197B Middleborough Rd, Box Hill South 3128 ph : (03) 9898 5944
In need of another dose of duck in the suburbs, we recently had a big family dinner out at Simon's, the famed duck-slicing ninja restaurateur who used to be behind Old Kingdom before retiring, then re-emerging in this little strip mall in the 'burbs.
There are 2 seatings, at 6pm and 8pm, and like other specialty duck restaurants they will ask you how many ducks you would require for the night at the time of booking. We've been told that on average you would share one duck between two adult diners. The duck menu choices of A ($55) and B ($63) only differ based on your choice of noodles that are served after the main Peking duck event.
The kids were totally entertained by Simon flipping pancakes onto their plates. The pancakes were super thin and more delicious than the ones found at the average Chinese restaurant. Simon belted out instructions on how the Peking duck should be wrapped and chastised us when it was done wrongly, in a way only an Asian Chef can get away with!
The ducks were all perfectly cooked, yielding good sized slices with light and crispy skin and succulent meat. We ordered 4 ducks to feed 8 adults and 2 kids, finding that the quality was consistent and there was certainly plenty to go around.
If you're still hungry after the Peking duck is gone, you can fill up with duck noodles and soup. These were nothing to write home about, but that's not what you come to Simon's for. The menu also had a list of the usual suspects of dishes available at your local Chinese place, but looking around us no one else ordered anything but duck, duck and more duck!
Similar to both Old Kingdom and Little Beijing House, you're here for the sole purpose of eating yummy duck, and not for the ambiance, service or a lingering chat over desserts, nor for a place for the kids to roam and play after dinner. However, I DO prefer this place to the other two in terms of food and access. (We had 2 kids and 3 toddlers amongst us who occupied 2 highchairs and we even manged a pram in the corner for the sleeping baby). Simon gave us the duck carcasses to take home for my mother-in-law to make stock, which made the duck go even further.
Eat.Play.Shop. says - Excellent duck in the 'burbs. Need to book and visit the ATM prior as they are Cash Only.
Highchair - yes (I'd mention you need this at booking)
Toilets - yes
Ahhhh Simon's.. MMmmm.... I think I killed it the last time by going about 4 times in a row... but I'm craving it again!
ReplyDeleteDuck is a funny thing, a couple of slices at the local restaurant never feels enough, but you can so easily over-dose on it easily! Luckily my brain seems to get over it quickly and pretty soon I'm looking forward to it again!
DeleteHi there, I follow you via instagram (and now twitter and facebook hehe)! We went to Simon's a while ago and had a great time. We're quite pro at eating peking duck so my mum was amused when we got a lesson at how to wrap it all up! Now I feel like I should go again...
ReplyDeleteHi Ames! Thanks for checking out my blog, and following me on the multi-media platform I try to juggle (you'll notice my favourite is probably instagram!) I've also been eating peking duck since before I could hold chopsticks so we were all giggling when Simon was giving us instructions :)
DeleteYour photos & over-all blog lay-out is always stunning!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great place. I love suburban gems! :D
ReplyDeleteThat duck skin looks divine
ReplyDelete