February 08, 2009
聚園烤鴨
The mother-in-law was in the mood for Beijing duck and her co-worker recommended this family-style place tucked away in an alley behind the Sherwood Taipei. The duck must be reserved ahead of time, so advanced planning was required. Plus it's not as if you can eat a whole duck by yourself, so she made the reservation then recruited all the usual suspects, including us, to join in on the fun.
A ten-course meal, including one whole Beijing duck done two ways. The skin and meat rolled in crepe with spring onion, cucumber, and sweet sauce 甜麵醬. The remaining bones are taken away to make a tasty soup. Meanwhile, they dished up plenty of other northern-Chinese specialties like onion pancakes 蔥油餅 and steamed dumplings 蒸餃. Also offered more typical family-style dishes like fish in brown sauce and salt-crusted prawns, and there was even typically Taiwanese standards like three-cup chicken 三杯雞.
The duck's skin and meat were robust and thick-cut, unlike the more delicate skin-and-fat carving I had in Beijing, so the resulting wrap turned out more like a burrito than a crepe. The skin was crispy and tasty but a bit overwhelmed by the hearty meat and garnishings. The other dishes are the kind of food we'd like to have but no longer have the time nor inclination to make at home. The ten of us had a full meal for about NT3000, and there was still plenty of leftovers to take home for grandpa. Solid, unassuming food at a good value, no wonder it's popular with the obasan-set.
北平聚園餐廳
台北市松山區民生東路三段113巷25弄39號
02-27185477