Travels in Malaysia: KL has roast duck like no other

It’s Chinese New Year, and I’ve left the bitter cold of Beijing to pass the holidays on warmer shores. First stop, Kuala Lumpur, then off to Borneo. Malaysia’s population is a true hodgepodge of races, and the Chinese (mostly southern Chinese) make up approximately a third of the population. No surprise, then, that the Chinese food here is quite excellent. Some food is, in fact, superior to that found in mainland China, Hong Kong, or even Vancouver (recently declared by Conde Nast’s Traveler as home to the best Chinese food in the world). I am talking duck here.  The roast duck (shaoya 烧鸭) usually associated with Cantonese cuisine is unlike the famous Peking duck (kaoya 烤鸭) – Cantonese roast duck is eaten meat and all, bones attached, and without fancy wraps.  It is also roasted in a radically different manner; instead of relying on sauces post-roast, the sauce is applied before and boosts the flavor of the meat.  My parents are Hong Kongers, born and bred, but after moving to KL, they have declared themselves converts and now swear that KL roast duck is among the finest pieces of fowl on earth.

Master Onn of Chef Onn’s Guangdong Roast Duck (安师父广州烧鸭) is their current contender for best roast duck in KL. He has a little metal stall attached to a open-air restaurant that sells Hokkien noodles. Master Onn, however, sells ducks, and only ducks. He roasts only so many a day, and at about 7 pm the take-out crew descends upon the little stall and by about 7:30pm, Master Onn is out of ducks, closes shop, and heads home. We rushed here by 7:25, cursing the mass of rush-hour traffic the whole way, and ordered ourselves half a duck at the counter before even finding a seat. And it was a mighty fine bird. It tasted like kampung duck (village, or free-range duck) – a big healthy bird that got his fair share of exercise before hitting the ovens.  Free-range chickens are tasty, but I think a free-range duck is fantastic. The usual thick gooey layer of fat between the skin and meat is absent, leaving just a happy thin layer of fat and crispy skin. Moreover, the duck meat is not mealy and soft, but flavorful and meaty. A little smokey and a little salted, more than a little heavenly.

The restaurants in KL are open-air (in that they lack any kind of doorway), and many restaurants are actually seating areas that are served by several different food vendors who set up separate cooking stations around the seating area. In this “restaurant,” Chef Onn provides the duck only, and for noodles, we order from the second stall – Damansara Hokkien Mee. A specialty of the Hokkien, Min-speaking people who originate from southern Fujian, hokkien mee are thick chewy egg noodles are stir-fried in a blazing hot wok heavy with oil, dark soy sauce and a sprinkle of cabbage. The dish is topped with a healthy handful of deep-fried pork fat, which is the whole reason to order this dish. The noodles are hearty, salty, chewy, and the crunchy bits of pork fat really light up my life – I mean, the dish.

The food stall system means that half of the restaurants have their kitchens hanging outside the restaurant and spilling over onto the sidewalk. The industrial fans circulating the smells and the incredible heat from the stoves is more than sufficient advertising. This town just smells awesome.

The breakdown: half a duck is 21 ringgit (6 bucks), the noodles a mere 6 ringgit (under 2 bucks). The location: Kuala Lumpur, near Bandar Utama. I’d tell you more, but then I’d have to kill you. The duck is popular enough as it is.