Best Peking Duck in Irivne? Sam Woo gets my nod...

ps99472

ps99472

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So we were watching Food Network last night and saw Peking duck as an ingredient on the "Chopped" show.  As always when watching Food Network at night we have to get whatever was on TV the next day.  For us getting Peking Duck in Irvine is a no brainer:  hands down Sam Woo on Culver is the winner.  Skin was perfect, fat was melted off (or scraped off), bones on the side, buns fluffy, and onions nicely sliced.  Price is steep at $32 but to us it's a twice year thing so definitely worth it.  We also tried China Garden's version and was very disappointed, they might be good at dim sum but can't compare to Sam Woo for Peking Duck.  Next up will be at Capital Seafood, but I seriously doubt they can compete, even their dim sum is just ok and service is spotty at best.  Anyone care to nominate another competitor for Peking Duck please do and supply pics as well....
 
They don't really know how to properly cut the duck.  In Beijing the gold standard (somewhat overblown) is ??? (Quanjude), where Zhou Enlai used to entertain guests:http://www.quanjude.com.cn/e_dishes.html

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I ate at the branch that was closest to Wangfujing a few years back, but am not going to dig up ex-GF photos to post.  ;p  That duck was expensive and even came with a silly certificate.  In LA area you can try Lu Ding Ge on Atlantic Blvd in Monterey Park:http://www.duckshouse.com/

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Thanks for the suggestion in Monterey Park, that will be next on my list of places to try.  Nice pic of Nixon, wonder what he was holding with the chopsticks.  And I will do a comp tasting at Capital Seafood soon to decide the best Peking Duck in Irvine.
 
Here's Capital's version of Peking Duck

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Not as good as Sam Woo's, the fat between the skin and meat is still present or maybe they used fattier duck?  I don't like chewing fat and kinda spoiled my appetite.  Flavor wise, it didn't taste as fresh as Sam Woo's, we ordered the dish during the dim sum rush hour on a weekend, so maybe the peking duck chef wasn't around?  I paid full price for this and I wonder what the special price duck is like (the waiter confirmed twice with me that I will be charged full price).  The chips on top was a nice complement which Sam Woo did not have
 
OK. Call me the picky one.  ;D

The Peking Duck served  by Sam Woo and Capital Seafood are NOT authentic Peking Duck. First, they should use the thin pancakes/wraps to roll the duck. The puffy buns are just not acceptable. They go well with braised pork belly but not duck. Second, the duck skin should be thin and crispy. Professional Peking Duck chefs have a way to melt the fat between skin and meat. Both Sam Woo and Capital serve their duck skin with a lot of fat on it. Third, without green onions/leeks, how can you consider it Peking Duck? Both restaurants are all about Southern Chinese food and last time I checked the map Beijing is in the northern part of China. So I gave them F for Peking Duck. They are just regular roasted ducks that pretend they are from Beijing. :p

If you want to try more authentic Peking Duck in Irvine Area, Asian Tapas is much better. But you have to call and make reservation a couple days ahead (yes traditional Peking Duck needs a lot of time to prepare). They also serve 2-ways of Duck. The duck bone soup with napa and tofu is delicious.

 
I guess Asian Tapas is next on my list.  So I have to call ahead?  Why?  They need to catch a duck?  Haha
 
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Prince Seafoods Peking Duck (crispy skin with steamed buns with scallion)

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Meat used in lettuce cups

Not bad, love the high ceilings in the restaurant.  Used to be a bank I think
 
Prince Seafood in Cerritos was never a bank. The owner custom built the space just for the restaurant. As I recalled It was built around 1988 and the restaurant changed its name sometime ago usually to avoiding an IRS trail. The owner had an exiting strategy someday the building could be splitted into 2 levels by building over the 2 story volume. The extra parking spaces for the added footage required by will be balanced by converting restaurant to office use. Restaurant parking is 10 spaces per 1,000 sf whereas office parking is 3 spaces per 1,000 sf.
 
PS you should really reconsider your home location to a more centralized location with close proximy to places you like to play and eat. That was my criteria when I selected my home. Cerritos ain't bad with Whitney High.
 
It didn't look like a typical Cantonese restaurant layout, the huge unused double doors facing South st seems like doors appropriate for a bank, high ceilings with chandeliers also seems rare.  Most of the waiters were from mainland and on Sunday brunch, it was pretty dead.
 
I was there when the owners built it. Back then when Fedco was not far across the street. I felt the same way that it looked more like a bank than a restaurant. The owner was after the affluent market at that time when Irvine was not a Chinese destination. He put all his money in Cerritos but the rich Chinese never came.

I remembered the foundation was poured when a commercial plane crashed into a near by neighborhood killing all on board. I think that was in July 1986.
 
1986?  I don't think I spoke English back then.. I was running around a playground in the city known as "Coastal Tableland". 

I loved Fedco.. bought all my video games there.. this was the one off Baker. 

 
The building was remodeled as Target Greatland in CM.

ps99472 said:
1986?  I don't think I spoke English back then.. I was running around a playground in the city known as "Coastal Tableland". 

I loved Fedco.. bought all my video games there.. this was the one off Baker. 
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I think I'll need to visit duck house (Lu Ding Ge) this weekend to re-establish my taste buds after the Capital seafood disaster.  So call 1hr ahead to reserve my Peking duck, should I go for the soup and stirfry as well?  Anyone tried Tasty Duck on San Gabriel?
 
PS9- Do a review!! I had Peking Duck last week at Capital Seafood in MP and was very disappointed... I hope the one you go to is awesome so I can try it out afterwards  :)
 
Duck House, Tasty Duck and Hong Yei are the top choices in SGV. Their consistency varies and you would have to pick the right time to go there when they the restaurants are not too busy. Make sure to phone in and order ahead of time otherwise you will get a roast duck substitution. Some Chinese restaurants offer Peking ducks really well but their other cuisine dishes dragged down their yelp ratings. I found 4 stars rating restaurants suck when some dishes I like they just can't deliver.

Avoid Saturdays and Sundays because of banquets. That is when you will get the bad foods.
 
We saw a duck near my daughters preschool when I was dropping her off, my daughter says to me, "Oooo mama duck, we eat you... ". I have to explain that we don't eat that duck because it has to take care of the baby ducks in the park.  We only eat the one in restaurants..  Not the best answer but then she's only three... 
 
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