Roast Duck at Cheung Hing: Beatable?

[ike301]

Ok, maybe I'm biased. I was raised in the Sunset and pretty much grew up on the Roast Duck at this divey chinese dine in cafe.

How many of you agree it's awesome roast duck?

And can anyone name better duck joints?

[HJ]

I was from LA, and been here for 8 years now since I moved up. None in LA or other parts of the bay area that I have had any duck better than Cheung Hing's.

[budi]

My experience has been that any place you get roast duck will have off days. Cheung Hing included! But, I do go there frequently. It's always an adventure (as a white guy) to try to get the specific duck I want, and the extra duck jus. I've been asking for extra duck gravy-- maybe that's why it doesn't always happen! I appreciated all the info about getting the extra jus that I found on this board in older postings!

I'm now looking forward to trying the place on Ocean Ave. that's been so highly praised (see link below). It's literally a block away from my office!

Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[gordon wing]

take a tip from Ms Melanie (and other discerning shoppers) and carry a small jar (baby food size works well) to present to the counter person - ask them for the extra duck jus .... should get results.

[ike301]

like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. You want to be warm to the guy, but you dont want to overdo it, so he won't do YOU!

[Melanie Wong]

I liked the duck from Cheung Hing on Noriega when I tried it two years. (link below) It's a very good duck, but to my palate is not any better than my usual purchase from New Moon in SF Chinatown that is not only closer to me but also a buck cheaper and comes with a full jar of duck jus.

With today's thread for inspiration, I went out to Cheung Hing for lunch to try it again. I gotta say that I caught them on a 'bad duck day'. A really bad day. I ordered the roast duck lo mein ($4.35). The chopped quarter duck on top was about the ugliest (roast) duckling I've ever seen. The skin was mottled and uneven in color. Some of the cut pieces had a thick layer of fat under the skin. Every piece had pin feathers, and not just a little stubble but thick 1/3" long feathers. I could accept a few pins but this was ridiculous. I called the waitress over to ask her to replace it. First she told me to not eat the skin! I just laughed at her, surely she must be joking as that's the best part. She said I'd have to order something else, as all the ducks were like that. So I had gwei fei chicken instead. I asked the guy sitting next to me who was eating a bowl of duck soup noodles if his was covered in pin feathers too. He said that it had feathers. He told me that he eats here all the time and that's the way it is. When I left, I looked at the ducks in the window, and they were all fuzzier (especially over the leg joint and across the breast) than I cared to buy today.

Happy Bakery, that Margret recommends, makes the best take-out duck i've had. The problem for me is that the logistics are daunting. It's not a convenient location, plus the ducks aren't not always avaiable. They only make a few ducks each day and you need to call to reserve them in advance. They're also a little smaller in size and you can't get a jarful of duck jus. And despite the name of the place, the owners are grouchy. I thought it was just me, since I don't speak much Chinese, but one of my uncles who lives nearby and has been patronizing them for years says they're like than to him too. I just ignore the grumpsters and deal the employees who are helpful and kinder. But the quality is definitely there and periodically I go through all of the above to make the trek to buy one. It's worth the trouble and I've been happy so far. The gwei fei chicken is better here than Cheung Hing too.

For sit-down restaurants, Harbor Village and Koi Palace make excellent roast ducks (and seasoned soy beans under them too).

Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[budi]

Your meal sounds pretty bad! Was that the Noriega location? Isn't there one in Chinatown, also?

To be fair, the roasted ducks are not always that full of feathers at Cheung Hing. When they are, though, I don't buy them. I've gotten not-so-good cha sui there, also, but then sometimes I wonder if it's a bad batch of pigs from suppliers, because I'll get the not-so-good cha sui and several places around the same time.

Also, I don't take a table and order. I stand in line & point to what I want. I'm afraid they are not above giving you the stuff they want to get rid of when you sit down & order, just because you have less of a chance to be fussy. The waitress's response seems a bit strange, though.

Is the "New Moon" still open?

[Melanie Wong]

Yes, that was the Cheung Hing at Noriega which is supposed to be the best of them. There is one in Chinatown too but it doesn't have any seating.

Guess we've confirmed that they try to pawn stuff off on the sit down diners at Cheung Hing. This was not a problem at Happy Bakery nor at the dearly departed Junmae Guey where i enjoyed many a duck lunch. I like to consume them on site sometimes because the freshly roasted ducks will still have crisp skin and taste better when they're not reheated.

New Moon is still open. The duck here is heavily spiced. There's a very thick seasoning paste rubbed inside and the cavity has cloves of garlic and star anise inside. There are three or four tables for eating in, although I've not done that since it is so cramped.

[ike301]

Doh! This is true. It is luck of the draw. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I'd say 1 outta 9 ducks I get are losers. That's not a success rate by any means, but the spice receipe they use, just brings me back. No two ducks can be anatomicaly the same, nor should one assume so. I think in order to make a better judgement, try a few times. =)

[Melanie Wong]

Well, Cheung Hing is 1 for 2 with me now, whereas Happy Bakery is 6 for 6.

[ike301]

I will have to try this Happy place. I swear, they infuse crack into the ducks at CH. i can never get enough of it. and trust me, i've done my duck research here in the city.

[Melanie Wong]

Thursday morning when I swung by New Moon, the early ducks looked a little too shriveled and overdone to me. I bought my usual salt and pepper chicken wings, that's all there.

After harping so much about Happy Bakery, I thought I'd better buy another duck there soon, and this was a sign. This time I did the whole transaction in English to see if it could be navigated successfully by the non-Chinese speaker. I called around 12:30 and asked to reserve a duck. The owner repeated, "duck", and asked how many. I asked for one, and she repeated "one duck" back to me. Then I asked if I could pick it up at 2pm. She said, "one duck, 2 o'clock, okay".

Taking the freeway, it took me 27 minutes to get to Happy Bakery. I lucked out finding a parking space right in front...although I've never parked more than a block and a half away. I was truly stunned to see six ducks hanging in the window, the most I've ever seen here, and they were all gorgeous. And, my very own duck was hanging in the "reserved" section. Since there were more available, I bought an extra one ($10 each) as well as a pound of the white poached chicken feet ($4/lb.)

We didn't eat them until the next day. My brother and my mom prefer the stronger seasoning of New Moon. I liked the subtlety of Happy's for a change of pace. Reheated after refrigeration, the careful prep of the skin was lost. Still, it had less fat under the skin and yet was tender and moist. I think my mom's vote was also influenced by the skimpy portion of duck jus (only two little containers per bird, as previously reported).

[Sarah]

How did you reheat the refrigerated duck? Always a dilemma for me...

[Melanie Wong]

The boneless slices are reassembled on a pie tin with the skin side up. Then it's reheated in the toaster oven. Never microwaved.

[felice]

what's the street and cross-street?

[Nathan Lee]

I grew up right around the corner from there. It's still the best in my book.

[miffy]

I grow up in Hong Kong, and Cheung Hing still has the best duck (for the price range:fancy duck place in HK doesn't count) in my living memory.

Nothing in LA comes close.