Taj Palace’s new Chinese entrant has big shoes to fill, replacing the well-loved and recognised Blue Ginger and its Vietnamese fare. Led by the two expat chefs Cheand Chee Leong and Chee Kuai Oon, Spicy Duck already has a pretty impressive line-up of dishes, and an ambience to match.
A chef’s table, which becomes our first look at all that Spicy Duck has to offer, begins well — the private dining room is both spacious and comfortable, the lighting just right, so that it casts a soothing glow without becoming too dim and after-hours. There’s a fresh, new feel to the restaurant, and the colour orange, used liberally for both seating and trimmings, adds to the generally cheerful and upbeat ambience. While the theme works with Chinese elements, but doesn’t overwhelm the diner, so that what you get is a gentle lead in to the menu.
We are told of Chef Oon’s expertise with the dim sums, and the menu boasts of a long list of them. A round of some great dim sums — chicken and prawn, prawn and scallops, vegetable shanghai and duck, starts us off. With every bite, it becomes clearer that Spicy Duck might just become our favourite high-end dimsum retreat. The prawn and scallops are tender and perfectly cooked, the casing so light that it is nearly transparent. The vegetable Shanghai, its mix of mushroom and asparagus and carrots, is so well made that we end up asking for seconds, even with the promise of a long list of other dishes waiting in the kitchen.
The next dish we sample is perhaps Spicy Duck’s best offering, and remains so through lunch. The mushroom and milk with truffle oil spring roll is a signature dish, and it fits this title entirely too well. The perfectly cooked, crunchy fried casing is filled with melt in your mouth mushroom, and condensed milk, which acts almost exactly like cheese, without mimicking its heaviness. The entire effect is a burst of rich, delicious flavours and textures that you cannot help but fall in love with.
Needless to say, so far, Spicy Duck has been entirely too good, so we look forward to the mains, and are certainly not disappointed. Chef Leong, who heads the kitchen, is famed for his duck preparations, as well as using home-made concoctions and infused oils in his dishes. The menu, which reflects the specialities of the Taishan and Chengdu sub-regions of Sichuan and Canton province in China, is a riot of different tastes and combinations, and we are presented with some of the Chef’s best ones. The Peking Duck, which is divided into three different rounds of dishes, is excellent, the duck cooked just to point where it stays crispy without becoming tough or rubbery, and the sauces thick and rich. Another duck speciality that makes its way to us is the wok fried duck in Mala sauce, with some very earthy, authentic flavours that tells us exactly why Chef Leong is so well regarded for his duck dishes. We also sample the prawns in superior sauce, a kind of spicy and sweet combination that is both light and very tasty. The chicken in schezwan sauce is perhaps the most regular of dishes, and if I had to pick, this would be the dish that doesn’t really stand out, but remains just about good enough.
Our meal ends with desserts that shine — a decadent sticky date cake with five spice caramel topping and a bowl of pomelo mango sago with vanilla ice cream. Both are instant hits, and the date cake is especially good, balancing its flavours so well that we know we are coming back for more.
Address: Taj Palace Hotel at Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakyapuri
Meal for two: Rs.4,000 for two people (approx.)
