Craving the Cantonese delicacy? We’ve dined our way around Dubai’s Peking Duck offerings to give you the low down on the birds to beat.
Royal China. DIFC.
Our favourite fine dining Peking Duck in Dubai.
If you’re looking for the quintessential old-school Chinese dining experience (but with a little DIFC flair) then Royal China is for you. It’s not quite as swanky as The Pointe’s Chuan, and some of the seats could use re-upholstering…but then again, the price points aren’t as sky high either (in fact, Royal China is amazing value – this is the most duck for your dizzles on the list). It reminds us of that family favourite Chinese restaurant that’s been around for 20 years that you go to for dim sum once a month…but with high ceilings, fancy chandeliers and wine glasses that are big enough to fit more than two tablespoons of liquid.
Price.
Half duck. 129 dhs.
Full duck. 249 dhs.
Visit website
Quanjude. International City.
The cheapest Peking Duck on this list, and in our opinion, the best.
Yes, we think this is the best Peking Duck in Dubai. And of course, we recommend you try it. But this recommendation comes with a caveat – this is more ‘alleyways of Hong Kong’ than DIFC eleganza extravaganza. Welcome to International City. It’s “authentic” some may say, code for….grimey? There’s rolls of kitchen supplies piled up in the dining room, plastic on the tables and boxes of tissues for napkins. Your dishes may be plastic and most definitely mismatched, the chair you sit on wobbly and threatening imminent collapse should you indulge even slightly too much. Faded photos of the chef adorn the walls, while stray cats wait outside, pleading for the chance to be thrown a piece of your takeaway duck doggy bag (smart kitties). You might want to use the rest room before you visit. Of course, as we all know, this is no deterrent for the most hardcore of foodies, some may even say it adds to the experience, or go so far as to declare it an indicator that the food is going to be incredibly good. And at Quanjude, they’d be right.
Quanjude’s duck is a masterful execution of the classic. Perfectly glassy, crunchy yet lusciously fatty duck skin is served in traditional fashion with sugar for dipping, and that first bite will send your eyes rolling toward the back of your head at breakneck speed. This is orgasmic peking duck like no other in town – and unbelievably, at a price point like no other in town. It’s no frills, full throttle Peking Duck goodness. A must visit.
Price.
Full duck. 118 dhs. (yes, just 118 dirhams.)
View website (don’t be silly, of course they don’t have a website)
Hakkasan. Palm Jumeirah.
Peking Duck with a twist in sexy surroundings.
You probably know we’re not one for chain restaurants…so we hate to say it, but…we love Hakkasan (read our full review here). You really can’t go wrong with anything on their menu, but their Peking duck truly is excellent. We like their slightly fluffy pancake squares that make this more of a Peking duck flat bread than roll, just enough to make it different.
Price.
Half duck. 388 dhs.
Full duck. 698 dhs.
View website
Hutong. DIFC.
Satisfactory.
DIFC’s cavernous Hutong falls into the international-chain-restaurant category with branches from London to Hong Kong to Miami. For some reason it’s never truly wowed us. We don’t feel it reaches the highs of the aforementioned Hakkasan; the interior design choices feel on the dated side (this just really bugs us, for some reason) and the outdoor area was in a rather shocking level of disrepair when we last visited (think tablecloths laid over banquette seats to cover up huge rips and exposed cushion filling – yikes!). Hutong’s Peking duck is fine, but that’s about all we have to say. Skip the 50dhs upcharge to make your peking duck a flaming version, it really didn’t do much for the dish that we noticed – unless spectacle is something you’re willing to fork out for.
Price.
Half duck. 298 dhs.
Full duck. 498 dhs.
Upgrade to the ‘flaming’ version for an extra 50 dhs.
Both options served as two course with lettuce cups preparation.
Mott 32. JBR.
The jury is still out.
One small disclaimer here – we’re judging this review off the Peking Duck we tasted at the OG Mott 32, deep in the bowels of Hong Kong. It’s an iconic restaurant, mysteriously dark and glamorous with prohibition-meets-early 1900s Asia styling, and served up some of the best dim sum we’ve ever had the good fortune of devouring. We’re just not quite sure about the Peking Duck. Mott 32 is famous for its duck, but on our visit, we just didn’t quite get it. The duck is aged for 42 days, we’re told, but ours was entirely bland with really no flavour or seasoning detectable whatsoever. We were left rather puzzled, if we’re honest.
It’s served with a signature swirled sauce that is mixed at the table and looks ridiculously good. Whilst we loved the presentation of the sauce, we didn’t really find the flavour complimentary to the duck. It’s a garlicky-hoisin vibe, intermingled with a mesmerising spiral of sesame sauce. Maybe it’s a bit like Vegemite, either you love it or you…don’t. Sadly we fell into the latter category. Perhaps we need to pay the Dubai outpost a visit and try again – we really do like the brand, so we’re willing to give it a second chance.
Don’t expect to simply waltz in and secure a duck, however. Mott 32 serves their PD by the whole only so bring friends, and it needs to be preordered in advance (they’ll fire it when you arrive).
Price.
Full duck. 688 dhs.
View website
Demon Duck. Bluewaters.
Try as we might, we’re just not convinced.
We wanted to love Demon Duck SO badly. So, so badly. Given that Michelin-starred celeb chef Alvin Leung is behind the concept, our expectations were high – maybe that contributed to the gap between what we wanted Demon Duck to be and how we’ve felt about our visits. In the avant garde style typical of Leung, the Peking Duck is unconventional here. But you know what they say….if it ain’t broke….and that’s the main issue here. Demon Duck’s take on the PD is aged 14 days, served with calamansi buns and some rather ‘interesting’ sauces. We’re all for innovation but if it’s not better than the OG…then it’s a miss from us. Would we order DD’s PD again? Sadly, no. It’s Demon Duck in name, and in demon duck in taste, unfortunately. In our humble opinion, of course.
