Yesterday, as I was plying my normal route to Bangsar Village, I happened to look up, (like how Deborah Kerr looked up at the Empire State in "An Affair to Remember"...okay-la, damn drama I know), and lo and behold, I see, Melbourne Peking Duck, right here on Jalan Telawi 3. Next to the Talk, above that Chinese Vegetarian place that has been there since time immemorial. (the Chinese vegetarian, not MPD. MPD is new, only been open three weeks)
Anyway, my delightful lunch companions are already there, and we proceed to yabber away. Makan Fairy Godmother tells me that I might know the owners as they might be from the same church. Rather speculative. I dismiss the notion with a royal wave of the hand, saying I hardly know anyone. Next thing I know, the owner comes trotting up and says, hey, I know you....Gosh, KL is really too small for adultery and iniquity. Turns out, he's a friend's brother in law, and although we met vaguely a couple of times, mainly over Black Jack at Chinese New Year, (not the ideal venue to forge friendships), I was glad to hear of the association.
Now, the Set Menus are AMAZINGLY reasonably priced. PD1 (No prizes for guessing what PD stands for) at RM78, includes a whole duck.....
(not a Hole Duck), sliced into 16 pcs served with Pancake, Scallion & Cucumber, and of course, the hoisin sauce, AND Stir Fried Bean Sprouts with Shredded Duck Meat AND Duck Soup with Salted Vegetable & Tofu.
But we are bigger eaters than that, so we opt for PD2, at RM88 per set, which comprise A WHOLE DUCK....
Fried Meehoon/Hor Fun/Rice (choose one) with shredded duck meat, and Duck Soup...
The waiter with the dexterity of a surgeon carves the duck up effortlessly, into ...what must have more than 16 pieces. I LOVE that they actually leave a thin layer of meat as well with the skin. I realise this might be a bone, or meat, of contention, whether to have pure skin, or skin and meat, or skin and bone...oh wait, that's Ciki...
Gorgeous slices of glistening crispy skin with! tender succulent meat.
Look at all that white meat. It must be healthy.
Now, the Chef's wife is very specific on HOW to fold your Duck Pockets. Unlike the usual roll popiah style, which results in the sauces coming out of every orifice, this method holds everything in. Refer to the above diagram. The circle is the pancake. Place the scallion, cucumber, sauce and duck at THREE O'CLOCK. (denoted by the square). Fold over your pancake. ie, bring 9 O Clock over to 3 O Clock. Then fold up the 6 and 12 O Clocks till you get this.
Being the naughty boy that I am, I tried doing it at various hours, this particular one being at 12 O Clock. The good news is, it tastes just at good, regardless of the time. I like the pancakes too. They are not the eggy sort, which I dont like, nor the floury popiah type, which can be very stodgy. This seems like a cross, and is the perfect thickness.
Chef and his lovely wife, who really exudes enthusiasm that is contagious.
Stir Fried Heong Fei Miu, at RM15. Fried perfectly, still crunchy, just the way I like it.
The fried hor fun, which is part of the set. Flavour is great, if not a bit on the oily side. By now, I was realising that the set is really too much for three people.
Why was there so much duck left at the end of the pancakes?! Actually, this set can easily serve four to five people, if you ask me.
Duck Soup with Ham Choy and Tofu. Despite the use of ham choy (salted vegetables) the soup was just right, and not with Hypertension inducing levels of saltiness.
Lovely wobbly herbal jelly (kuai lin kou)..RM7 per serve.
Actually, the pricing I have to say is very reasonable. The RM88 set is more than enough for 4, and in fact, for the carbo averse, the RM78 set which replaces the carbs with bean sprouts is a better choice.
At the end of it, Paranoid Android and I were haggling for the bill, as both of us wanted to buy Makan Fairy Godmother a belated birthday lunch. Just when I thought I trumped him with my "this i! s my nei ghbourhood, your money's no good here", the owner, King Hong insists that lunch is on the house. So paiseh. The benefits of being seen with the Makan Fairy Godmother.
By the way, Happy Belated Birthday, Makan Fairy Godmother, lots of hugs and God's blessing upon you always.
OH, and on Sundays, ducks sell out faster than you can say "quack", so if you intend to come on Sunday, better call to reserve.
Thanks for lunch, KH, and you can be sure that I'll be back very soon.
MELBOURNE PEKING DUCK
24-1 Jalan Telawi 3
Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-22021588
Closed on Mondays, Open 11am-10pm daily (except 3-6pm).
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