There’s nothing that pisses my dad off more than the AC NOT being turned on before he gets home, the idiot neighbours who like their park their ugly shitbox in front of our house… and trying to find parking in Chinatown. I have to admit, fighting over parking spots, let alone trying to navigate orange cones, reserved bus lanes and dodging falling concrete overpasses can get strenuous when all you want to do is eat. We were told about this Chinese spot way up-town a few years ago and we have been going there each time hunger wins over the desire to put ourselves through anxiety and headaches.
A bunch of us were sitting around talking about what we hadn’t eaten in a while. Dim sum, dragon fruit, cotton candy, abalone and shepherd’s pie were some of the things that were mentioned, none of which were feasible for a late night meal. In the midst of my trying to explain and justify why I can’t eat pho at night time, someone mentioned the one dish that was powerful enough to shut everyone up… Peking duck.
The simple mention of it rendered everyone silent in quiet contemplation, remembering their own personal experiences with the dish. “Peking duck” was so compelling we don’t even remember who said it, not even the person who suggested it. We agreed and made plans to hit up Peking Garden on Queen Mary.
If you’re unfamiliar with Peking duck, it’s quiet the production. You order the duck whole, it’s oven roasted to crispy skin perfection. I know I refer to things as “perfect” often… but this time I really mean it. Traditionally this dish is served in multiple courses, which include the wrap, a stir-fry with noodles and a soup.
The waiter carves the duck table side at an incredible speed, credit goes to him as this place is known for their Peking duck and to say they go through this process a few times a night would probably be an understatement. The meat was juicy and not gristly, also quite flavorful and sweet, this is attributed to the pre-roasting preparation.
There are two schools of thought in Peking duck carving as well as course options. Some places will carve the skin off for you and prepare a second course using the meat in a stir-fry and then make a soup with the bones. Peking Garden subscribes to keeping the meat with the skin, reason being, it gives you something more to eat when you wrap it up in the pancake – as I was told by the waiter. This being said, the procedure is as follows.
“Pancakes” (homemade, I should add) are steaming hot and is the vessel of choice to aid in the face stuffing of duck.
Accoutrements, julienned cucumber, spring and white onions; to be wrapped up in the pancake with the duck with a drizzle of hoisin sauce (homemade).
… like so. You then proceed to roll ‘er up and and enjoy the wonders of roasted duck and all the happiness that it brings. The bite of the crispy skin and the tender meat of the duck, contrasted by the cool cucumber and sting of onions with the sweet overtone of the hoisin sauce; you will not know any happiness other than this, unless you’re Peter’s mom from that coffee commercial being woken up by the smell of Folgers on Christmas morning.
Peking garden’s second duck course is an option of having the bones sauced and stir-fried or soup, as we had two ducks, we had both options. The bones were fried up in a sweet and spicy sauce with onions. Most of the meat was shaved off for the pancake course, but there is still some left on the bones. Utilizing every part of the bird is typical in the Peking Duck experience. Nibbling meat off the bone isn’t for everyone, however, for those who enjoy the mild fowl taste of duck will truly appreciate it.
Second is the soup. The bones are used to make a soup that consists of Nappa cabbage, tofu and cellophane noodles. Really fragrant, the soup is rich in deep ducky flavor.
As if two ducks weren’t already enough for the few of us, we ordered half an Imperial duck. Not that it’s British or something, but I think it’s because this was the preparation of choice of the Emperor. It is deep fried and pulled off the bone, and served the same way as the Peking. Brace yourself for the crunch. A crunch so intense, the resonance of it would discombobulate the liquid in your ear causing you to fall to the ground in a dizzy heap of duck skin crackling trance.
If that wasn’t enough food, we also ordered the Kung Pao shrimp. It was extremely flavorful, the sauce was sweet, and spicy. If you’ve ever wondered what the “pow” is in Kung Pao shrimp, it’s… GARLIC. The battered shrimp were crispy and held to the sauce without turning into a soggy pile of something that would taste like sweater wearing crustaceans after a workout… well, not really, you know what I mean.
And for formality and to round off the meal… Vegetables, just in case any of our parents are watching. Chinese broccoli stir-fried with garlic. The best thing about this particular vegetable is that when you order it, its preparation is usually undercooked, and if you’ve ever ordered it, you’ll know why.
If you’ve never had the Peking duck experience or even if you don’t have a particular interest for horticulture Jardin Pekin is a place that you need to check out. Aside from the duck, I’ve been told that their shrimp toast as well as their dumplings are something to behold as well and is something I’m planning on ordering the next time around. Jardin Pekin is old school; you go there for the no-frills honest Chinese grub with soul.
Jardin Pekin
5339 Queen-Mary
514-484-9139
http://www.jardindepekin.com/
***Bring your own wine
Do you like spicy food? I mean REAL spicy, not that lightweight stuff that comes in a bottle that tickles you tongue. I’m talking the stuff where it feels like someone took a hammer to your pinky finger, a pain… I mean, heat, so intense, your mom feels it, beads of sweat roll off your earlobes and you can see into the future… that kind of spicy. I went for a quick bite with a friend at Cuisine Szechuan on Guy.
As it was our first time here, it took a little while to get through their very extensive menu. Part of the fun is looking thoroughly to find the gem in sections like chicken, pork, beef, and a very conspicuous “others” section, which comprised mostly of pork offal such as intestines… we found the bubble tea on the last page. It goes without saying that some dishes are more a bit more adventurous than others and aren’t for the weaklings.
We started with the pork tongue and heart in spicy sauce. Served cold, the spicy sauce was sweet, sour and tangy; the dish was topped with off scallions and crushed peanuts. The meats had the right amount of bite and chew to it; not too gamey, but just enough to know what you’re eating.
Next up was lamb with cumin. This isn’t the thinly shaved stuff you can get at some other places; these are thick substantial slices of juicy lamb. Sauteed with onions and dried chili peppers, this dish had a significant zing to say the least. Extremely aromatic and fragrant, the szechuan peppercorns will leave your mouth strangely numb and making you crave more.
Next was the spicy fish with soybean sprouts. When you’re looking through any kind of menu, if there’s a little illustration of a chili pepper next to the dish, more times than none, this is code for ‘this dish is spicy’. However, when you see three chili peppers, it’s usually a good indication that the dish will probably make you sweat in places you didn’t know you had glands, like here at Cuisine Szechuan. Don’t be shy and drink the soup… you NEED to.
I write this with a word of warning, all kidding aside because I don’t know if I’ve made it clear enough, but the food is spicy. You can ask them to go easy on the chili and be prepared to get laughed at, but it’s something that they can do, however, they’re known for their spicy food.. you wouldn’t to KFC and ask them to lay off the batter.
Cuisine Szechuan
2350 Rue Guy
514-933-5041
