Duck

Fowl but never foul, communal, but at capitalist prices, Peking Duck is a go to for special occasions.  Truth be told it is a reason to invent occasions.  The best place for this dish in greater Los Angeles is Ji Rong in Rosemead.

I have tried the rest, Tasty Duck, also in Rosemead, Meizou Dongpo in Arcadia and Duck House in Monterey Park.  Meizou is the fanciest if you eat there, and has the most innovative container if you take it to go.  Along with the highest prices, the Duck tends to be on the fatty side, a plus with some Chinese, but not for me.  I have made multiple visits to the Duck House.  It is one of the best Chinese restaurants for everything but Duck.  The duck is on the dry side and the hoisin is off putting.  Tasty Duck is no longer open, but was the least expensive, with somewhat lower quality.  

My duckpertise was refined through two visits to Beijing.  

Much goes into the perfect version.  The hoisin but be sweet enough without denigrating into syrup.

Ji Rong has spot on hoisin.  The pancakes must be ultra thin.  You want to taste duck, not the pancake.  Again just right.  The skin must be crackly crisp, and the meat must be moist and flavor packed, without being fatty.  Check and check.  

Special occasions call for libations.  Ji Rong has a weak wine list, so bring your own and pay the 15 dollar corkage.  If you are focusing solely on the duck I recommend a Grenache or a Rhone Blend.  A light to medium bodied Pinot Noir might also suit.

On my last, of approximately ten visits to Ji Rong, Roslyn and I joined a meetup group.  Not knowing what other dishes would be ordered I opted for a Cabernet Franc Rose.  In the past I have brought a Mourvèdre Rose.  Both are full bodied for a blush, and proved flexible.

We ordered an number of other dishes I would recommend.

Snow a Choy in garlic.  Similar to Morning Glory.

Cubed filet mignon.

Very tasty Lamb in Cumin.  In the background, Duck Soup which had more flavor than most versions.

Fish with Basil.  Pescatarians can have fun too.

Our Rose with food in the background.

Shrimp with Walnuts.  An atypical version with the shrimp in a batter.  Very good.

Less interesting was the pancake.  It was well made, properly flaky, but bland.

Review of the Duck House

 

The Duck House is a contradiction in terms.  It is anything but.  Of the major duck purveyors in Los Angeles I rate it at the bottom.  The meat was tough, the hoisin sauce was soupy and the taste was off.  The pancakes were too thick.  In addition, like the old borscht belt joke, "The food was awful, and the portions were too small."  No Peking Duck is awful, this was still tasty, but the portion was small.  Not as small as shown above.  Our party was hungry and we scarfed down some duck before I took this picture.

The final critique--when the restaurant is busy, the service is chaotic.  For instance, for our party of eight we ordered two ducks, one for each end of the table.  The second duck arrived 30 minutes after the first.

Nonetheless, I rate the restaurant 3.5 stars out of a possible 5.  It may not be a duck house, but it is an excellent Chinese restaurant.  All of the other dishes we ordered were first rate.

The Walnut Shrimp was as good as I have had,  The shrimp had perfect texture, and there was just the right amount of sauce.  The same held true for the other dishes, scallion pancakes, spicy eggplant and garlic string beans.  The string beans were al dente and effusively garlicky.

The Duck House is at 501 So. Atlantic in Monterey Park.