Beijing Quan-Ju-De Roast Duck in Melbourne

The First Franchise Beijing Quan-Ju-De Roast Duck in Australia

My brother came over for a visit in Melbourne. Hence we went out for dinner two nights in a row with family.
Last night we went to Gold Leaf restaurant in Harbour Town, standard Cantonese food like Crab noodles with ginger and shallots etc. The place was dead quiet as the Southern star ferry's wheel was out of action due to the "heat wave" damage since late Feb.

Tonight was a bit different; we tried the famous Peking duck from the first franchise of the old shop “Quan Ju De” in Beijing. The decor and ambience was quite classy and the service was quite good. Of course the prices are a bit dearer than most with many main dishes in the $30 plus bracket. The duck itself, cost $88 each with 16 pieces, just enough for a table of 8.



The main differences between Cantonese roast duck and Peking duck is that the cavities was sealed and air was pumped into the duck carcass - giving it a full and puffy look. It also helped in making sure that the skin are stretched and crispy



























The duck was sliced into thin slices. You get to wrap-it-yourself. There do not have much skin on, unlike the "Old Kingdom" in Fitzroy, where only the skin and a little meat is usually served. Like Beijing style, Duck soup comes with it, but not much oil at all, not like the oil covered thick soup I tasted in the Original old Beijing Quan Ju De Duck restaurant




No or little oil in the soup - but taste more bland than the Old Shop in Beijing








Side Dishes "Thinly Sliced Duck Gizzard"











Translucent Duck Webs

Winter is Here

It was just about 3-4 months ago that the soaring temperature reaching the mid 40 Celsius brought about the devastating bush fire that swept through Victoria, killing nearly 200 people and reduced thousands of houses into ashes....

Now we have this report from the age this morning entitled: From ashes to snow stashes



News & Picture cut and pasted from TheAge

by Natalie Puchalski
June 10, 2009

NOT so long ago it was deserted and covered in ash. But the white snow now covering Lake Mountain signals a new start for a bushfire-devastated community.

For Kinglake resident Glenn Tyrrell and his son, Jed — whose kindergarten burnt down in the fires — yesterday's trip to the snow was something special. "It was a joy for my son, just to get it out of his mind," Mr Tyrrell said.

Lake Mountain resort chief executive Richard Rogerson said people from nearby fire-devastated communities now had much to look forward to.....