Must-eat in the cold snap: New Taipei’s piping hot “Duck with Ginger and Herbs” to warm your tummy

Text & Photos byLittle Tiger’s Dream Food Blog

Probably due to the recent cold spell, several friends have asked me over the past few days for recommendations on duck with ginger and herbs or mutton hot pot, and they specifically asked to avoid those super-popular spots... I casually mentioned a place I tried a month or two ago that was pretty good—“Duck Flavor Kid’s Herbal Duck with Ginger”—but when I went to find a link on my blog, I realized I hadn’t even written about it... My friend teased me for keeping it a secret...

We have a Banqiao drinking buddies’ group that often hunts around Banqiao for stir-fries, skewers, duck with ginger and herbs, and mutton hot pot, but the real focus is actually drinking and chatting, so I rarely write about such places. If you ask me why I’m specially recommending this one, the answer is that this duck with ginger and herbs has the strongest, most fragrant, most enchanting—and best-tasting—ginger flavor I’ve had so far.

We made a reservation for around six in the morning when it was pretty empty. As expected, these kinds of places are at their best late at night (laughs).

A few regulars were waiting for their friends and started playing darts. Nowadays, quite a few small bars have dart machines, but I’d never seen them in a duck with ginger and herbs shop before.

Besides duck with ginger and herbs, they also serve mutton hot pot and a nine-tail chicken recommended by a friend. The other ingredients aren’t much different from those at regular shops.

For things like mutton hot pot and duck with ginger and herbs, cooking with charcoal is essential to bring out the full flavor and satisfaction—at least it looks more appetizing (laughs).

The wheat noodles are 30 NT dollars, and the scallions are quite flavorful. It seems they’ve added a bit of the mutton hot pot or duck with ginger and herbs broth—it goes down smoothly and is perfect for everyone to start with a plate to tide them over.

Can’t just eat meat, so we ordered some vegetables commonly paired with duck with ginger and herbs.

The nine-tail chicken is 650 NT dollars, and besides the nine-tail grass, there are quite a few other ingredients too.

The corn tastes like Hokkaido butter corn—it’s super sweet. The duck meatballs are an absolute must-order side—they’re insanely delicious. I could eat a whole plate by myself XD. The chicken is black-bone, with chewy skin and firm meat, really tasty.

The broth looks a bit oily, but it’s surprisingly refreshing. Not sure if it’s because of the large amount of nine-tail herbs, but the more you drink, the fresher it tastes, and it doesn’t lose flavor even after long cooking. Seriously recommended.

The other pot, naturally, is the shop’s signature health-focused herbal duck with ginger at 280 NT dollars. The moment it touches your lips, the strong ginger aroma hits you, and after a couple more sips, you notice a pleasant hint of spiciness. It warms your body and soothes your stomach—after two bowls, I was sweating non-stop. Absolutely amazing!!

The duck meat is less tough than usual in duck with ginger and herbs, quite tender in fact, though not drastically different. But I liked the broth, the duck meatballs, mushrooms, corn, and duck blood in it even more.

However, if you dip the duck meat in the shop’s fermented tofu sauce, the flavor might just explode—it’s that sweet with a touch of spice. That fermented tofu sauce is truly the best friend of duck with ginger and herbs and mutton hot pot.

Halfway through our meal, a friend suddenly ordered a plate of live shrimp. The staff then scooped some lively shrimp from a tank nearby and dropped them straight into the duck with ginger and herbs pot. Honestly, the shrimp cooked in this broth picks up the ginger aroma and a hint of oil sweetness, yet the shrimp’s own freshness remains untouched. Shrimp lovers, definitely give this a try.

This dish, if I remember correctly, should be something like salted crispy shrimp. All I recall is how salty the outer salt crust was... Though the shrimp itself were quite sweet—they were good shrimp.

In contrast, I absolutely loved this garlic shrimp. Even though the garlic flavor is aromatic with a slight kick, it’s incredibly satisfying. If you’re a garlic lover like me, you must order a plate to try.

The fried duck butt was probably the most popular dish among all our friends that day. The duck butt is deep-fried with the skin, turning out super crispy. When you bite into it, there’s a juicy texture—whether it’s oil or meat juice—and the best part is that you barely taste the strong duck flavor. Aside from the frying, they must’ve sprinkled a good amount of pepper with a hint of traditional Chinese medicine aroma on it. Salty, fragrant, slightly spicy—it’s insanely addictive.

The bamboo clam was also unanimously recommended by all our friends that day. Aside from the same traditional Chinese medicine-flavored pepper, the clam meat isn’t as tough as what you usually get outside—even I, who doesn’t have the best teeth, ate several.

The fried duck head is pretty tasty—salty, fragrant, and crispy—but to me it’s a bit dry. Still, it’s just right if you’re having it with alcohol.

Aside from the fried duck head, the fried rice blood cake is also great with drinks—it’s on the dry side but has a nice chew.

Duck Flavor Kid’s Herbal Duck with Ginger – Xinzhuang Julu Branch
No. 65, Julu Road, Zhonghe District, New Taipei City
Phone: 02-22232050
Business Hours: 16:00–02:00

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