James had no time to put on his make up so brunching in trendy Orchard Road was out of the question
We ended up eating at Whampoa which is about 10 minutes’ drive from my house.
When we arrived at the food centre, James asked, “What is good here?” I breathed the words “卤鸭饭” in Hokkien as my eyes glued in the direction of the long queue. It should be good right? I was quite sure no one would waste precious time lining up for something mediocre. This is also not a new stall, it has been around for decades and had a reputation for snaking queues.
James filed in and after 20 minutes, he came back with several plates; 2 duck rice, 1 duck porridge with a side of duck neck and gizzards. When he had a few mouthfuls, I asked if he liked his meal. James confided that he usually eats braised duck rice (鸭饭) from Serangoon. It was perhaps a friendly way to tell me that he wasn’t impressed with the clumpy flavoured rice (no yams detected on my plate). He did offered that the duck meat was surprisingly tender and moist despite the look.
Perpetual snaking queue at Liang Zhao Ji Duck Rice 梁照记鸭饭 At Whampoa Makan Place.
Teochew Braised Duck Rice and Duck Porridge.
Side order of Neck and Gizzards.
Teochew Braised Duck Rice.
Braised Duck Neck and Gizzards.
Teochew Braised Duck (drumstick) with flavoured Rice
No flashing allowed but you can be my model.
Snap!
James and son waiting for me at a nearby grass patch when I went to do some take-aways for my children.
Interesting nugget: Whampoa is a romanisation of 黄埔, the name of an region of Guangdong, China. Since the adoption of pinyin in the People’s Republic of China in the mid-20th century, “Huangpu” has largely replaced “Whampoa”.
In Singapore, Whampoa is a district of the city. – Wikipedia
It is also a matured heartlanders’ housing estate.
Jameson is a very gentle child and perhaps James could loan him to me for practice every now and then.
To me, braised duck is quintessentially a Teochew dish. I am not sure what constitutes a delectable Teochew “Lor” (卤 – braising liquid) – is it supposed to be thick and syrupy sweet or is it supposed to be more watery and savoury with spicy (as in spices and not heat) undertones? At Liang Zhao Ji, the subtlety of 5-spice aromatics failed to permeate through the rice. The viscosity of the “lor” that was ladled onto the rice and duck meat was gooey thick but the taste, weak. It would be unfair to pronounce the duck as insipid and its texture did not require laborious mastication. Overall, this plate of duck rice had failed to wow me with their rice and gravy but I would buy the duck as a standalone dish. Oh yes, pack in those zesty chilli sauce, too!
Whenever I cook Lor Bak (卤肉 – the stewing liquid employs similar spices), Valerie will always remind me to go easy on the star anise, one of the 5 spices used. Likewise, if you prefer mild tasting less spicy “Lor”, this stall may prove ideal.
Liang Zhao Ji Duck Rice 梁照记卤鸭粥鸭饭
Address: (Whampoa Makan Place)
Block 90, #01-07,
Whampoa Drive.
Singapore 320090.
Happy eating
P.S. I found a very interesting stall (#01-54 Ah Hock Fried Oyster Hougang) in the middle row of Whampoa Makan Place selling Oyster Omelet – a local delight that most foreigners also found favourable. The tapioca solution is kept in an urn and the packaging for takeaways are Opeh leaves (which are the inner sheaths of the betel tree bark) that invariably invokes nostalgia tastes. I must return for it.