alot of ducking duck. Will have to head out to Enfield to give Good Luck a go as my usual Peking Duck haunt is Marigold.
Lorraine – the best post you have ever done.
Well done you!
Must…..have….peking duck! What a wonderful and delicious adventure!
Ready for round two girlfriend
I actually had the peking duck pancakes for the first time this weekend. The duck was carved and the pancake prepared in front of us. It tasted amazing. I am soooooooooooooo happy you did not include a recipe here because right after we had it my husband said, “HOney you’ve got to learn how to make these!” Uhhmm yeah, I’m adding it to my very lengthy to do list of recipes. Should get to it by next year LOL
I loved this post as I was just thinking the other day about ‘where to get the best peking duck in sydney’. So you read my mind and I’m absolutely thrilled at your selections. Great that you came to Enfield , in my neck of the woods. I should try Good Luck out.
You really make me wish I lived In Sydney. I would just follow your steps…eat eat eat.
Holy moly, you guys must really like Peking Duck!!
I had it for the first time in Beijing recently and I didn’t like it all that much… The duck was already cut into pieces when it came to the table so I didn’t see them carving it =( It was fun to wrap them though ^_^
Duck overload. You’re quite insane my friend. (I am bit jealous too)
My heart wishes that I could have stayed for the whole adventure… but my waistline is not so sure…. Next time. It was lovely to meet you all.
David’s contemporaneous twitter stream kept me up to date on your progress…. the most memorable tweet:
“it’s like Jim Morrison in the desert after too much peyote… I am the peking duck kiiiiiiing!”
Lorraine
Can’t wait to read about your next search! Peking Duck is a good one, if anything because it is so useful to know who makes it the best
What a great group of friends! Are they all foodies and bloggers or just nice and adventurous?
I think you should do more of these quests. I did the quest for the best mochi in japan .. that was fun. Kyoto had the best.
Maybe you should do quest for the best hot chips next. Can’t find good old style takeaway chips anywhere any more! everywhere has the frozen ones now days…
I’m exhausted!!!!!!!!!! lol
Soooo much fun – what a great idea!. You should do this with other foods
Wow! I’ve never seen or eaten Peking Duck before, but it looks amazing! I shall have to give it a try when I fly to Australia this summer.
Wow! What an epic! I haven’t been to the Rhodes restaurant before, but of all the others I like the traditional format of the Good Luck restaurant the best. Soup should be standard! Although, admittedly, I didn’t particularly think the duck soup’s flavour is anything special. Best Peking Duck I’ve had was in Shanghai – partly because of the amazingly crispy skin, partly because of the amazing show of knife skills!
What a fab idea. Now you have left me with a strong craving for some peking duck….mmm….perhaps not 7 in one night though!
Have you tried the Grape Garden in willoughby? We went there quite a while ago after hearing that they had great peking duck…was pretty fine if I remember correctly…and nice house made pancakes…
Yuuuum….now I really want some…
hey Lorraine, you gotta try Peking Duck Restaurant in Kensington, i reckon their one also really good.. I like good luck peking, heaps of meat but some of their pancake i found very thick… very filling though
such an adventure!
i do love a good peking duck pancake… and now i know where to start looking for one!
What a brilliant review! My husband is a huge fan of the Peking Duck at Excellent Seafood restaurant in Carlingford
I love duck, but I’m not sure I love it this much. You have shown true dedication to the cause and it’s a wonderful public service that you have performed, trawling the streets of Sydney to find the best duck. Research is such hard work but ultimately very rewarding!
The best duck I ever had was at the China Club in Hong Kong. Unbelievable.
I love the idea of the quest – best of luck with it. In Melbourne for the food and wine festival they usually have a duck crawl where you eat peking duck at various places – sounds like you are having your own version!
I’ma BBQ pork girl instead!
Your drive and determination to find the best peking duck is amazing… and hilarious too! One question – where does it all go?
Amazing and entertaining. Thanks! This is a gem of a blog and my very favourite. I am craving Peking duck so badly right now!
Lorraine, did anyone calculate the total calorie intake per person?
Fantastic blog! I’m starving now! I live in the Blue Mountains and there is NOWHERE to get food this good. Must do a trip to Sydney this weekend.
Fantastic post! I think posts like this would translate very well into a TV show of some sort! hehe
I like my Peking duck with pretty much skin only as well! But I wish we could find the almost cylindrical-fashioned ducks of Asia here *sigh* So, I don’t hear you swearing off duck for a while though?!
Wow, how timely, I am having peking duck this weekend! It (along with pidgeon) is a huge favourite of mine. For convenience we stick to the suburbs, and near you actually- Imperial Peking @ South Juniors. It is definitely comparable to my city favourite which is Emperor’s. You should visit it for part deux!
What an amazing review! I haven’t had much luck with peking duck in Sydney so far, but it sounds like Good Luck and Golden Century are worth trying.
I salute Team Peking Duck! Quack!
WOW! How are you ever going to beat this one? Never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought of doing this! I too love a Peking Duck and there used to be a chain of restaurants one of which was in Crows Nest and I used to take clients there and treat them to a Peking Duck. Unfortunately the chain must have gone broke (or the owner passed away?) because there is no longer a single one of the restaurants left. Anyway, I now get my Peking Duck “fixes” when I’m working late (like tonight! How hilarious that I just ate two Peking Duck pancakes before I logged on to read your blog!). The Thai restaurant we order home delivery from (Montien Thai at 272 Willoughby Road, Naremburn) sells a serving of two for $9.90. The pancakes are translucently thin, you do get a decent chunk of meat (which is good if you’re not eating the rest of the duck), cucumber and spring onion (I usually pull mine out because I don’t like the strong flavour of the thick ones) and I think it’s the bean sauce rather than the hoisin although it’s been a while now so I can’t remember. Oh and they also give you a little container of superfluous dipping sauce! It’s just enough for a light dinner. Loved it! Thank you Lorraine!
ahh duck. Love this review,. I could do no more than 2 places per food battle, so big props to you and your stomach! LOL
Will hit these places when I’m up in Sydney next.
Fantastic post! Who would have thought peking duck could be so exciting to read about
Loved this post! And your drool-worthy photos.
I’ve had Peking Duck and LOVE it.
The skin is delicious! And the duck pancakes sounded right up my alley.
Oh my goodness, I read this article with all the pace of a spy thriller and my heart was beating so quickly towards the end, were they going to make it or not??? I do hope you eat lots of avocado, olive oil and other good stuff to counteract all that duck fat! Congratulations on a superb report, truly looking forward to Quack Two!
This is so much fun! How do you fit it all in? Hmm… must think of something that we can do here as well… heh
what a fun, fun, fun endeavor! this is my kind of challenge. i must say, i’ve never seen so many duck corpses in all my life.
I love Peking duck and would have loved to come along on this quest! Yum!
Oh wish i were there to go on the search for the best Sydney peking duck too! how yum. I like mine with practically all skin – the Marigold one looks quite perfect! Although I’d be happy eating any of that x
What a challenge! I love that Enfield place. (we might have been a group that ordered 2 ducks for 7 people in the past).
Have you ever tried crispy aromatic duck? It seems to be a UK special, it’s definitely got the crunch factor!
Holy cow, what an epic post! At first glance I thought that this was over different nights but when I realised it was all in one night…that is just awesome!
I didn’t realise until the end that you did all of this in one night! Youa re all definitely troopers – I would have baulked at the challenge. Well done – I had a lot of fun reading this.
Awesome writing style! I loved the race against time adventure thriller, and kudos to you guys for eating six ducks between you, that’s an achievement!
Next time you should get matching shirts – “Duck Off” would be a great slogan haha.
Having been to restaurants in beijing that just serve Peking duck has meant a lifelong obsession with the dish. I recommend you try Fook Yuen in Chatswood. Duck sliced at the table, second course is available as sang choi bau or my personal fave is duck either stir-fried with preserved vegetables and udon noodles or udon noodles in duck soup..yummmmmmm
what a wonderful trip foraying for peking duck! wow…wish i could join u sometime on one of ur food trips..haha..u go on so many food tours..
Wonderful post, Lorraine! I love a good Peking duck and headed to Eastwood after reading your earlier article.
Imperial Peking in Kogarah serves a good, albeit expensive bird.
Can’t wait for part deux!
Wow what an adventure! I’m a huge fan of Golden Century, you can’t beat the pippies in XO sauce though. Excellent post.
There are some fabulous photos in here, I almost feel like I’ve taken a trip down China Town myself.
My favourite fortune cookie message was “You wealth soon increase”. It’s pinned on my notice board and I live in hope!
Now I have a craving for peking duck! I think I may have to take my own little peking duck pilgrimage.
A heroic effort. I lost track just reading the post and have no idea how you managed it all. Coming from the UK I’ve always preferred crispy duck. the flesh is fall apart and the duck is cut up with a spoon and fork rather than carved. Very difficult to find in Australia though.
I’ve never been a fan of duck…but I do enjoy eating Peking Duck. But I admit – I’ve not tried it much…maybe less than 10 times in my 25 years?
We’ve driven past Good Luck at Enfield a few times…I’ve wanted to stop, but not being a driver, I don’t get my way! LOL
A great article, Lorraine! Very enjoyable…now I want to eat some of those duck-filled pancakes!!
Lorraine – totally SENSATIONAL. I lived, breathed, drove and tasted every moment of your worthy epic. My brother and I were recently in New York, and visited Peking Duck House in Chinatown. Great great duck (everything else ordinary) – we too raced around trying to find the restaurant in the winding streets of Chinatown as we had a show to see, and had forgotten the retaurant’s address!
I’d love to see more of these types of adventures!
I have always looked on with envy when nearby tables have ordered duck and the waiters carve it at the table. I will be sure to give it a try one day.
OMG! I’m so jealous you’ve got friends who will, without hesitation, join you in such a fantastic quest! My friends will just think I’m nuts!!
I’ve been very curious about the Good Luck duck for awhile. Seeing your post I must go try it out! Thanks for your investigative blogging!
on sydney weekender, they spoke about peking duck at GWEN’S in Epping,not sure if that was just advertising or its just REALLY GOOD
Wow! Quite something… had a few sessions of Peking Duck a couple of years ago due to a visitor being fond of it, and that was enough to put me off Peking Duck until now! (Not to mention the rip off prices– I remember a time when the ducks were like $30.)
Off to Beijing next week, so expect to get a good dose of it!
P.S. Fook Yuen Chatswood does it pretty well.
Fantastic adventure Lorraine. Six ducks among seven of you is quite an accomplishment. Wonderful job. I enjoyed reading about your evening and now have an incredable urge to go out and have some Peking Duck.
Hi gobsmack’d-Thankyou so much! That’s so lovely to hear!
It was so much fun I have to say! Even though the other stories may be gratis, it doesn’t sway the content. I just thought you should know that 
Hi Hannah-Hehe now wouldn’t that be hilarious!
Hi Highlands Foodie-Thankyou!
You know funnily enough, it wasn’t really pancake wise but I have to say that I didn’t finish all of the sang choi bao’s, especially towards the end 
And Iate some duck the week afterwards! 
Hi Blond Duck-Haha! Aww I suppose not!
Hi joey-Thankyou! Hehe it’s one of those touches that I love
Mmm now that sounds absolutely divine! 
Hi romaverona-Thankyou!
Hehe we had to be ruthless! 
Happy Chinese New Year! 
Hi Rob-That may be in the next round
Hi Gera-Thankyou Gera!
Absolutely! I hope you make it here one day 
Thankyou!
Hi Lisa-It was!
Thankyou so much! Hehe you could do your own tour with friends! 
Hi Sarah-It’s so good. It’s just so delicious with just the skin!
Hi Bev-Haha quackin’ good!
Ahh thanks for the tip! 
Hi Amy-Hehe we didn’t actually! I think we were too full!
Hi Mary Preston-You’re welcome!
Hi Betty-Hehe why thankyou!
Hi Kewpie -It was so much fun!
Hi Mark-Ahh good to know, thankyou for your recs!
Hi Celia-Thankyou!
Hehe we always try the PD if we can (we’re addicts 
)
Hi Howard-Hehe thankyou Howard!
at Centennial park!
Hi BuBbles-Thanks so much!
Hi Casey-Oh cool! Thankyou so much! That’s wonderful!
Hehe I am too!
Hi Ange-Thankyou!
Yes we were very disappointed there! I hope you have fun! 
Hi Darlene-You’re welcome!
Hehe yes the heads can be confronting at first but I’m used to it now. Thankyou very much for your kind words! 
Hi Belle-Thanks so much! Yes it was a wonderful day
That soup just hit the spot!
Hi JT-Hehe sounds like a good way to end the week! Oh I think I’ve had the tea smoked duck there, is that the same thing? It was amazing!
Hi Sarah -I know wouldn’t that be good? Some places sell just one pancake I think
Hi Alison-Yes a shame you couldn’t come! It was a brilliant day!
Hi D-Yes it is! Yes you should give it a go and see what you think
Hi Claire-Aww shucks thankyou!
Hi Gillian-Thankyou! It was a lot of fun
Hi Belinda-You bet! I can’t wait!
Hi Wizzy-Ahh cool!
Hehe I wouldn’t know where to start making my own Peking Duck but that’s an idea for a future one! 
Hi Einna-Hehe that’s great!
Ahh cool! Yes it’s well worth trying! 
Hi Angela-Hehe you should come here for a visit!
Hi Alice-We sure do!
Oh no what a shame! It wasn’t to your taste?
Hi Christie-Hehe why thankyou!
Hi thepixiechick-Ahh yes what a shame you had to leave! Hehe his twitter stream was hilarious!
Hi tasteofbeirut-Hehe thankyou!
I couldn’t agree more! We wanted toknow where was the best too 
Belinda is a blogger and David is a chef and everyone else is a foodie! 
Hi Rob-Yes they’re just big stories and take a long time to do and write up! Easy- best chips are at Moo Burgers
Hi Matilda-:lol: Me too!
Hi Anne-WE definitely plan to!
Hi Krista-Absolutely! I hope you have fun here!
Hi Forager-Yes they should all do soup! Oh really? It was just what we needed at the end of the night.
Hi spice and more-Hehe yes maybe not 6!
I haven’t tried it there but thankyou for the recommendation! 
Hi Hilda-Hehe yes that was on the list although we didn’t quite have time to make it! Thanks!
Hi emma-Hehe yes! Here are 6 places!
Hi Jen -Thankyou!
Ahh thankyou for the recommendation! 
Hi Sian-Hehe why thanks!
It’s a tough job but I was more than happy to do it! 
Hi Gourmet Chick-What a fun idea! Yes this is our own version of that I guess!
Hi Fiona-You should do a BBQ Pork crawl!
Hi Trissa-I’m still recovering!
Hi Amy-Thankyou!
Aww you are too kind! 
Hi AnnieC-Hehe no, I don’t think we wanted to know!
Hi Bam-Thankyou! Oh what a shame! Absolutely, there are plenty of places to have Peking Duck here
Hi Karen-Thanks so much!
Hehe I agree!
Hi mlle délicieuse-I know, they don’t breed them here I guess! No
I had some more duck the week after!
Hi Beverly-Ahh yes I went there for Chinese New Year!
Hi foodwink-Thankyou! Yes there are some that are definitely better than others
Hehe thankyou! Quack quack!
Hi Gummi Baby-Hehe I don’t know but we’ll have fun trying!
Oh what a shame! Hehe and what a coincidence! 
Sounds like an excellent dinner! You’re welcome!
Hi Adrian-Thankyou! No way, I’m sure you could do more!
Hi Y-Hehe thanks! I always thought it was exciting but maybe that’s just me
Hi Barbara-Thankyou! Yes the skin is amazing isn’t it!
Hi Moya -Hehe thankyou! Aww that’s so nice to read that!
Yes it’s been salads after that! Trust me! 
Hi penny-You can do one in Melbourne!
Hi grace-Thankyou!
Hehe yes we left a trail behind I must say 
Hi Natasha-It was so much fun!
Hi diva-Yes all skin is good and crispy! I love it!
Although I hear you get crispy aromatic duck in London? x
Hi milli-Hehe how cool! She might have been talking about you!
Yes I think I’ve tried it at Mr Chow. It was soo good!
Hi Steph-hehe no it was all one night. We are slightly mad I suppose!
Hi Cakelaw-Yes afraid so!
Some opted out perhaps for the same reason! 
Thankyou!
Hi Lisa-Thankyou! It really felt like a race and we couldn’t have asked for more fun!
Haha we did contemplate getting tshirts! 
Hi glenda-Ahh yes we missed Chatswood but they would have some contenders! Thanks for the recommendation!
Hi chinesechic-Thankyou! Ahh yes wouldn’t it be fun to hold these kinds of tours so everyone could join in!
Hi angel_i-Thanks so much! Ahh cool did you like it? Thanks for the recommendation! I think I’ve heard of that place!
Hi Bel-Thankyou! Yes it’s brilliant isn’t it and so reliable
Hi Sarah-Thankyou so much!
I love fortunes! They’re always so positive 
Hi Jessica-Absolutely you should!
Hi Ed -We have intestinal fortitude! I think it’s at Mr Chow from what JT said above and if it is the one that I tried, I agree it is spectacular!
Hi Liv-Ahh ok, why is that? Do others not like it very much?
Aww don’t you hate it when that happens! I know what it’s like to be a non driver! Thankyou so much! 
Hi Karen-Thankyou so much! You are too kind!
Hehe sounds like you had a great adventure!
Hi Mark-Absolutely you should! Best eaten in a crowd I think
Hi SoRMuiJAi-Yes they were a great crowd!
You’re more than welcome!
Hi sydneyguyrojoe-Ahh ok good to know. That show always seems to recommend some strange choices I find!
Hi dingdong-Oh really! What a shame! Yes ducks are much more than that now
Excellent, have fun! 
Hi Madeline-Thankyou!
Hehe if you do, enjoy your duck! 
This was a great review , if only I had of seen it before my birthday in January when I was looking for a Peking Duck restaurant . Still have not tried it but will be going to the Golden Century next chance I get .
Wow that all looks so amazing! Do you know where to buy the pancakes by themselves? I’ve looked in every asian supermarket I can think of, but I’m sure I must be looking in the wrong places!
I’ve never had peking duck here in Sydney like the way they do it in Beijing. Skin on one plate and meat on another with a bowl of sugar to dip the skin in. It just melts in your mouth.
Great article. It’s inspired me to go on a journey this weekend!
Hi Lorraine,
My wife and I love Peking duck and glad you compiled a list of places for us to try.
We’ve been to a few of the ones you have listed, and I must say that the best place I have been to would be The Palace Restaurant at the Piccadilly Centre in the city.
I am curious to try the Good Luck Chinese Restaurant seeing I live 2 minutes from there!
Thanks you for the duck off. It was thoroughly enjoyable!
Will
thank you for the wonderful post. it sure made my day with much laughter~! i did it once for steamed choi pans.
Love this post! Reading as I’m walking toward Chinatown for my monthly duck fix! And bookmarking the page! Thank you for such diligent resrlearch and write up!
Love the duck off article! Have you ever been to Flavours of Peking? I love their Peking Duck. The restaurant does not have the best reviews but I find that everytime I visit I love it. Their pot sticker dumplings are great too.
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[...] I squeal happily before realising that I have a huge eating event scheduled for that very day. After a bit of juggling and some understanding dining companions, Teena and I are headed towards [...]
[...] my Duck Off adventure which was preceded by a 10 course Japanese meal, I needed to compensate for my unholy ingestion of [...]
[...] then comes over and asks us if we’d like 5 or 10 degustation sized courses. As I’ve had a weekend full of food, I go with Becca’s [...]
[...] As a bit of a mushroom freak my eyes light up at the sight of this mixed mushroom plate braised in oyster sauce. I love the slippery texture of some and the meaty texture of others as well as abalone which is one of those things that whilst is nice, I don’t often order as I always think that the money is better spent on lobster or Peking Duck. [...]
[...] Off! The Quest to find the Best Peking Duck in Sydney http://www.notquitenigella.com/2010/02/11/best-peking-duck-in-sydney/ [...]
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