The Master of Peking Duck is in Town (with review)

(scroll down for Voize’s review, more pics, and a short video)

GUEST CHEF WANG QIAOYU FROM HILTON SHANGHAI RETURNS WITH HIS POPULAR PEKING DUCK, 1 – 15 APRIL 2009, TOH YUEN CHINESE RESTAURANT, HILTON PETALING JAYA

39-year old Chef Wang Qiaoyu of Hilton Shanghai will be back at Toh Yuen Chinese Restaurant, Hilton Petaling Jaya, to promote his country’s most celebrated dish for over 600 years – Peking Duck. The promotion will be from 1st till 15th April 2009.

Chef Wang, who originates from the south of China (Canton province), started in the culinary field as a Commis Chef in Guangzhou Garden Hotel in 1991. Making his appearance here in Malaysia for the second time, he spent 18 years perfecting his skills in a few well-known Cantonese restaurants and now is the Chef de Partie of Barbeque in Sui Yuan of Hilton Shanghai. Sui Yuan is one of the well-known signature Chinese restaurants with twenty years of history in Hilton Shanghai.

Do not miss out Chef Wang’s sought-after treat – Peking Duck is served authentically. Chef Wang takes every detail into consideration in preparing the dish. He applies a great deal of finesse in sculpting the details of his creations. The skin, which is the core of the delicacy, is crisp and flavorsome; the pancakes used to wrap the Peking duck are brought all the way from China; and the chef makes the effort to personally serve every Peking duck right before diners with excellent showmanship, a tradition originally reserved for Emperors.

Price at RM108.00++ per bird, the Peking Duck skin is sliced into thin slices and wrapped with a specially-made pancake. For the meat, Chef Wang offers four choices, namely Stir Fried Diced Duck with Lettuce, Sauteed Shredded Duck meat with Bean Sprouts, Stir Fried Duck with Bell Pepper in Black Bean Sauce, and Wok Fried Noodles with Shredded Duck.

The promotion also offers a 7-course set menu price at RM106++ per person (a minimum party of two diners). The menu includes Peking Duck – skin wrapped with pancake, Braised Shark’s Fin Soup with Eight Treasures and Fish Lips, Wok Fried Fresh Scallop & Prawns with X.O. Sauce, Steamed Red Garoupa with Light Soya Sauce, Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetable with Shredded Duck Meat in Oyster Sauce, Fried Rice with Dice Duck Meat & Belacan, and Tropical Fresh Fruits. For a party of 10 people, the set comes with a complimentary bottle of wine.

Citibank cardholders enjoy a 15% discount on the Peking Duck promotion. For reservations, please call 7955 9122 extn. 4073/4 or go to www.ZestPJ.com.

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REVIEW:

1) Peking Duck – skin wrapped with pancake: is as it is advertised – crispy, succulent, and definitely scrumptious. The pancake and vegetables in it excellently contrast as well as compliment the crunchy, delicate skin of the duck. It’s no wonder that the Peking duck has continued to be sensation for centuries in China, and the chef does very well in replicating this dish for present-day Malaysians.

2) Braised Shark’s Fin Soup with Eight Treasures and Fish Lips: Pretty disappointing, in my view. I’m generally a fan of Shark’s Fin Soup but the one I was served was riddled with all manner of uncomfortably crunchy objects. I understand that it’s supposed to have “treasures”, but let’s not get too literal, shall we? I don’t want to be chewing on gold bullions (figuratively speaking). Rachel (who was in attendance), on the other hand, liked it. She said it was a great combination of textures – the soft and the chewy. Indeed, it was a treasure chest, she added.

3) Wok Fried Fresh Scallops & Prawns with X.O. Sauce: Wonderful. I don’t usually like scallops because they tend to have an unpleasant fishy and raw taste. But the ones I was served had none of that. Like the prawns, they were surprisingly tender and juicy.

4) Steamed Red Garoupa with Light Soya Sauce: I’m a lifelong, avowed opponent of steamed fish. However, after being goaded by the rest in attendance, I tried a piece of the Red Garoupa and, to my surprise, I didn’t regret it all. It didn’t have any unpleasant trace of fishy rawness, which usually puts me off.

5) Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetable with Shredded Duck Meat in Oyster Sauce: Most in attendance agreed that the duck meat didn’t really taste like duck. I agreed, initially, but found you could tell after chewing for a bit. However, I think this arrangement does a disservice to the duck meat. It was cooked as if it were venison and thus, ends up tasting rather odd and awkward. Roasted duck meat is wonderful on its own, and I think repackaging it into a new fancy dish is a bit of an error.

6) Fried Rice with Dice Duck Meat & Belacan: Sufficiently tasty but not spectacular. There’s little more I can say about this very average-tasting dish.

7) Tropical Fresh Fruits: The mango slices were gone in 2.5 seconds. This speaks very well for them, I think. The rest of the fruits were similarly fresh and soft. Gentle on the teeth, perfect for after-dinner relaxation and conversation.

(Images by Rachel Chan)

A video of Chef Wang preparing the duck.

(Video by Sebastian Loh, Editing by Rachel Chan)