Crispy duck shines at Peking Chamber
The Beijing import’s strength is in its signature dish, while the rest of the menu takes a back seat.
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Peking Chamber #01-212/213/214 Resorts World Sentosa 26 Sentosa Gateway Singapore 098138 Tel: 6993-1600 Open daily for lunch and dinner: 11 am to 3 pm; 5 pm to 11 pm.
YOU know how much store Peking Chamber sets by its ducks the moment you step inside – and are confronted by a chef brandishing a naked bird before anyone appears to check your reservation.
For a split second, you wonder if you’re witness to good old mainland Chinese efficiency – in between puffing up the ducks and roasting them in the see-through kitchen, they can point you to the nearest available table.
However, someone shows up before we have a chance to knock on the glass and gesture for a half-duck to go.
Welcome to show-and-tell Beijing-style. This is Peking Chamber’s first outlet outside China – where it’s known as Siji Minfu – and as far as they’re concerned, have duck will travel. Everything else is peripheral.
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Design-wise, it’s borderline upscale with nondescript grey tones, textured walls and muted lighting. Any colour comes from its menu – a heavy tome packed with vivid photos and descriptions that make you want to order everything. Control yourself because visuals don’t tell the whole story.
Neither do the servers, who try to be helpful but seem a little lost outside of their comfort zone in China. The authenticity level is high since most of them speak the kind of powerful Mandarin you can only scrape the surface of – but the flipside is that we don’t always know what they’re saying and vice versa. The managers step in to help, and the ordering process is relatively smooth.
One thing that doesn’t translate is the concept of pacing, and pretty soon the table is packed. The servers arrive with more dishes and a “why can’t you eat faster” look on their faces as they eye your lap as a place to unload plates of duck web and black bean noodles. But they relent and drag the next table over to make space.
Uneven service aside, the food has an appealing “mainland” feel to it, even if it feels tuned to the local palate – it’s a joint venture with the Jumbo Group, which could explain the air of familiarity.
The duck is the signature and the main reason to come here – if you’re in this neck of the woods. It’s S$68 for a half duck or S$118 for the whole bird, with condiments (S$2 each) and pancakes (S$3) priced separately. Even though we order just a half portion, the whole bird is brought out and then taken to one side to be sliced quietly by the chef before it’s presented to you.
The display is stunning – the shards of skin shiny and burnished, with any oil making it glisten even more. It’s arranged at perfect angles, with skin layered over symmetrical slices of meat and skin. You eat systematically – the crisp skin with sugar alone just melts in the mouth, while the other slices are wrapped in chewy pancakes with hoisin or special plum sauce, scallions, strips of cucumber and melon.
Hot and sour soup (S$10) takes you halfway back to the rustic versions in London’s Bayswater – packed with shredded black fungus and tofu. Otherwise, a thin but intense enough double boiled chicken and mushroom soup (S$15) hits the spot.
You might feel squeamish after one too many bites of marinated duck web (S$35) massaged with mustard and served looking like the appendage they came from. But the first few bites are delightfully crunchy and cartilage-like, while the mustard repels any untoward poultry-ness. We’re attracted to the photo of toast and duck liver pate (S$32) but it’s pretty ordinary.
We’re also drawn to the fiery redness of boiled fish and pig intestines in chilli oil (S$108) despite the hefty price tag. Again, it turns out pretty tame despite the onslaught of dried chilli and peppercorns – the sliced fish has a pleasant slippery silkiness and the intestines an intriguing, if gamey, addition.
A surprise winner is the chewy noodles tossed in black bean sauce (S$12) with salty bits of dried tofu, cucumber, edamame, green beans and pungent pickled garlic – all adding up to a satisfying carbo end. Too bad it’s cold by the time we get to it, but we can imagine how good it would be when it’s still hot.
For dessert, a baked custard pudding loaded with fresh durian (S$7) is worth the caloric splurge. It’s basically hot creme brulee, packed with luscious, fleshy durian within. Almond tofu (S$7) is a decent second – wobbly and milky pudding topped with orange sugar crystals.
Peking Chamber passes muster on the Beijing cooking front, but it’s the duck that puts it front and centre. It’s the first thing you see when you enter, and the last thing you will remember when you leave.
Rating: 6.5
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