Roast Duck & Siu Yoke @ Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, Capsquare, Kuala Lumpur

A time to reflect?

One of my fondest food memories as a teenager, was the introduction of London's food scene. To my uneducated palate, it was a whirlwind of flavours - starting from the first time I ate a full course Greek meal (believe me, the food and the partying never stops with a Greek meal), dug into babyback ribs and ate crispy onion loaf at the Chicago Rib Shack (incidentally, isn't it amazing the rib shack is back in London!) and of course, tasted the iconic roast duck from Four Seasons at Bayswater.

study of ze duck - first angle

It was definitely the juiciest and yummiest ever roast duck, I tasted. Not sure what was the secret? Were the ducks bigger and better???, I used to ponder. Whenever, I visited London, during my student days and even when I became an adult, dining at the Four Seasons was a ritual, I followed religiously. In fact, the last time I visited London, on the way back from Chicago, I made my pilgrimage to Bayswater and packed back a whole roast duck to share with my friends.

a bit bony perhaps?

Hence, when I heard through the grapevine last year, Four Seasons was opening an outlet here, I was flabbergasted. How, can it taste the same? since the ducks will be local ones. I do remember someone telling me a long time ago that ducks from the overseas are banned in Malaysia.


but not much fat, beneath the skin though

Anyway, I waited and waited as construction delays pushed the completion of the shopping mall to middle of this year. Finally, someone told me the place was opened, hence I knew I had to check it out on my day off.


the skin may be tender but not crisp

Located in a very obscure place, Capsquare - I call it obscure as the place may be big and snazzy but it is kinda dead (imagine super empty Coffeebean and Tea Leaf and Starbucks plus the Times Bookshop doesn't even open on Saturday!). I guess the mall will cater to the residents of Capsquare Residences. To be fair, loads of places have yet to be opened but still even though it comes complete with coffee and flicks from GSC, I don't think it's going to be as packed as Pavilion or Suria KLCC.


the dissapointing siu yoke - just leave your tummy space instead for the Pudu one

The decor of the place is nothing to shout about - just a modern Chinese place with no Chinese motifs, with not a customer in sight but luckily, there were roast ducks hanging from the open kitchen. Not wanting to alert the people, I decided to pack back my roast duck. By the way, service was kinda reminscent of London - the "I don't care you are the customer" attitude was also showing even when I placed my order. I also threw in with great measure, an order of roast pork. They also had char siu, guai fei chicken, soy braised chicken, pork ribs but I decided to try the roast duck.

Once I got home, I got a little accquainted with my roast duck, moving it around in a few angles, to shoot the feathered fella in its glory. Hmmmm, doesn't look very impressive, through my viewfinder. Maybe my memories must be failing me. I mean, it has been almost 10 years since I last ate it.

Feeling slightly dissapointed with its look, I decided to share my stash with my mother. At times like this, (when usually memories always cloud your judgement, it is best to have a second opinion). A bite of the first piece revealed that looks were deceiving. It may not have crispy skin but it the most juiciest and superbly tender duck I have tasted here. We both used our fingers, as it was the best way to savour the food - simply finger licking stuff. Not sure what's the secret but the meat was so good, we ended up eating half of the duck between two of us!!!! Incidentally, to fully enjoy your meal, eat it just plain without any sauce. If you have any leftovers (a big if!), use that sauce to fry the duck, as that goes so well together.

However, the roast pork was a big no-no, a quick taste of it revealed too thin slices, not crisp skin and no melt in the fat situation. Robert Wong's melt in the mouth with crisp skin siu yoke over in Pudu, wins hands down - no contender here at all!

While, I truly loved the roast duck, I'm not too sure if others will be as enthusiastic about it as I am. I'm sure, everyone will be saying I can get the same duck in my own roast duck shop near my house, at cheaper prices. I guess that could be true but somehow for me, this particular roast duck, rules my tummy and all those sweet memories I have for London.

Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant
Lot G16 & G17
Capsquare
No. 7, Persiaran Capital Square
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2698 9393

(Non halal. Open from 11.30am onwards for lunch and dinner. Other Hong Kong specialties are available - had a quick look at the menu, looks ordinary. Roast duck is RM25 for a half portion, while crispy roast pork is RM16 for a portion. The restaurant, is right next to Coffeebean & Tea Leaf. To get here, click on Capsquare's website.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Four Seasons + Roast Duck