This duck is coming to dinner

On the Food Trail with Tiberius Kerk
THE popular notion in Petaling Jaya is that the Loong Foong Restaurant in Paramount Garden has the best roast duck within a five-mile radius.
If you need to verify this hearsay, show up on Christmas Eve and try to buy one. You will probably fail because many Chinese Christians have wised up to the fact that Xmas turkeys are now priced beyond their reach.
Naturally, the next best option is roast duck. Loong Foong sells them at RM45 a pop. That’s one medium-sized roast duck that will envelop the interior of your entire car with its fragrance as you rush home to your family dinner.
With the setting of the sun in the evening, Loong Foong Restaurant becomes the focal point for PJ diners who may be too lazy to cook another meal or they just want to have a sumptuous meal without physically taxing the lady cook in the house.
I am not a regular at Loong Foong but when I patronise its premises, my family makes sure we have a grand time. Forget about the bill, we all work hard enough to eat a decent meal now and then.
So one Saturday several weekends ago, we made a beeline for Loong Foong Restaurant, mainly on impulse. Our first mistake was we didn’t make a reservation.
On arrival, we quickly found out we were not the only greedy ones in the district. There were about 15 other customers looking around earnestly for an empty table.
Since we were basically “hardcore” diners, we hung around until some timid patrons were a little afraid of our intense glares and vacate their table. Before the waitresses could clear the soiled table, we planted ourselves squarely around the big round table.
Natural choice
The main course was obviously the roast duck. Since there were only four of us, we didn’t want to look too avaricious, so we settled for half a duck.
The next dish triggered a little family debate but it was soon decided that the next table had just what we wanted. It was called the Golden Pumpkin. Basically, it was a hollowed-out pumpkin filled with water chestnuts and other delectables that bring tears to a happy diner.
Since our Cantonese was a little below par, we eagerly pointed to the nearby table and told the waitress: “That one over there!”
A plate of greens was mandatory to add fibre to our evening meal and kai lan seemed the natural choice.
The fourth dish by popular demand was one of the house specialities – sizzling hot plate tau fu. When it arrived at our table, it attracted some attention from salivating diners nearby because of the sizzling noise caused by the hot plate and the wonderful aroma from the well-cooked tau fu.
Let me say it plainly: if you want to impress your family with a place of your choice, book a table at Loong Foong Restaurant the day before. Your family will be very impressed with your selection.
Don’t forget to pay for the dinner as well because that would simply put that “kiss of approval” on your forehead and henceforth you will be known as He-Who-Knows-Where-To-Eat.
The roast duck at Loong Foong sometimes defies description. I have tried roast duck at numerous places but at this restaurant, it is almost second to none.
However, it has a rival named Sunrise Restaurant which is located several roads away but that’s another story which I am saving for another day.
Worth every drop
Loong Foong’s roast duck has a flavour that tells your taste buds that you are as close to heaven as you will get. There’s no “ducky” aftertaste, and it’s all good from the first bite.
As for the sizzling hot plate of tau fu, the gravy alone is worth your trip to the restaurant. My advice is: don’t leave any trace of gravy behind. It is worth every drop.
The golden pumpkin slips down your throat and explodes into a million showers of gastronomical pleasure as it causes a chain reaction of sensory emotions that begin with the dilation of your
retina through sheer excitement. There’s no need to kiss my hand for introducing this dish to you.
Don’t forget to order a pot of Chinese tea. If your preference is Ti Kuan Yin, that’s fine. Otherwise you can let the waitress pick the selection of Chinese tea leaves for you.
As every Chinese diner knows, good Chinese tea helps to neutralise some of the fatty substances that come with the enormously satisfying dishes.
With that, I shall now book a table at Loong Foong for tomorrow’s dinner.
The address, my fellow friends, is No. 1, Jalan 20/13, Paramount Garden, PJ. Tel: 03-7876-9045. The restaurant is near the Giant hypermarket.