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PEKING DUCK in New Jersey

cbel964

By cbel964
in New Jersey: Dining

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cbel964

cbel964

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Can anyone tell me where I can go in or around Monmouth County NJ for Peking Duck?

None of the places I have investigated offer it... :angry:

The last time I had it (and the first, now that I think about it) was while living in the UK, and I fell in love with it...

That and the fried seaweed was my favorite meal.

Short of going to NYC, I wish there was somewhere in my own backyard where I could enjoy it...

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rozrapp

rozrapp

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Welcome, cbel964! :smile:

I'm surprised that you've been having difficulty finding Peking Duck in Monmouth County because many Chinese restaurants serve it. It is a pretty big county, and you don't say what area would be convenient for you, but here are a few suggestions.

Empire Szechuan, in the Willow Pointe Strip Mall, Route 9 North, Marlboro, has Peking Duck on the menu. No need to order in advance. We've had it, and it's pretty good.

Crown Palace serves it at both its locations: 8 N. Main St., Marlboro, and 1285 Route 35, Middletown. I haven't eaten at the Marlboro location in many years because we had a very bad experience with the food (not Peking Duck) and a surly manager shortly after they first opened. Friends tell me that, these days, the food is very good. And a relative of mine ate at the Middletown restaurant and liked the food.

Peking Pavillion, 110 Route 33, Manalapan, has it on its regular menu. I'm not crazy about the food there -- and don't recall ever having PD -- but I think other eGulleteers like it.

A place I haven't been to, but which lists Peking Duck among its specialties, is Peking Palace, 747 Broad St. (Route 35), Shrewsbury.

I wonder if you will find the dish here different from what you had in the UK. (I've never had it there.) So, when you try it, I hope you will report back.

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pbrodsky

pbrodsky

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I've had the duck in both Closter (about a year ago) and in Bergenfield (recently). I remember the Closter duck as being a little less fatty, but, to be fair, we were at the Bergenfield place rather late on a rainy night, so things may have been a little off.

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cbel964

cbel964

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I live near Crown Palace in Middletown. What's special about Peking Duck, I've never had it? I've heard others talk about it.
\

It is hard to explain.

Just try it; you may not like it, but you can say I have had it.

I personall can't imagine ANYONE not liking it.

It has all these great tastes: fried fatty duck, sweet/sour of the plum sauce, crunchy cucumber...

Need I go on...Now i'm drooling...... :raz:

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andrewhwest

andrewhwest

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I personall can't imagine ANYONE not liking it.

It has all these great tastes:  fried fatty duck, sweet/sour of the plum sauce, crunchy cucumber...

Need I go on...Now i'm drooling...... :raz:

Except that good Peking duck doesn't include any of the things you mention. The duck is not fried, it is roasted, and you should have primarily if not exclusively the crispy skin. There is no "plum" sauce, it should be served with hoisin sauce, which includes no plums. And it should be augmented with threads of pungent green onion, not bland cucumber.

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Kim WB

Kim WB

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I personall can't imagine ANYONE not liking it.

It has all these great tastes:  fried fatty duck, sweet/sour of the plum sauce, crunchy cucumber...

Need I go on...Now i'm drooling...... :raz:

Except that good Peking duck doesn't include any of the things you mention. The duck is not fried, it is roasted, and you should have primarily if not exclusively the crispy skin. There is no "plum" sauce, it should be served with hoisin sauce, which includes no plums. And it should be augmented with threads of pungent green onion, not bland cucumber.

I think that many Chinese restaurants that are "less than authentic", shall we say, serve Crispy Aromatic Duck, which has the fried skin and traditionally served with Plum Sauce, even though they market it as Peking Duck. You are correct, Peking Duck is roasted. However, since both dishes are served similiarly, in that they come with panckakes, thin sliced greens, and meat and skin seperated, some restaurants assume no one will tell the difference. Therefore a consumer might have eaten Aromatic Duck instead of Peking Duck, but thought it was the Peking.

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andrewhwest

andrewhwest

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so where's the best peking duck?  I want to get spoiled on my firsr experience  :smile:

Beijing, obviously. Though it's also taken very seriously in Hong Kong. Once, in a restaurant there, I saw a lady eating peking duck, and it seemed to inspire an orgasm of delight, a la "When Harry Met Sally". Don't know about NJ.

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