Bangkok - Four Seasons Roast Duck, Bangkok

[klyeoh]

This is an offshoot of the wildly-popular (amongst Thai visitors to London) Four Seasons Roast Duck restaurant in Bayswater, London.

Transplanted to Bangkok, the roast duck retained its original "Bayswater" flavors and smell. Despite using a different breed of ducks in Bangkok, as compared to the UK, the fine textures of the roast duck was admirably retained (I detected less fat underneath the skin, though, but hardly anything to be concerned about).

Portion-wise - not as generous as the one in London. Presentation-wise, it looked much nicer in London, with the beautiful golden-brown skin, shining like polished mahogany. I'd rate the taste as 8.5 out of 10 in the UK, and 7 out of 10 in Bangkok.

Not sure why the Chinese white cabbage (Napa cabbage) in Bangkok was served on the side, and cold. In the UK, the Napa cabbage was layered between the duckmeat and the hot steamed rice.

Nice, swish place - very different from its down-to-Earth London counterpart. Come here if you must - for a taste of roast duck a la Four Seasons. Personally, I'd wait to eat in London, though.

Address details
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Four Seasons Roast Duck (โฟร์ซีซั่นส์ @ สยามพารากอน กรุงเทพ)
Basement, Siam Paragon
Bangkok 10110
Tel: [phone]

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Four Seasons Roast Duck, Bangkok
Siam Paragon, Bangkok 10330, TH

[Curt the Soi Hound]

Finally made it downtown, and to Four Seasons. Have to say, it's a mighty fine duck!

[klyeoh]

Now you're making me hungry! What else did you have?

[Curt the Soi Hound]

I really can't name the dishes; I was dining with the inlaws. When dear brother attends, I just sit back and let him run amok. He knows everything!

[klyeoh]

I'm very sure the other dishes at Four Seasons Roast Duck in Bangkok will be better the ones at its London branch, where the British-Chinese food tend to be more rustic.

[M_Gomez]

Very tempting. We get good roast duck from Crystal Jade Kitchen here in Singapore, but HK style rather than "UK" style.

I wonder if Royal China (UK)'s branch in Raffles Hotel in Singapore will do UK style roast duck. I tried their crispy duck with pancakes: very authentic, like those you get in London's Chinatown :)

[klyeoh]

Martha - Royal China at the Raffles does offer UK-style roast duck besides British-Chinese crispy duck.

[klyeoh]

Can compare how Four Season Bangkok's roast duck plate looked like compared to the ones in Bayswater from the pictures here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/828315

[huiray]

Interesting.

How exactly does this "Four Seasons" duck (including the one in London) differ in taste/texture from the "standard" Cantonese/Chinese roast duck?

[klyeoh]

The flesh/texture of the roast duck seemed so much more yielding in the UK versions, than what we get here in Asia. I'd attribute that to the type(s) of duck used over there - which are also much larger, fleshier and also did not have the strong "ducky" smell which ducks over here in Asia tend to have.
The sauce/marinade used in the UK restaurants tended to be sweet, unlike the salty sauce we used here.
Interestingly, Four Seasons did open a branch in KL a few years back - I read about it but never had the chance to fly up here to KL to try it. It's closed now.
Apparently, a few ex-Four Seasons UK staff now operate Village Roast Duck in Bangsar Village, so I may just pop over for a taste test this weekend :-)

[Curt the Soi Hound]

Just have to ask; what does Four Seasons Roast Duck set a guy back?

[klyeoh]

I think the cheapest option was the plate lunch which I had: a portion of roast duck served atop steamed rice, with poached Napa cabbage on the side - priced around THB180, if I remember correctly.