On trend: Duck is having its moment on restaurant menus in Singapore

Duck is stepping into the spotlight as chefs are reimagining delicious dishes featuring this gamey fowl prominently on fine-dining menus. 

Not that duck is a new bird on the block. Peking duck, for one, is a 400-year-old dish that was once only served on the menu in the imperial palace. Then, there are well-known French classics like meltingly tender duck confit, where duck legs are rendered in their own fat, and duck à l’orange.

Even Italy has their version of a duck dish — Anatra Ripiena, a Tuscan classic where a whole duck is stuffed with lardo. 

From a sustainability standpoint, ducks are excellent to work with as there is little wastage. The breasts can be aged and grilled, brushed with a sweet glaze for a glistening finish. The legs? Rendered in their own fat, as the French have smartly demonstrated. Even the necks can be stuffed, and giblets and hearts turned into a tasty porridge. 

There’s a quiet luxury to this humble bird that is not a typical first choice for dinner dishes. Yet, when done well, it’s a stunner.

From the crisp-skinned, dry-aged crown duck at three-Michelin-starred Odette to the duck percik from one-Michelin-starred Seroja, these fine contemporary restaurants in Singapore are presenting duck in a whole new light.

Odette: Aged Duck “Voyage & Tradition”

At three-Michelin-starred Odette, chef Julien Royer draws inspiration from Peking duck, which he enjoys for its crispy skin.

His rendition aims to elevate the dish further by ensuring a good balance of crisp skin and tender meat, and he achieves this by using a specific mixed-breed duck cross between a Rouen from Normandy, France, and a Silver Appleyard from England.

Here, the duck is brined for three hours to evenly season the meat, then blanched and glazed with maltose and vinegar. It is then dry-aged for 14 days and baked to achieve a delicious crisp skin. The dish is served with beetroot and cassis, pearly Niigata rice, and gizzard and duck leg confit on the side.

Seroja: Duck percik from Bidor with rawon sauce

Kevin Wong, chef-owner of one-Michelin-starred Seroja, has made his mark showcasing food from the Malay Archipelago. One of the dishes that especially highlights this is the duck percik with rawon sauce. Wong uses only Cherry Valley ducks from a farm in Bidor, Perak, Malaysia, where he specifically requests ducks that are raised corn-fed and weighing around two and a half kilos.

The duck is first dry-aged in a salt chamber for over a week, then marinated in percik (a Malaysian marinade often made with coconut milk, chilli, ginger, and turmeric) and roasted on the bone over mangrove wood embers to impart a subtle smoky flavour.

The result is a tender and flavourful piece of game, accompanied by a dollop of rawon sauce and seasonal garnishes.

Asin: Jiang Mu Ya with mountain yam rice

There are some dishes that stay in your memory. For Ace Tan, chef-owner of Asin, one of these dishes is a braised duck with ginger and sesame that he had during a trip to Taiwan. He recalls the comfort of tucking into the flavourful dish during the monsoon season there and is inspired to recreate it in his own way.

At Asin, the chef uses different Asian gingers to complement his choice of duck — a Silver Hill Irish duck crown, which he favours for its well-distributed fat and clean, tender meat. The Irish duck crown is first brined overnight with a blend of young and aged ginger, then dry-aged for at least 10 days.

The duck is slow-roasted to a medium-well finish, then served with a sauce infused with Bentong ginger, galangal, and aged ginger for deep heat, and with pickled young ginger and mountain yam rice.

Province: Teochew braised duck

Tucked away in a cosy corner of Joo Chiat, Province is an intimate eight-seater restaurant where chef-owner Jia-Jun Law focuses on an ingredient-driven menu that highlights local and Southeast Asian produce.

One of his main dishes, for instance, is a Teochew-style braised duck that features a glossy, crispy skin. Law uses cage-free Long Island ducks from Yong Seng farm, which have a good amount of fat between the skin and meat for a juicier finish. Here, the duck is brined with spices, blanched in a soy-and-maltose glaze, and aged for at least 10 days.

The duck is then roasted at high heat, and hot oil is ladled over to achieve a glassy, crispy skin. Best enjoyed with the Teochew-braised duck-inspired sauce on the side, infused with spices such as star anise, cinnamon, galangal, and lemongrass for a special touch.