No spring lamb

One more box ticked in the bucket list... Spring Deer (1/F, 42 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong) is a bit of an institution in the Hong Kong food scene, and raving reviews of its peking duck abound. I found myself in company of my fav partners in crime J&T and our respective overseas guests tonight as we headed to the place, tastebuds buzzing with anticipation... As we had some fairly unadventurous palates at the table tonight, I left the ordering to T., who would prove much better than I ever could be at ensuring every diner found fodder at its taste. As expected, the peking duck was divine, and a few other dishes were quite amazing. As we Frogs would put it, "It's in an old pot that you make the best soup", and tradition just cannot be beaten - even if that means a rather cramped and noisy dining room with an absolute lack of regard for decoration, rushed service and a particularly treacherous and slippery access staircase... So is it the best pecking duck in town? Well it certainly is the best I have had.

Appetiser: marinated pickled cabbage
Strangely similar in taste to Korean white kimchi and perfect to work up an appetite

Appetiser: boiled peanuts with sesame oil... pretty good once the initial tastebuds confusion passed. I love the texture of fresh boiled peanuts.

"Crab" egg white

This was delicious. The egg white was light and fluffy, and did not feel greasy despite (I was told later...) having been wok-fried in oil. The seafood flavour was prominent, probably enhanced by a touch of MSG-induced umami. A susprisingly good dish.

Egg fried rice

Nothing new under the sun,so I did not try this in order to save stomach space for the duck that would come later...

Stir-fried chicken with garlic and black bean sauce

Here again, I passed my turn but it did look and smell very nice.

Stir-fried noodles with  pork and veggies

Looked good but *YAWN* ...



Goo !!

Thick and delicious sauce for our duck...




Stir-fried veggies and tofu

Now you've got my full and unreserved attention... this was delicious. Tasty, with a touch of oyster sauce, ginger and garlic, crunchy veggies and mushrooms and creamy tofu. Right up my alley.



Beijing dumplings

Reasonably thick skin, and a tasty and juicy pork filling. Very good, but lacked a bit in spice for my taste, so I double-dipped mine in chilli soy sauce :-)

Peking duck pancakes

Freshly hand-made, medium thick and very floury with a slightly elactic texture. Delish. So much care put into a pancake raises expectations even higher about the duck itself...

The "pièce de résistance" - the long-awaited pecking duck, which did not disappoint... Gorgeous crispy skin with a good layer of fat, gamey juicy meat. Yum!

Stir-fried minced duck with veggies

Tasty meat, with plenty of crunch from the veggies. We were given a whole head of butter lettuce to wrap the meat in. This was very good but totally non-spicy and somehow made me crave the Sichuan super-hot version of the dish.