Bejing Duck House

[SeaCook]

Driving up Rosemead Blvd just north of Longdon lately I've noticed a sign for a new restaurant (still under construction) were a sports bar used to be. The sign says Bejing Duck. Has anyone heard about this restaurant? Will I have finally have the oppertunity to try Bejing duck three ways? Will I find enough people to go with me to get through tsuch a meal?

So Chowhounders anyone? anyone?

[jsandler]

5 of us ate at Beijing Duck House last night for my girlfriend's birthday and loved it. See bellow pictures. Helpfully, our group included some Chinese speakers. In addition to the regular menu, there are a couple of set meal options, but these options were entirely written in Chinese. At first, we wanted to go for the $100 option, but our server gave us a funny look and informed us that it would be far too much food, so we we went with the $78 option, which included:
Peking duck with duck sauce, crepes, daikon, cucumber and green onion
Duck meet with bean sprouts
Duck Soup
Braised pork belly
Fish and tofu in a spicy sauce with Sichuan peppercorns
Smoked fish
Duck neck
Duck liver
Duck webs
Stir fried mixed seafood
Stir fry with egg, spinach and mushrooms

The food was great, and was certainly more than enough for our group. This was my first time having Peking duck and I already want another one. Great crisp skin. Another favorite was the duck webs, which had a hint of wasabi. The only dish that I didn't really care for was the mixed seafood, which was just a standard mix of squid, octopus, fish, shrimp, and scallops that I felt you could get at any Americanized Chinese restaurant. The duck soup was a great way to end the meal. At $78, we thought this was a great value. I want to go back and try some of the more exotic offering off the al la carte menu and the larger set menu.

Of course, afterward we stopped at Fosslemen's,

[Jerome]

next time try the ba-si ping guo, silk pulled apples - apple fritters cooked in a caramel then dipped into ice water at the table, maing a hard shell on teh fritter and some sugar threads as well. Unfortuantely, it's only translated into German on the menu for some reason.
but great dessert.

[Mr Taster]

Thanks for the writeup and the pics.

When it comes to Beijing Duck, I care about one thing... the duck. Crispy skin is vital, but also I'm looking for a layer of smoky depth in the meat. Was it there? That's the dragon I've been chasing since having a sublime one at Quanjude in Qianmen in Beijing back in 2006.

Mr Taster

[jsandler]

This was my first time having the dish, so I have nothing to compare it to. It definitely had a good ducky taste, but I don't particularly remember too much smokiness in the meat.

[Jerome]

quanjude here and in beijing made it the open hearth method, which is basically hanging the ducks in the fireplace. I doubt they have the same set up here.

(equally authentic- the closed oven method used by bianyifang - straw fire in a closed brick oven and the duck cavity is filled with broth to prevent burning. different result, but also 100% beiing kaoya).

[Johnny L]

I'd thought I'd give an update if anybody is interested. It's been months since my last visit and this place has really seemed to improved itself. The kitchen runs very smoothly now and they got rid of that ridiculous gargantuan menu. They focus on mostly their regional specialties and tried some new things that I liked.

-While the duck itself is decently done it's pretty flavorless despite the nice skin.
-duck soup, tasty but practically no flavor of duck (not that I expected there to be)
-bean sprouts with duck meat was decent.
-Cold thin sliced pork belly app was decent
-I think it was smoked eel, nice flavor but might be an acquired taste for some as it was a bit dry and tough almost jerky like.
-some sort of braised and fried intestine in a thick brown sauce, thought it had a nice rectal flavor in a good way.
-red spareribs were a mediocre rendition, my complaint was that bone to meat ratio was disappointing.

[Peripatetic]

Great update, thanks. I pass this place all the time and am sorry it isn't better.

Thi N., too late for this week's "Overheard on the Boards", but surely a shoe-in for next week's:

"thought it had a nice rectal flavor in a good way".

It doesn't get better than this!

[JThur01]

Do they still have the hai chang dumplings?

[Johnny L]

Sorry I didn't really peruse much of the menu since I didn't do the ordering so I don't know for sure.

[JThur01]

Answering my own question here, I stopped by and picked up a menu. While the hai chang items are still on the menu, I do not see the asparagus, lily and jujube dish any longer. Also don't see any duck with jalapenos or the duck webs with mustard sauce. Nor do I see the tofu knots JGold wrote about.

[Das Ubergeek]

If the braised and fried intestine was in a sort of numbing-and-spicy brown sauce with tofu, pork blood, etc., then that's wu geng chang wang (五更肠旺), or "5 a.m. Intestine Blaze" in English.

[Mr Taster]

Thanks for the update, Johnny L. I am very interested.

I've never understood the duck soup. Even the miraculous, life-affirming, deeply smoky, succulent meat and crispy duck skin at the Qianmen Quanjude in Beijing served up bland, cloudy water. The two other Beijing duck places we visited (Made in China and Liqin) surprisingly served up bland meat, so perhaps Quanjude's smoky, unctuous preparation is the exception rather than the rule.

My bar for Beijing duck in LA is pretty low, so I'll have to (finally) give this place a shot.

Can anyone compare it to Duck House on Atlantic in Monterey Park?

Mr Taster

[Johnny L]

In general I don't expect a great duck flavor from the soup because they are merely using only one duck's bones and if the duck's interior meat itself is bland there isn't much hope for the soup. I've used the bones of Cantonese style roast ducks for a soup before and the flavor was definitely noticeable.

Been to Duck House this place is so much better in terms of price and taste. I had the set 9 course meal for my grandmother's birthday. Duck was bland tasting but my parents said that in China it's suppose to be like that... if true I will stick to my true love of Hong Kong style roast duck and Dongguan roast goose. The entrees were nice to look at but were also rather strange or boring. The Buddha's chicken whcih was a deboned stuffed chicken was a mish mash of weird and random ingredients which didn't make sense to me. The duck itself, with it's crispy skin was great for that one reason alone but not worth the trip.

@Ubergeek - I really have no idea as my parents did the ordering (I speak terrible Chinese and do no read it at all) but it wasn't spicy and I didn't detect any tofu in it. Either way it was the sleeper surprise of the night for me.

[Jerome]

there aren't a lot of ma-la dishes at Duck House. I like the place. The soup is the traditional beijing kaoya soup - a light, slightly duck bone flavored dish. It's not going to be as rich as any poultry, chicken soup. It's a little thing to finish off the meal. When QUanjude was open here, it was the same as in beijing, watery and bone-flavored, think that part of the hakata ramen broth where you notice that it was made with bones. There used to be a braised ("hui") duck dish that had an amazing broth at Quanjude. Woudl so much have rather eaten that soup ona regular basiss (not really braised... teh duck meat selections and vegetables are placed in a bain-marie and cooked for hours). There are a lot of interesting shandong dishes on the menu. Beijing Duck house (AKA Penglai) is my go to for peking duck these days - the best ever? no. but better than most.

[Mr Taster]

My Lovely Tasting Assistant™ has passed her citizenship interview and her oath ceremony is scheduled. I can't think of a better way to celebrate her citizenship than with delicious, communist duck!

We'll be heading to Beijing Duck House with some friends after the oath ceremony, based on your recommendation.

Thanks Jerome

Mr Taster

[raytamsgv]

Congrats to your LTA!

[Jerome]

Fantastic, great news adam.

[Mr Taster]

My Lovely Tasting Assistant (LTA) and I stopped by to pick up a menu and inquire with the staff (in Mandarin) about the specifics of their duck and this restaurant.

First impressions were great. We saw a duck being carved tableside, and the place smelled like wood was burning in the back somewhere! All great signs.

However, upon closer inspection we found out the following.

1. The smoky smell in the restaurant came from charcoal, not the tradition fruit woods used to smoke and flavor real Beijing duck.

2. The bird was being carved rather inelegantly. Rather than slicing off the skin first, and then the breast meat, and then the leg meat, the carver was literally just slicing off indiscriminate slabs of bird. There was no effort made to separate the skin or the types of meat into separate plates.

3. The skin didn't look particularly crispy.

So, unfortunately this doesn't look like it will be a proper replacement for Quanjude, although the duck may very well be delicious. It just isn't what those of us Beijing duck freaks are looking for.

Mr Taster

[raytamsgv]

Is is normal for the skin to be removed first? I've had Beijing duck in Beijing before, and the skin was not removed. Instead, every slice had skin, meat, and fat.

[Mr Taster]

Yes, what you say is true... I should have been more precise. The crispiest skin (widely considered to be the best part, and the hallmark of a high quality Beijing duck) is supposed to be carved off separately. They weren't doing this at Beijing Duck House, nor were they separating the breast from leg meat. They were carving and layering it all on the same serving platter.

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-...

Mr Taster

[raytamsgv]

Thanks for the clarification.

[ipsedixit]

Ditto what Mr. Taster said. Traditionally a few pieces of pure duck skin is carved tableside, but the remaining duck is sliced with skin and duck meat.

[Jerome]

actually only some beijing roast duck uses fruit wood. the other style uses an enclosed brick oven filled with straw. (bianyifang vs quanjude to go back before "liberation").

[Mr Taster]

Anyone notice the JGold review of this place? He seemed to like it.

http://www.laweekly.com/2011-03-24/ea...

Mr Taster

[raytamsgv]

I just went there tonight. We ordered the Beijing duck ($31.98), braised yellow fish in sweet vinegar sauce, house special hand made pancake, fish dumplings, hai chang dumplngs, and asparagus w/red dates, gingko, and lily. I'm not an expert on Northern dishes, but I'll give it a try.

The cook is actually from Shandong where hai chang (aka sea intestines) are commonly used. They are a bit chewy, and I enjoyed the hai chang dumplings. The fish dumplings were nothing special.

The duck was very tasty--popular with everyone. I wish the flavor was a bit stronger. The guy who cut it at our table did a great job of removing almost everything edible from the bones. He did a great job--every slice had skin, meat, and just a little fat. On the menu, they also have a whole roast duck listed for $19.98, but the Chinese characters indicate that is a Cantonese-style roast duck. This is different from their Beijing duck.

The braised yellow fish wasn't that popular. It was deep fried and drenched in a very sweet vinegar sauce. It was too sweet for most people. I'm still trying to figure out that dish.

The asparagus dish was light and flavorful. The hand made pancake was light, flaky and tasty. Unfortunately, but physically difficult to split up for the different people on our table.

Overall, it was a pleasant meal. The decor is clean and bright--nothing noticeably spectacular nor bad. The service was pretty good. They accepted only cash today because they have not yet received their credit card machines. If you want to eat the duck, you need to order 30 minutes in advance.

[Jerome]

tasty duck on valley does a passable (only passable) version. the old quanjude in rosemead (yes part owned by the PLA) cooked the open hearth style of peking duck and routinely got a c from the health department. but no one ever got sick.

there is another style of peking duck - a closed oven style using straw instead of hard wood and with liquid (soup) in the raw duck cavity because the heat is higher, briefer and more intense than the open flame. the only place Iknowin Beijing that makes it is BIanyifang. QUanjude does the open style, and i believe most places do.
So there you are - there are two kinds of duck preparation known as bejing kaoya. and the closest you'll get that i know of is tasty duck, where the ducks are roasted in the late morning so they're not really hot as they were at the late QuanJuDe.

[Johnny L]

Nice to know, I'll give it a try for my father's birthday dinner coming up.

[Johnny L]

My mother spotted people eating inside recently on two occasions, could be a soft opening, looking forward to trying it soon.

[SeaCook]

I noticed an Open sign yesterday afternoon as I was driving home.

[Johnny L]

Opening could be soon, I saw that the furniture has been moved in and they are starting to unpack boxes of fixtures.

[Chandavkl]

Thanks for the update. JohnnyL had reported the construction in progress last year, but without any details.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/747119

[Johnny L]

It wasn't until a 2-3 months ago they started to really ramp up deconstruction of the interior.

I just passed by last night on the way home from work and while driving and looking in I noticed...

The usual Chinese fish tank! With big expensive fish too! Could this mean they are getting close to finishing the interior?

[raytamsgv]

I've noticed that they have cut a number of openings in the walls and have put in new windows. It appears they are making progress.

[chezwhitey]

I've seen that for a while too and there doesn't seem to be much progress. Wonder if it is from the same people who were trying to open a duck place in the vacated newport seafood spot on las tunas.

[Johnny L]

I live a few blocks away and I've noticed progress has been slow. I haven't bother to try peeking inside to see if I can spot the type of oven they use.

I hope its a true duck-centric restaurant and not just a name.

[ipsedixit]

I hope its a true duck-centric restaurant and not just a name.

_________________________________

Or a Chinese sports bar ... like it's predecessors.

[Das Ubergeek]

Wait, confused... they do duck three ways at Duck House (formerly signed as Lu Din Gee, and still signed as such in Chinese). You do need to call in advance, though I find the duck superior at Irvine's Tri Village.

-----
Tri Village
14121 Jeffrey Rd, Irvine, CA 92620

[Mr Taster]

Before I ate the duck at the Tianmen Quanjude in Beijing, I considered Lu Din Gee acceptable. Now I am spoiled for all other ducks :)

Mr Taster

[tissue]

Da Dong is the best! Sorry Taster...

[Mr Taster]

Didn't make it to Da Dong but I'll take that as a challenge next time we go.... our other two ducks were at Li Qun in the hutongs and Made In China (the "fancy" duck restaurant at the Hilton).

Both were sub par compared to the deep, rich smokiness of the meat and wafer-like texture of the crispy skin at the Qianmen Quanjude. (Though I must say that the remainder of the duck courses were forgettable.)

Mr Taster

[wilafur]

li qun was good but i felt like something was missing. i think mr taster hit the nail on the head....the meat was just ok and the skin was not crispy enough.

please note li qun is on the dirty side and smelled horribly....which is due to them drying duck carcasses in the dining area.

[raytamsgv]

I love the smell of drying duck carcasses in the morning.

[darrelll]

Was that Quanjude or Qualude?

JK...

[ipsedixit]

They've been doing that remodel or construction or whatever it is for nearly a year now.

[Mr Taster]

Ooh!

Can it be????

My understanding (based on nothing but conjecture) is that there are legal limitations in building and using a real Beijing Duck oven in Los Angeles. It uses a very specific, tall, wide-open hearth which probably violates all kinds of health & safety in the workplace regulations. But I'm the first to admit this is entirely specious. Please prove me wrong, mysterious new Beijing Duck Restaurant on Rosemead.

Mr Taster