Before eating at Duckland, I must confess that I was never quite a fan of duck. I loved the ones I’ve tried across the border. For example, Ya Wang and Meng Meng roasted duck.
But honestly, duck at my local hawker centre just doesn’t appeal to me – perhaps it’s the gamey taste or the fact that I enjoy chicken or beef much more.
Well, that changed when I discovered Duckland, a duck restaurant owned by Tunglok Group with three outlets here: RWS Sentosa, PLQ and United Square.
I covered a little on Duckland as part of my 3D2N Sentosa itinerary, but strongly feel that it warrants a full food review!
I was introduced by some friends and first tried the one at RWS Sentosa. Since then, I've also been to both the United Square and PLQ branches. While most duck restaurants in Singapore have a distinctly Chinese vibe and aesthetic, Duckland takes a less traditional – and you could say more Western - approach. It’s a casual dining concept, which means pricing are kept affordable. Ducks are bred, raised and imported directly from Silver Hills Farm – a premium duck producer based in in Ireland.
Duckland's interior boasts muted colours and modern décor. As you probably have guessed, their menu offerings feature all things duck. We’re talking roast duck, crispy duck, duck fried rice, duck spaghetti, duck wings and even French-style duck confit.
The restaurant features some great promos as well. For example, its Duckfeast 2.0 for 4 is priced at $98++ and gives you 8 courses like a roasted or crispy duck (half), duck fat fries, shrimp dumpling soup, duck confit with waffles and 4 cups of Udders ice cream.
Having tried most items on the menu, I review them below:
Roast Irish duck
You can’t miss out on the roast Irish duck ($38 for half), which is served with 4 sauces: yellow mustard, raspberry, calamansi chilli and hoisin. Though each slice does come with a fair amount of bones, the meat and skin are really tender and juicy, and go especially well with the sauces. My favourite was raspberry!
Crispy aromatic duck
The other star dish is the crispy aromatic duck ($32.85). Fried duck has a tendency to be dry, but the one here is tender, expertly-seasoned and fried to crispy perfection! It's served Peking-style, which means that you wrap the duck in steamed pancake and other garnishes like pickled onion, julienned Japanese cucumber and a a dash of the chef's special sweet brown sauce. Between the roast and crispy duck, I would say the crispy duck has a slight edge thanks to the combination of ingredients.
Shrimp dumpling soup
One of my favourites, the shrimp dumpling soup ($12) features tasty dumplings filled with juicy shrimp, bamboo shoot and black fungus. The soup absorbed the flavour of the dumplings well, and it wasn't overly salty. An excellent appetiser, I would say!
Duck fried rice
The duck fried rice ($8.85) is a great main course - with roast duck, sweet corn, zucchini and fried shallot. Whichever outlet you visit, this dish is pretty consistent. I liked that the fried rice had a wok hey taste to it as well.
Black pepper duck pie
I only tried the black pepper duck pie ($6.85) once on my last visit, and regret not getting it sooner! This is a savoury puff pastry pie stuffed with a generous amount duck meat and onion, and seasoned with black pepper. I usually find black pepper a tad too spicy, but this one was flavourful yet not overwhelming. One of my dining buddies even mentioned that this was the best savoury pie he had tried in Singapore!
Crisp-fried duck wing sticks
Another starter, the crisp-fried duck wing sticks ($8) are bite-sized and addictive! I'm not too sure what kind of seasoning they use ( it tastes a lot like Cajun), but I quite liked it and found the meat to be tender and skin not too oily. Do note that there isn't a lot of meat on each stick.
Duck fat fries
I wasn't too sure I would enjoy the duck fat fries ($7) as I prefer shoestring fries and these thick-cut ones honestly looked quite plain. But I was pleasantly surprised and ended up reaching for more! These fries come tossed with a special duck oil mix of rosemary, garlic, chicken powder and black pepper. The fries were crispy and well-seasoned, and I could really taste the yummy duck fat. Oh so sinful, but oh so good!
Duck soup noodles
The duck soup noodles ($12) is a perfect comfort dish for a raining day. The noodles were springy and submerged in a delicious duck broth, with the taste of the broth actually reminding me of Japanese ramen noodles. There's also juicy roast duck meat to accompany the noodles. You can change the meat slices to a drumstick for an additional $2.
Duck liver terrine
I'll admit that the duck liver terrine ( $15.85) isn't for everyone. Definitely an acquired taste, I did like the "sliminess" of the duck foie, as well as the rum-infused marmalade and crisp bread it came with.
Duck confit & waffles
Leave space in your stomach for the French-style duck confit & waffles ($20.85). Though Duckland doesn't specialise in desserts, the golden-brown waffles were extremely crispy and fluffy. They went really well with the duck leg confit, which was tender with a rich, slightly salty flavour. The dish also comes with a poached egg to drizzle all over your waffles.
Aside from the food I've mentioned, Duckland also serves other non-duck mains like babyback ribs, fish and chips and Irish lamb stew. I havn't tried any of these, but would be curious to see how they stack up against the restaurant's excellent Duck dishes!
Check out Duckland's menu and how to get its three outlets here.
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