Chen Chen Roast Goose & Duck @ Pudu

We were in the vicinity and decided to drop by Chen Chen Roast Goose & Duck @ Pudu for a late breakfast cum early lunch since I was in the mood for a bit of duck.  This is just a roadside stall that's located on the side of an old shoplot, so you know what to expect in terms of comfort level and cleanliness.

This was the side entrance that I walked in from.  Perhaps the shot of the place would look a bit less shabby if I had taken the photo from the front of the stall...but that would mean I probably had to be standing in the middle of the road (so, uh-uh)! >_<

Although this is just a no-frills stall set-up, you'll find the owner/chef in full chef attire like it was a fancy restaurant...lol (I guess he takes pride in what he does).  We were driving past the area once and saw workers carrying (cooked but exposed) roast chickens/ducks (by their hooks) along the road and walking towards the stall.  So, be forewarned about where your food comes from since there's no kitchen/cooking on site.

Since I wanted to taste a bit of everything, we went for a combo platter of roast duck, siew yuk and char siew which cost a total of RM38 together with two plates of rice, a bowl of soup and two iced Chinese tea.

The siu yuk skin was not very crunchy and also a little hard.  The char siew, though looked every bit the part with a nice, caramelised outer layer, the flavours just didn't impress.  Both didn't deliver in terms of taste as I can easily get much better ones elsewhere.

The roast duck was the best thing on the plate.  The meat was adequately tender though the skin wasn't as crispy as I would have preferred.  I suppose that's not possible since they have no kitchen facilities on site to crisp up the skin.  I requested for the breast portion (which is my favourite part always when it comes to duck) as I really dislike going through the bony parts of the duck.

The duck (and the other meats) were served with three types of sauces...a slightly salty brown sauce with hints of black pepper (I'm not a fan of this usual overly salty brown sauce served with duck but this one was at least slightly better than some of the ones I've had before), a fresh green chilli dip of probably green chillies and bird's eye chillies since it was rather spicy but appetising (sorry, there's no chicken rice-type red chilli dip here) and a clear sauce which I initially thought was some kind of oil.

Of course a sauce of oil wouldn't make any sense and when I spooned it, I noticed that it had a rather thick and sticky consistency.  Putting it to my mouth, I realised it was a sweet sauce which tasted like a tangy, sweet plum sauce.  I give top marks for the dip with flavours of sweet, tangy, salty and spicy that combined very well together for the duck.

We were served what looked like yau fan (oily rice) or chicken-flavoured rice.  It had nice flavours even though the rice grains weren't of the best quality.  I only came to know that there was another rice option when I saw pictures of their yellow-tinged rice (turmeric-infused?) online.  Perhaps that option is only given if one orders the roast goose. :P

When our meat platter arrived, it also came with a bowl of soup (of the day) that we didn't order.  At first glance, I thought this was their free soup similar to what we get when we have chicken rice.  Taking a closer look, I noticed two pork meatballs in a soup of dried salted vegetables (choy kon) with some off-cuts of duck. Some might even think it's free...lol....but my suspicions tell me it can't be free!  People won't refuse or return it once it's put on the table...it was a rather clever marketing strategy on their part though some may not be so accommodating when something is forced upon them without their consent, so to speak.  I don't know how much it cost but the worker gave us a refill even without us asking (the soup only-lah, not the meatballs!).  In the end, I wouldn't mind paying for the soup since it was tasty (a lady at the next table even asked for more meatballs).

From a signboard displayed at the place, a whole roasted goose goes for RM230 which is more than triple the price of a whole roasted duck at RM68 (of course the former is also a lot bigger in size).  A more affordably priced meal would be a single portion of roast goose rice at RM16 (but I reckon you won't be getting the best parts...which is the leg) while a single serving of duck rice clocks in at RM9.  In retrospect, I should have probably gone for the goose (since that's what they're well-known for) but the prices were a deterrent + I was afraid the meat would be less tender than duck (I already find some duck meat to be tougher than what I wanted).

My Personal Opinion

I would just stick to the roast duck (and probably roast goose) here...and forget about their secondary meats like siu yuk and char siew since the place is, after all, famous for their duck and goose.

I didn't try the roast goose as I was as much dissuaded by the hefty price as I was of the thought of going through bony parts of a siew ngor pei (roast goose drumstick) which is supposedly the most revered part (not to mention the most requested) when it comes to roast goose.  I think it would sound a bit ridiculous if I had asked for breast meat! :D  It was probably just as well since there were quite a few reviews that highlighted the expensive pricing and that the skin wasn't crispy.  Judging from what we had that day (considering that it was just a roadside stall), it wasn't the cheapest of meals...even without the goose! >_<

Even though the roast duck was pleasantly tender with a respectable flavour, I don't need to travel that far since I can get a better tasting one near where I live (in BBQ Kong Meng)....and this one is served with crispy skin...every time! ^_~

Chen Chen Roast Goose & Duck

24 Jalan Seladang

Off Lorong Yap Hin

Pudu

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-233 3083