Friday, September 02, 2005

Grand Peony Court, Lock Road

Grand Peony Court, Lock Road

There is only one dish that makes me come to this somewhat hidden place at Gillman Village (Block 5 Lock Road, 6472-1382): the Crispy Aromatic Duck. It's basically one whole duck deep fried in oil, and it tastes just like it sounds...greasy yet crispy. It is served Chinese style, kinda like Peking Duck, with a dark hoisin sauce, scallions shredded lengthwise, and even some cucumber in a steamed tortilla-like wrapper (but this place uses skins made from egg - a nice touch).

For some reason though, I am one of the few people that like this place. It was very empty on a Friday night (they have been here for a while though, so maybe they subsist off the lunch crowd from across the street at Alexandra Technopark). The other dishes aren't bad; I liked the salted fish fried rice, something I fondly remember from Cantonese joints back in the SF Bay Area. The honeydew sago (basically little tapioca) was delicate, although the melon wasn't ripe enough yet.

OK, I guess that I'll admit that this place isn't stellar. And the proprietor can be a bit pushy: I recall getting duped into some really expensive fish during a previous visit, and it was obvious that I had already ordered too much. And the duck that I love so much could be crispier. I guess that I'm just a sucker for duck, especially a deep fried one, of all things.

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