Win the Roast Duck King championship！A popular Shilin roast duck shop’s three ways to enjoy one duck

Text/Photos byOld K

Lately, I’ve often seen news featuring delicious roast duck, but famous roast duck shops are not only hard to book, you even need to go in a group. So I thought of a roast duck I’d had before that was pretty good and had even won a competition. So I went to buy some on an ordinary weekday afternoon.

This is Jin Fu Ji Crispy Skin Roast Duck. I remember coming here to buy some in 2008, the year they won the competition. Can’t believe it’s been so long—I remember waiting in line for ages back then XD. They won the championship again in 2013, and even on a weekday afternoon, there were still quite a few people buying.

What they sell here isn’t much different from other crispy skin roast duck shops—it’s the classic three ways to enjoy roast duck. You have to buy at least half a duck. The so-called three ways are: eat it as is, wrap the duck meat in pancakes, or stir-fry the duck meat. For me, half a duck is enough XD. They only do takeout here, so it’s not ideal if you live far away.

They start slicing the duck.

The remaining duck bones are chopped up, ready for quick stir-frying.

Then I paid and left to get eating XD. Currently, besides the main Shilin branch, there’s also a Minsheng branch diagonally across from A Bao A Tong Four-God Soup at the intersection of Chengde Road and Minsheng West Road.

Crispy Skin Roast Duck (half duck, NT$310)
This is what you get with half a duck: half a duck, stir-fried duck bones, two packets of sweet bean sauce, and one packet of duck pancakes.

Let’s start with this slice of the fattiest, tenderest roast duck！Look at this rich, juicy duck skin—makes my mouth water XD. This is my favorite part, the duck leg. The meat is soft and tender with a bouncy texture and lots of juice—really delicious！The duck breast next to it isn’t as springy as the leg, but it’s not dry either and still quite tasty.

Grab a duck pancake to wrap the duck meat, and add some sweet bean sauce.

The wrapped version gives a whole different feel—enhanced by the sweet bean sauce and the sharpness of the scallions, plus the chewy pancake skin. So good！But their sweet bean sauce is a bit different from what I’ve had before—their sesame paste flavor is more pronounced. Friends who don’t like sesame paste should take note.

They also include raw sliced garlic, which you can wrap up and eat too. It feels a bit like eating sausage XD.

This is the duck bones stir-fried quickly, cooked with some basil leaves, garlic slices, and seasonings. It’s very flavorful and heavy on the taste buds. I found it a bit salty on its own, but it goes better with rice or as a drinking snack.

Does anyone dare to eat this piece of duck butt？I definitely don’t！XD


Little Tips from Old K:
Eating half a duck on your own is really satisfying XD！Roast duck prices seem to be soaring lately！But at least this place is still good value. Though the taste might not compare to some famous roast duck shops, the price is less than half, and you still get a pretty good meal. Their weekend business is really busy！If you want to avoid the queue, you might need to time it just right like I did XD. It’s a place I’d go back to if I want roast duck without the wait.

Jin Fu Ji Crispy Skin Roast Duck (Shilin Main Branch)
Official Website:http://www.gingfuji.com.tw/information_db.php?information_id=5
Address: No. 395, Zhongzheng Road, Shilin District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2881-5090
Business Hours: 10:30–19:30
 

Old K
Keep eating, Old K！

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