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Restaurant ReviewDeyi Peking Duck House (Flushing NY)
| (718) 539-3061
| 43-18 Main Street,
Flushing, NY 11355
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Reviewed by: Jacqueline M. Newman
Summer Volume: 2011 Issue: 18(2) page: 26
 This Peking Duck House is sophisticated and top of the line, and its Number One chef is a savvy cook who has owned restaurants in Hong Kong and New Jersey. Here, he cooks with help from two other chefs in this elegant understated red and black room, a great place to enjoy his super Beijing chow, devour his delicious meals, and plan your own perfect parties.
The selection of dishes is vast, too many are only in Chinese, and that includes the three course Peking Duck meal ($38.00) or just a half or whole Peking duck. We opted for just the whole duck which did not include duck soup or a dish using some duck meat. We did this to allow room for several other dishes that did delight everyone at our table. Though one does need allow at least half an hour, this Peking duck could not be better. Why? Because it is made in a special roast duck oven, classically and properly prepared. Bite in and as it should, it crackles. Take a freshly-made ultra-thin pancake, spread on the hoisin sauce then scallions and/or cucumbers and a piece of duck skin cut into slices with a little meat attached, roll it up, bite in, and duck lovers are in heaven! The hoisin sauce does not come diluted with tea, the duck is not fried off, and you know all is as it should be. Before dining on the divine duck, we suggest having several appetizers; and we did. They show off talents in the kitchen. The boneless duck feet with celery is boneless and very good, the tongue is terrific, and the tripe and tendon are top notch. Owner Bao Li Zhang knew this chef and convinced him not to retire but to come and work for him. Taste his thirty plus years of tending wok and kitchen and you will understand his talents, too. The restaurant is laid back at lunch time. At dinner it is abuzz with many who have discovered it by the time it was just a few weeks old, as we did. The staff, supervised by a very caring lady, exercise patience when translations or explanations are needed. The staff exercises expertise during your meal. The lady is Mr. Zhang's sister, she runs the front of the house, with Mr. Zhang--its owner. These folks are from Beijing, and as is true in that capital city, fine foods from many provinces can be had here. We tried great ones from Guangdong, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Dongbei, to name but a few. As they delight Beijingers, so they thrill us. The hot pots and casseroles are great, as are vegetable dishes. Meats are magnificent, none over-spiced, none oily, and none so plain and indistinguishable you forget what you ordered and can not identify what arrived.  The Rabbit in Hot Pot comes boiling and beautiful, the vegetables in a mite of mashed fermented tofu tantalize. So do many upscale wonderful dishes. Enjoy them all, even the la mien we had at meals end. It and the black vinegar we doused on top, could not have been better. We were full when it came, but managed, nonetheless, to polish off this beauty.
Peking Duck House welcomes you and provides caring staff. They even care about what you do with your car, providing parking on the side street behind the building. Stop in and enjoy foods from a kitchen that serves many delicious dishes. There is only one problem, which one or ones to choose. Never mind, we know we will come back often and keep having more of them. You should, too! |
