“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.”
– Douglas Adams
My tyrannical but lovely editor (WHAT?! – Ed.) had called me on the Advisor hotline: “Right, boy wonder; The Duck has a new menu. Get over there pronto and give us the lowdown.” (I would never say that – Ed.)
I have to admit; many of the eateries on Sothearos have passed me by till now, so it was onto the mighty Cray super-computer (Google) to do some research. Sure enough, there was a new menu, and it was enough to drive a guy quackers with culinary temptation. So into the trusty tukmobile I hopped with my errant sidekick and off we headed.
First impressions were favourable; the restaurant stands out from its neighbours and once you’re inside you could be in a classy bistro anywhere in the world. Dark wood décor sets off contemporary art prints to great effect, though I sort of hope the personalised graffiti on the walls is temporary as it rather detracts from the overall ambience.
And so to the food, or at least the cocktails. The Duck offers an imaginatively customised range of cocktails at $4. I plumped for the Angkor Sunset, a twist on an old favourite comprising Malibu, cointreau, coconut cream, pineapple juice, grenadine and Havana rum. Utterly delicious and certainly moreish, though the sunset element appeared to be missing and I wonder if they were out of grenadine. Sidekick opted for a classic marguerite, which pushed all the right buttons.
I already had an idea of what I would be sampling, but Sidekick managed to thwart those plans by ordering the pan-fried red snapper, extra virgin olive oil, prawn bisque, wilted spinach and roasted baby potatoes in my place. My occasional foray onto her plate drew frowns from her but smiles from me. The snapper was cooked within a millimetre of perfection and the accompaniments complemented the fish perfectly.
I’d ordered the duck-and-mushroom spring rolls with sweet chili-lime dipping sauce as a shared starter, but in the Asian tradition, they didn’t arrive till halfway through our mains. The spring rolls were divine, but the sauce was a let-down: basically a small bowl of tomato ketchup with a hint of lime in it. Having sampled spring rolls everywhere from Glasgow to Beijing, I have to ruffle the owner’s feathers and say this was not the best sauce I’ve so far been served, but disappointment was soon eclipsed by gastronomic ecstasy as my main dish arrived: handmade potato gnocchi with slow-braised Australian beef cheek ragout. In just one bite I was transported to a carnivore’s Elysium: one of the finest bits of beef I’ve tasted in Asia, that slow braising bringing it to the point where it melts in your mouth. The handmade gnocchi were perhaps the finest to pass this reviewer’s lips since Da Gildo’s in Rome.
At this point, I thought I’d give The Duck another chance to ‘duck’ the critical points and so ordered a shared dessert: chocolate fondant, fresh cream and berry granita. If the beef had taken me to Elysium, this took me to Shangri-La. An almost immoral level of joy followed as the three ingredients combined on one spoon to produce smiles of monumental proportions. Starters range from $3 to $5.50, and mains from $5.50 to $22 so the bill (last duck pun, I promise) can be a tad pricey with drinks but is more than worth it.
The Duck, #49 Sothearos Boulevard;
089 823 704.