GOLDEN PHOENIX,
Hotel Equatorial Bangi-Putrajaya,
Off Persiaran Bandar,
43650 Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.
Tel:03-8210 2222
Business hours: Lunch: noon to 2.30pm (Monday-Friday)
and 11am to 2.30pm on weekends and public holidays.
THE annual Peking Duck promotion is back at Hotel Equatorial Bangi-Putra-jaya’s Golden Phoenix restaurant, and it will last for three months.
Golden Phoenix restaurant supervisor Yau Pik Han said the hotel has been promoting Peking Duck since it first opened its doors in 1997.
“The Peking Duck was first introduced as an a la carte dish. Last year, it was made into a promotional dish as most of our customers still prefer the occasional dim sum and other Chinese popular dishes.
Wide range: Customers can opt to have duck meat with Fried Rice (left) or noodles.“The Peking Duck has been one of the most unique and most awaited dishes among our regulars. Last year, we sold 70 birds within the first two weeks.
“The Peking Duck promotion in April was encouraging and we managed to sell 97 birds,” she said.
“Due to last year’s encouraging response, we decided to extend the Peking Duck promotion until June 30 and hope to sell at least 150 birds.
“Last year we only had three dishes like the Skin, Broth and Wok Fried meat.
“This year, we added another choice of stir-frying the meat with fried rice or fried noodles,” she said.
According to the hotel’s sous chef Soo Chean Fei, Peking Duck, also known as roasted duck, is a famous duck dish from Beijing. It is one of China’s national foods, which has been popularised since the imperial era.
“What makes the Peking Duck so unique is the way it is prepared. It is most favoured for its thin and crispy skin, which is sliced in front of the diners by the cook. The duck is later prepared in three more stages.
“Once the duck is slaughtered, feathered and rinsed thoroughly with water, air is pumped under the skin through the neck cavity to separate the skin from the fat. Prior to this, the insides of the duck need to be removed,” he said.
Roasted to perfection: The Peking Duck is most favoured for its thin and crispy skin.He added that the duck is then stuffed with red onion, garlic and spring onion to give it aroma as well as bring out the taste of the duck meat.
“An adequate amount of maltose syrup and taucu is also added to give it a sweet and salty taste. A little bit of water is added into the duck, which will make the meat more tender and juicy.
The duck is then soaked in boiling water for about one to two minutes before it is hung to dry.
The duck is once again smeared with a layer of maltose syrup to give the skin a golden brown colour. Once it is almost dry, the duck will be left to roast in a combi oven for one and half hour,” he said.
He demonstrated his skill by carving the duck’s skin with some meat attached. It is then rolled into a pancake together with some spring onion and chilli. Customers can dip it into a special sauce made out of garlic and sugar.
The remaining fat, meat and bones are then made into a broth.
Soo said by tasting the broth one would know if the duck was well-prepared.
“The broth should taste pleasant, leaving a soothing taste in the mouth.”
The remaining duck meat is stir-fried with an option of ginger and spring onion or black pepper or black bean.
“Since our customers like our fried rice and noodles, we decided to extend the options to frying the duck meat with fried rice or noodles.
“To give it a pleasant taste, we limit the use of oil in all four dishes. If you notice, the broth that we prepare does not have any oil on the surface of the soup, whereas some Peking Duck broths use a lot of oil,” he said.
“We make sure we remove all fat beneath the skin and not just to leave the skin crunchy but for health reasons as well.
“Although it may give the duck meat a stronger taste, the oil from the duck fat will eventually spoil the texture of the duck skin.
The ducks are sourced from Seberang Prai, Penang and are sold for RM80++ per bird.
The Peking Duck promotion is available from Monday to Friday, noon to 2.30pm. It is also available for takeaway upon request, with one day reservation in advance.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
