Crispy skin, tender and juicy meat—this five-star roast duck is mouthwatering.

Reporter Huang Shiyuan / Special Report

Do you love roast duck? But has the classic street-style “three ways to eat one duck” stopped satisfying you? If your budget allows, why not try roast duck at a five-star hotel? Whether it’s Peking duck or Cantonese-style sliced duck—whether the skin and meat are separated or served together—the crispy duck skin and succulent, non-greasy meat bursting with juices, paired with scallions, cucumber, and sweet bean sauce, offer layers of flavor that keep you coming back for more.

▲ The Cantonese-style sliced duck at Sheraton, with ingredients inspired by Hong Kong’s Yung Kee. (Photo by Huang Shiyuan)

The Cantonese-style sliced duck at Sheraton, with ingredients inspired by Hong Kong’s Yung Kee

When it comes to roast duck in Taipei, many people’s first thought is the Cantonese-style sliced roast duck at Longdu Restaurant. But few may know that behind Longdu’s roast duck is Yang Huaguang, the current head charcuterie chef at Sheraton’s Chen Garden. He was once the fifth-ranked chef at Hong Kong’s Yung Kee, with nearly 40 years of experience in charcuterie and roast duck. Yang says that Chen Garden’s Cantonese-style sliced roast duck separates the skin from the meat, which helps remove excess fat. The pieces of skin and meat are also cut to the same size so the textures balance perfectly in every bite.

Chen Garden’s roast duck is a Cantonese-style sliced duck, where over 20 exclusive secret ingredients—including specially made traditional Chinese medicine powder, Cantonese sauces, kaoliang liquor, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, and sour plums—are stuffed inside the duck. Yang Huaguang explains that these seasonings were learned during his time at Yung Kee in Hong Kong, with slight adjustments made after moving to Taiwan. The Cantonese-style sliced duck features crispy skin and tender, juicy meat without any toughness. Served with handmade dough wrappers, scallions, cucumber, and sweet bean sauce, Yang says it offers a rich variety of textures.

Read More:Sheraton’s Cantonese-style sliced duck features skin and meat separated, with ingredients inspired by Hong Kong’s Yung Kee

Address: B1, 12 Zhongxiao East Road, Section 1, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-23211818

▲ Junpin’s “Prophet Duck.” (Photo by Huang Shiyuan)

Junpin’s “Prophet Duck”—breast meat tastier than leg meat

In addition to the common Cantonese-style sliced duck, the Chinese restaurant “Yi Palace” at Junpin Hotel also offers a dish called “Prophet Duck.” What is Prophet Duck? It’s another type of roast duck, made using ducks about one month old with particularly tender meat—even the breast is more springy, juicy, and tender than the leg.

Jian Minhong, deputy head charcuterie chef at Junpin Hotel’s food and beverage department, explains that Prophet Duck uses ducks about one month old, making the meat especially tender, and even includes uniquely textured duck cartilage. Compared to adult ducks, the meat is more delicate, and the bones are less hard—so instead of slicing the duck with a knife, Prophet Duck is cut with scissors to separate the skin, meat, and some bones. This lets diners enjoy a mix of crispy skin, tender meat, and cartilage (from the breast area) all in one bite.

Continue Reading:Tender and juicy—the breast meat of “Prophet Duck” is tastier than the leg meat

Address: 17F, Junpin Hotel (No. 3, Section 1, Chengde Road, Datong District, Taipei City)
Phone: 02-21819950

▲ Far Eastern Hotel Xiang Palace’s roast duck is cooked using a fireplace hanging method. (Photo by Reporter Huang Kexiang)

Far Eastern Hotel Xiang Palace’s roast duck, cooked using a fireplace hanging method

In 2012, the Xiang Palace chef team at Far Eastern Hotel traveled to Beijing Kerry Centre Hotel to learn the hanging oven roast duck technique from Chef Yuan Chaoying. Upon returning to Taiwan, they immediately built one of the few brick ovens found in hotels around the country. Xiang Palace’s roast duck chef Zhong Xiangming explains that because the brick oven provides even heat and uses longan wood, the resulting roast duck is crispy outside, tender inside, and full of aroma.

Far Eastern Hotel Xiang Palace’s roast duck uses Yilan cherry ducks (about 40 days old), each weighing around 3 kilograms after processing. The ducks are stuffed with spices inside their cavities to enhance the meat’s fragrance and flavor, then marinated overnight. Next, the skin is blanched and brushed with maltose syrup to give it a shiny golden color after roasting. Zhong Xiangming adds that the ducks are then air-dried in a -5°C cold storage room for 24 hours to dry out the skin and ensure an extra-crispy result.

Continue Reading:Air-dried for 24 hours at -5°C—Far Eastern Hotel’s only fruitwood hanging oven roast duck in Taiwan 

Address: 6F, No. 201, Section 2, Dunhua South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-23788888
Peking duck price: NT$2,400

▲ Peking Duck at Fu Fu Imperial Palace. (Photo / Huang Shih-yuan)

The uniquely sweet bean sauce of Liufu Imperial Palace’s Peking duck

Peking duck is made by slicing roasted duck meat and skin, then wrapping it with cucumber, scallions, and sweet bean sauce in thin pancakes. The sweet bean sauce is arguably one of the keys to a delicious Peking duck. Chef Li Xianghua from the Yiyuan Beijing Cuisine at The Westin Taipei - Liufu Imperial Palace revealed that the restaurant has a unique sweet bean sauce that is the very soul of their Peking duck.

Li Xianghua said that the restaurant’s sweet bean sauce has been continuously refined over the years, with ingredients such as licorice, star anise, orange peel, fermented tofu, rock sugar, and tsao-ko added during the simmering process, and finally apple puree is mixed in to enhance the aroma and sweetness. He also noted that unlike Cantonese-style roast duck, Peking duck does not stuff spices inside the duck, so apart from using high-quality ducks, the sweet bean sauce is also crucial — it's no exaggeration to call it the soul of Peking duck.

Read more:Taiwan catches Peking duck fever！The secret weapon at Liufu Imperial Palace is its homemade sweet bean sauce

Address: B2, No. 133, Section 3, Nanjing East Road, Taipei City
Phone: 02-3518-3087

▲ Peking Duck at Tiancheng Hotel World Trade Convention Center. (Photo / Huang Shih-yuan)

A Peking duck with a twist at Tiancheng Hotel World Trade Convention Center

Did you know you can enjoy delicious Peking duck at the Taipei International Convention Center? You heard that right. Since February 2011, Tiancheng Hotel has taken over the catering operations of the convention center’s annex and operates under the name Tiancheng Hotel World Trade Convention Center. The “Cui Ting” Chinese restaurant on the second floor is helmed by Executive Chef Wang Shunian, who brings nearly 40 years of culinary experience. Cui Ting’s Peking duck is a refined version of the traditional Beijing style, incorporating some elements of Cantonese roast duck, resulting in a crispy, shiny skin and tender meat.

The Peking duck at Cui Ting comes from locally sourced Yilan cherry ducks in Taiwan and is roasted in a hanging oven. The preparation before roasting is similar to most Peking duck processes: cleaning the cavity, inflating the skin, stuffing with marinade, blanching, glazing with maltose syrup, and finally air-drying for a day. Essential accompaniments to Peking duck include the thin pancakes, but Cui Ting’s are especially chewy. Chef Wang Shunian explained that they use the scalded dough method (where boiling water is used to mix the dough), which makes the pancakes much chewier than those found in the market. As for the sweet bean sauce, exclusive Chinese medicinal herbs are added to give it a distinctive flavor.

Read more:No kidding？There’s delicious Peking duck at the Taipei International Convention Center next to World Trade！

Address: No. 1, Section 5, Xinyi Road, Taipei City (2F, TICC Taipei International Convention Center)
Business hours: 11:30–14:00, 18:00–21:30 (evening reservations required for set meals)
Reservation phone: 02-2720-0899