Talking Duck!

I guess who you are and what age you are will have an effect on whether you would class what we had the other night as Peking or Beijing Duck!!! What I can tell you is, irrespective of class or age, you'd be hard pressed to find a finer version of this Duck anywhere in the world! A ceremonious gong, heralds 'The Birds' arrival, then a 'Master Carver' sets forth to do(judging by how he does it), what he has been trained to do; CARVE!!! After a few minutes, you are presented with a couple of platters of the most succulent(meat) and crispy(skin) you have the pleasure of tucking into! The sauce is not your normal Peking Duck sauce, by any stretch, as it has Sesame and Ginger Oils swirled in and topped with Toasted Garlic, making it sweet, tangy and beautifully pungent. The 'skins' are so fine, you can see through them and the 'Iceberg', so finely shredded, it's almost like air! The ambience of the 'Nouveau' eatery is wonderful. It is an old factory in what I'm told is the 'Ladies' District' (if you catch my drift!!!). Albeit large and cavernous, the dining rooms', brick walls and high, original wood ceiling beams, make you feel relaxed, in a warm, fuzzy, friendly way!!! We also tried the Duck Tacos, which to were out of this world. Ultra-light crispy cups, that we filled with a somewhat sweet mixture of diced(meat only) duck, green onions and sweet peppers(hence the slight sweetness!). 

To round of the meal, were these crunchy sesame buns, that were like steam buns on the inside, yet with a crust that was not flaky, but more solid, almost as if they had been brushed with egg white, dipped in sesame seeds and then put back into a hot oven and rebaked. These were here for those who might not want or for that matter like the translucent skins I mentioned earlier.

Oh, add to this the pots of steaming Chinese Tea and the service was complete!!!

Ades