EDIT: Golden Moon has closed
Peking Duck is my happy place. Part theatre, part luxury, eating a dish based purely on the crisp tiles of duck skin is like ordering a cake and having nothing but the icing for the first course - a deliriously decadent prospect.
Peking duck (2 courses) $49.80
At Golden Moon, the ducks are wood-smoked in brick ovens, visible through the glass windows of the open kitchen. A waiter trundles a trolley to our table, set with a glistening roasted duck on one side, cucumber and scallions on the other, and a bamboo steamer holding soft flour pancakes.
Carving the Peking duck
There is no conversation or welcoming chit chat as the waiter silently dons a pair of plastic gloves. With calm surgical precision, he slices the duck skin at an angle, taking a small layer of fat but taking care not to remove too much flesh. A second waiter stands nearby, quickly transferring each piece of duck skin to a pancake, resting it gently on top of a bed of cucumber and shredded scallions.
Duck pancakes
He dabs each fragment of skin with hoi sin sauce, and then hands them to us, ready to roll up and consume. There is plenty to go around. We are sharing a whole roast duck between three: gluttony loves company.
The duck pancake is amazingly good, a superb crisp skin that is sweet and smoky, shattering at first bite. Crisp skin, cool cucumber, peppery scallions, sweet hoisin and soft warm pancake. We feast like kings although by the fourth pancake, we're starting to realise you can have too much of a good thing.
Roast duck
The second course of Peking Duck is usually served either as a stir-fry or shredded for san choy bau to be served in lettuce cups. We abandon both options and elect to have the duck simply chopped into pieces and brought to the table. I much prefer the duck this way, scraping the meat off with our teeth and sucking on the bones to taste the marinade of star anise and five spice.
Deep-fried tofu
We continue with deep-fried tofu, triangles of dry crunchy soy bean curd that are refreshed with a vinegar dressing served on the side.
Bean curd braised vegetable in Luohan style $16.80
Bean curd braised vegetable comes gift-wrapped with a thin skin of bean curd.
Tearing open the bean curd skin
We tear open the skin to find a huddle of mushrooms, bamboo shoots, carrots and white fungus bordered with baby bok choy. The oyster sauce is thick and sweet, and we relish the greens, which provide some welcome relief after the richness of the Peking duck.
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Golden Moon (CLOSED)
i never thought there could be such a thing as too much peking duck. i feel like i shouldn't have eaten for a week to prepare my stomach for the onslaught. im sorry stomach!
ReplyDeleteHow I wish I was there! Haven't heard of this place before but now I know where to go for what looks like perfect Peking duck; the glistening skin is causing me to dribble and slobber over my keyboard. The golden, pillowy tofu looks scrumptious too. I'd be a very happy good indeed had I been given a plate of just that and fluffy rice at home.
ReplyDeleteHi Helen! Peking Duck is one of only a handful of Earthly treats that makes me drool. Literally! That part where the waiter quietly slices sections of crispy skin off... it's pure bliss for me. No such thing as too much peking duck. :)
ReplyDeleteI've heard a bit about the great Peking duck here, so it's good to find it's true. The deep fried tofu looks rather bland though; lucky for the dip!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger I never understood why people would like peking duck... poor and young, we though eating the skin was too extravagant.. but of course, now I love them.. a sign of maturity maybe... the duck looks good!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Peking duck pancakes... wonder why the place has that many bad reviews...
ReplyDeleteWe attempted to go there when it first open but got treat badly. So walked away after 30 mins of wait even though we booked. However the duck pic looks really good here..and thinking should I go back even I was very disappointed the other time...
ReplyDeleteLove the bean curd pressie! And that duck looks so shiny and appetising...! mmmmmmm.......
ReplyDeletethat peking duck looks awesome!! i want to have peking duck too.
ReplyDeletePeking duck how I love you so.
ReplyDeleteHi Helen, just an FYI, this has changed name recently. I think it is called "Friendship" something now. Not sure if it is the same owners though.
ReplyDeleteSupermarkets are my happy place :) But if I had a place nearby with a tofu-that-looks-like-a-present-dish, I might change my mind.
ReplyDeleteThe peking duck looks amazing, with its glistening and cripy skin and all. It's one of those dishes that you cannot get sick of it, regardless have many you had ate it. :) Drool.
ReplyDeleteThe bean curd parcel seemed like quite a nice surprise. Now that's my kind of food!
ReplyDeletethat peking duck pancake looks very good indeed. must try :-)
ReplyDeletePeking duck is one thing I can't eat until my tummy is full. I find it too rich.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the bean curd braised vegetable is something I could definitely overdose on - it looks absolutely delicious!
OMG look at that crispy skin! Duck pancakes nomnomnom
ReplyDeleteI really could eat this until the cows come home. Or should I say ducks?
ReplyDeletePeking Duck is my happy place Helen, is that even possible??
ReplyDeleteI'm quite embarrassed to be sharing this in a public forum but i prefer going for a whole peking duck with just one other person - more pancakes for the greedy - and more chances of being in a duck coma, you know that is a good thing right?
hard to imagine you can have too much of peking duck at this time of the night when im so hungry lol. drools!
ReplyDeleteI am long overdue for duck pancakes - I haven't had one since I came back to Sydney! Hitting up this place ASAP. :)
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that looks so good. I've never had bean curd skin that way before but anything with that many mushrooms must be good!
ReplyDeleteomg is this place new? cause i practically LIVE on sussex street or im just terribly blind. the peking duck looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteTried to eat here a few months ago. Usually go to GC's for late night dining but decided to give Golden Moon a go. Went at 11pm and there were only 3 tables in the restaurant. At least we would be fed quick! Alas..that wasn't the case. Tried to order the peking duck but were told you can only order during the day. So ordered a few other dishes - can't remember what they were now.
ReplyDeleteWe waited and waited and waited. We kept asking the waiters how long the food was and they kept saying "It's coming". Finally after 45 mins (which seems like an eternity late at night) the waiter comes out and tells us one the dishes we ordered wasn't available! We couldn't believe it! Why wait 45 minutes to tell us this!?!
We ended up getting up and leaving straight away - starving! Worst restaurant experience..ever!
That peking duck looks fantastic - the skin is so toffee glossy!
ReplyDeleteOh man I wish this restaurant was still around.
ReplyDeleteI'm sold on this one. The duck looks great, and I'll be visiting this restaurant.
ReplyDelete