Delectable Duck

It was Mr and Mrs Greedyguts last day with us before they set off for their new life in Sydney so we thought we should send them off in style, with a slap-up Chinese banquet. We hadn’t had a chance to check out the establishments of Rochester Park yet, so this seemed like the perfect occasion.

We started our evening at the enchanting One Rochester (see ‘Mmmm… Martinis’ below), sipping cocktails in the beautiful outdoor tropical gardens and then wandered up the road to Min Jiang at One North for dinner. This is the sister restaurant of the Min Jiang at the Goodwood Park Hotel, but here, set amongst lush greenery in a colonial-style black and white bungalow, you’re guaranteed a very different night out.

The restaurant prides itself on the ‘Legendary Wood Fired Crispy and Juicy Beijing Duck’ and you are even asked if you would like this when you phone to make a reservation, so that it can be prepared and ready for your arrival. The ducks are apparently delivered daily and prepared in an authentic Beijing fashion – marinated in a blend of Chinese herbs and roasted in a custom-made wood-fired oven for at least 45 minutes.

I have to say, however they prepare it, it is absolutely delicious. To add to the fanfare of the preparation, the chef then comes to your table and slices the duck in your presence, before it is taken away to assemble it for serving. It is then served in three stages. The first stage sees a plate of paper-thin crispy skin presented for dipping in sugar. Secondly the duck is combined with various accompaniments and wrapped in paper-thin pancakes for dipping in the traditional thick sweet sauce – and yes, they even do the wrapping for you – now that’s what I call service!



But this being their signature dish and obvious pride and joy, they don’t stop at the usual leek and cucumber with hoi-sin. Oh no – they take it one step further, offering an additional option for your bundles of delicious duck, serving it with garlic sauce, and vegetables. I was dubious to begin with, but it kicked-butt on the usual serving style... I still dream of that duck.

The third stage of serving the duck is a choice of stir-fry dishes to accompany your main course.

Ok, enough of the duck, they do serve other dishes here also, and all of them are worth coming back for. We followed up with Chicken in a Lemon Sauce (gorgeously zesty and sticky sauce), Black Pepper Beef (amazingly tender chunks of fillet steak in a just-right black pepper sauce – proclaimed to be Mr Greedyguts’ favourite dish of his 6-week holiday in Asia),

Individual Servings of Pork Belly (again melt-in-your-mouth),

Baby Pak Choi in Garlic,

Seafood Fried Rice and Fried Noodles with Chicken and Prawn.

My only complaint would be that they all were served individually so that we were left with a big bowl of rice then noodles at the end, with nothing to accompany it – however, I am quickly discovering that this is the case with Chinese Fine Dining.

We really didn’t need a dessert, but apart from the Beijing Duck, the other dish Min Jiang is famed for is its Durian Dessert. Well, it looked amazing, and tasted… just as bad as it smelt… in a word, foul!

We all braved a mouthful and left well clear… ah well, it was probably a good thing or we may not have all fitted in the taxi home.

Min Jiang at One North - http://www.goodwoodparkhotel.com/dining-minjiangone.htm