Restaurant Review: Duck House, Best Boiled Poultry in Bangkok?

Duck Noodle House cooks up what is reputedly the best roast poultry in Bangkok – or should I say boiled? The unpretentious cafe is located on a side street in Old Town, attracting denizens of the neighbourhood as well as foodies from across the Big Mango.

During a reality show-type tour of one of Bangkok’s oldest and most fascinating neighbourhoods called Riddle of the River, my traveling companions and I are taken past a small cafe serving boiled duck.

Our tour guide mentions that the cafe has the best boiled duck in Bangkok, saying that not only do the denizens of the neighbourhood frequent the place. Foodies from across the Thai capital travel across town to savour the mouthwatering repast.

Since one of my traveling companions overslept and didn’t have time to eat breakfast at the Renaissance Hotel, where we were staying, he asks our tour guide if we can stop for a quick snack.

Lunch isn’t included in our tour, but our guide says no problem as he’s in no hurry.

While we waited for our food to arrive, I decided to scour the place and take a few pictures. I also was curious as to how the duck was cooked. This is what I gathered …

The duck is boiled in a large stainless steel pot in what seems to be a secret sauce, which (based on the smell) I believe contains soy sauce and cinnamon.

When it has been cooked to perfection, the duck is removed from the pot with a large metal hook.

The boiled chicken is set out to dry on metal trays.

The duck’s head and feet are carefully removed. Do they use that to make broth, I wonder?

Then the duck is carefully sliced.

Next, the duck is put on a serving tray to await hungry foodies.

I’m not sure if the green peppers are used in the boiling broth or the dipping sauce (or both), but there are lots and lots and lots of them!

The duck is simply plated on beautiful Chinese-style plates and served with Chinese-style greens.

Coincidentally, the marble tabletop appears to be the same type of marble that my kitchen counter is made of.

We like the duck with veggies so much that we decide to order a “second course”. I settle on the cafe’s eponymous duck noodle soup. I also ask our server (the owner?) if he will pose with me for a selfie.

What I Love

I’m a big fan of Chinese style roast meats, but – with the exception of char siu, a.k.a barbecue pork – I rarely eat them.

I know that I am talking about boiled meats and not roast meats in this post, but I’m not sure if they aren’t the same thing because I’ve never heard the term “boiled duck” in Hong Kong. At least not in English …

So I’m assuming that what is called “boiled duck” in Bangkok might be called “roast duck” in Hong Kong.

(If I’m wrong, please politely correct me in the COMMENT box at the end of this post. I don’t want to spread mis-underformation.)

Anyway, so why don’t I order Chinese style roast (boiled?) meats if I like them so much? I have to clarify: I like the TASTE of Chinese style roast meats, but I don’t like the way they are plated and served.

Chinese (and other Asian) chefs tend to chop poultry and other meats with a large clever, which results in fractured bones and bone bits, and I detest this.

I want either that the entire bone is left in or that the bone is removed. And I am NOT alone in this desire. It is often the topic of conversation when I discuss Asian cuisine with other foodies.

So this is what I LOVED about the boiled duck at Duck Noodle House: the duck bones had been carefully removed, and the duck meat was then carefully sliced and plated with zero bone splinters or bone fragments. And I LOVED it.

In this regard, it was similar to Peking Duck – but much cheaper.

Where

Duck Noodle House – Soi Wanit 2, (off Charoenbrung Road), Bangkok, Thailand. Telephone: 02 233 2541.