Traditional Cantonese Delight at Duck Duck Goose / 正宗粤菜“德苑”餐厅

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Cantonese food has always been my favourite food of all time. It has some great subtle flavours and reminds me so much of my mom’s cooking back home in China! Using those fresh ingredients & implementing authentic Cantonese cooking methods!

This week, my husband and I tried a new Cantonese restaurant called Duck Duck Goose and it turned out to be awesome! The food was full of delicious and traditionally served, not to mention that wide variety on offer. I felt right at home and hence would like to share my experiences dining out there with all my steemian friends.

The Duck Duck Goose restaurant is located quite conveniently between Swiss Cottage and Finchley Road tube stations. I had already read up on some great reviews on the Internet about their excellent aromatic and roasted duck. Oh yes, definitely up for trying some of those, lol!

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The interior of the restaurant looked relatively new, providing a setting with an inviting and contemporary feel to it. A number of large tables accommodate for suitably large gatherings of friends or families. There is a big fish tank at the front entrance of the restaurant featuring all sorts of multi-coloured fish. According to old Chinese traditions, this is a meaningful sign of “good luck”!

I found our waitress to be very attentive and efficient, offering us a bowl of prawn cracker snacks as soon as we sat down to our table.

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The menu is inspired by old school cafés, in that they are extensive and include all the traditional dishes as well as a fantastic choice of chef’s specials to suit most customer's appetites. Most dishes employ classic Cantonese cooking techniques, like steamed fish, wok-fried meat & vegetable, and of course the most famous of all – roasted duck and barbecued pork (char siu) in particular!

The restaurant also serves freshly made Dim Sum all day, which is quite rare as most restaurants in Chinatown only offer this service on weekends from 12pm to 4pm.

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Starter

We were quite hungry (nothing new there, lol) so ended up ordering three starters!

We seem to never have enough of the "Chicken Satay on Skewers". The meat was so tenderized in the way they prepared it. And absolutely love love love the coconut and peanut flavoured creamy sauce that is so very delicious!

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The "Duck Rolls" were light, airy and crisp. That crackling sound from the very first bite felt so wholesome and satisfying, lol. And, of course, the duck meat filling in the middle I found to be quite tasty indeed.

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The "Chef Dim Sum Platter" was beautifully presented in a bamboo steamer. According to the waitress, they all contained prawn and pork fillings inside but I could not taste much of a difference between each one. All in all, they were good but not the best "Dim Sum" I ever had.

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Main

The fantastic "Cantonese Roasted Duck" is a typically styled Cantonese cuisine that has been exquisitely balanced between taste and texture. The duck was cooked to perfection, with the skin being crispy and coated in a sweet caramelized glaze. Absolutely delicious! It noticed hints of sweet, sour, savoury flavours as well as being so incredibly juicy and tender! With served with a bowl of steamed rice to make the experience all the more enjoyable.

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"Beef in Black Bean Sauce" was great too. This thick, dark brown black bean sauce adds a flavour to Chinese food like no other, primarily salty and spicy with a hint of sweet.

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Last but not the least was "Stir-fried Kai Lan with Ginger". To make this, they used the most fresh ingredients for the perfect wok fry coupled with just the right amount of ginger and salt so the taste ded not overpower from the seasoning. One of the best I ever had in London!

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Dessert

We had so much food so we barely managed to share a bowl of two scoops of ice creams and finish off out banquet! It actually turned out to be really refreshing after such a heavy meal, haha!

We had a great evening over at the brilliant "Duck Duck Goose" restaurant. The atmosphere was vibrant, combined with a high standard food and great staff all gelling together to make this a great dining experience for us both. We will definitely be returning to try out many other dishes from the menu. Without a doubt, this place comes very highly recommended!

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在广州出生长大的我，最钟爱粤菜。那清纯的口味常常让我想起广州的家。

这周我和先生试了一家粤菜餐厅“德苑”，很不错。那里不但菜式品种繁多，味道也相当正宗，让我感觉回到了广州一样，呵呵。 所以我在这里和大家分享一下。

德苑餐厅位于Swiss cottage 和 Finchley Road的地铁站之间，不难找。这家店在网上有不少好评，特别是他们的镇店招牌港式烤鸭。这个必须一试，哈哈！

餐厅内部装修看起来很新，简洁大方，有现代感。这里有很多大餐桌，非常适合朋友或家人周末聚餐。餐厅入口处摆放了一个大鱼缸，在中国传统的观念里，这是好风水也是招财的象征哦！

这里的服务员效率特高，我们刚一坐下，他们就为我们送上来一盘虾片！

德苑菜式主要仿照老式香港茶餐厅，涵盖了所有传统菜肴还有厨师特别推荐的特色菜！绝大部分的菜式都是传统的粤菜烹饪，如清蒸鱼和小炒类，当然还有这里最出名的烧肉类： 烤鸭和叉烧！

他们家还全天供应新鲜粤式点心！据我所知，在中国城大部分餐厅只在中午12点至下午4点期间提供点心。

因为比较饿的缘故，我们很贪心地点了三个前菜：沙爹鸡肉串烧，鸭肉卷和点心拼盘，呵呵。

前菜

沙爹鸡肉串烧好香好惹味，我们总吃不厌！鸡肉鲜嫩的口感加上浓郁的沙爹风味，十分好吃！

酥炸鸭肉卷呈金黄色，外酥内嫩，里面的鸭肉陷儿味道鲜美。沾上甜辣酱一起吃，味道特别好。

点心拼盘以一个竹子蒸笼的方式呈现上桌。在服务员掀开热气腾腾的蒸笼盖的瞬间，那种期待感让我想起小时候与家人周末饮茶的情景。点心玲珑小巧，白的，黄的，红的，绿的，全是油亮亮，热腾腾的，让我有把所有点心都吞下肚的欲望，哈哈！点心的味道还可以，但并不是我在伦敦吃过最好的。

主菜

港式脆皮烤鸭是十分经典的粤菜，在伦敦非常受欢迎。德苑家得烤鸭烧得还真不错，不愧是他们得镇店招牌菜。烧鸭鸭肉肥美，味道鲜。加上鸭皮酥脆，吃起来口感特别好。再来一碗蒸米饭，好满足哦！

黑椒炒牛肉是一道很温馨得家常菜。这家的小炒火候十分足，让我吃出了家的味道！滑嫩的牛肉配上稍辣的黑胡椒，创造出一个完美的组合！

最后一道是姜汁芥兰，是我很喜欢的一道素菜。它看起来简单但要炒得好吃也不是一件容易的事。除了火候，生姜，花雕酒和白糖这些配料的用量也要掌握好。这里做得姜汁芥兰并没有让我失望，爽脆清甜，好吃！

甜点

吃完这些美味佳肴以后，再来一碗清凉美味的香草冰激凌，绝对能让你由内而外的舒爽，哈哈！

看完了我的介绍，大家是不是也很想来德苑餐厅试一试呢，呵呵！我觉得在伦敦来说，这家粤菜做得的确不错，值得推荐。我也计划再回来尝尝他们家的其它菜式！