Hua Fong Kee - Best Roasted Duck in Singapore !

I was at Toa Payoh Lorong One last week. When mentioned Toa Payoh Lorong One, the famed roasted duck will immediately come to mind for foodies. As my mum loves roasted duck, I told her that I will buy some back. As usual, there was some discrepancy in my memory , the roasted duck stall was not at “its usual place”. I am sure that it was located at Toa Payoh Lorong one near Philip factory, but not sure where they were… (ya… what’s new?)

Therefore, I immediately opted for helpline and called my friend. Her mum used to work for the stall owner and thus should know where it was. Thanks to her and after checking with her sister, she told me that they have two stalls and both are located in Toa Payoh Lorong One! Before ending the call, she reminded me that I have to get their delicious dumplings too.

Already used to situation like that, I chose a direction by instinct and walked down. According to my friend's trusty information, the famed roasted duck stall was located at Blk 56 and Blk 126 or 128 coffee shops. Since I was at Blk 112, I thought I should be nearer to Blk 128 one. After some time, I saw a familiar sight. I remembered that I had been there before eating the "famed roasted duck"with colleagues (it was a treat from my boss).

The road sign outside read Toa Payoh View. Alas, the "fame roasted duck" was not at the coffeeshop shown above. We ordered from the wrong stall the other time... The famous one was in fact at the coffeeshop opposite it.

My friend was half-right. It was located at Blk 128 slightly hidden from view. Looked for the blue block while you are there. The name of the famed stall is Hua Fong Kee Roasted Duck (华芳记烧腊 ).

I have to say that the uncles (not sure if they are the boss) were very friendly. They were pretty amused when I whipped out my camera phone and asked if I can take photo. Guess it must have been very common to them.

Ok, let me give you some tips on how to identify a good roasted duck by sight. This theory can be applied to chickens too. A good roast duck or chicken should have crispy skin, therefore the duck/chicken skin should appear to be smooth, firm and bright. Any wrinkled skin would meant that it has been left hanging for some time and has already lost some crispiness and moisture and you would ended with dry meat.

Then secondly, the colour of the roasted duck should looked natural and not be in odd bright red or orange colour. The perfect colour should be slightly dark amber colour and it should spread evenly throughout the body. For Cha Siew, the colour theory applies as well. You would also want to see if the exterior of the meat is sticky. I would think that the sticky meat implies that it was well-basted during the roasting and would have stayed moist.

For roasted pork, you want to look out for golden malt colour exterior. Open your ears when the stall owner is cutting the meat, you should be able to hear the sound of the crispy skin cracked under the knife. That sound is almost like a guranteed that the roast pork is good.

I ordered half a duck which cost 17 dollars and a large order dumping soup which cost $3. One whole duck supposedly cost $32 dollars.

See above. The skin looked smooth, glossy and firm. Goodness, they were heavenly. I would never imagine that roasted duck meat could be so moist and juicy. Mind you, I did not carry the bag properly and I spilled the liquid of the duck in the plastic bag. Can you imagine how much jus the meat carried? The meat is also tender and surprisingly there was no unplesant duck smell in the meat which can be overpowering sometimes. When eating, do remember to dip the meat into their special formulated sauces. The sauces are a bit tangy which cuts the oiliness off the meat.

I just realised that I forgot to take photo of the dumpling soup. The dumpling was really delicious. It came in a very good size and was quite worthwhile for $3. The filling is quite robust and has an interesting texture. In normal dumpling, you would have tasted the grounded meat and prawn at most. However, for their dumpling, the meat was not the finely grounded type and has a bit of chewy texture. The dumpling also has a very rich and slightly smoky taste which I guess might have come from the dried flat fish. Every morsel of it exploded with flavours.

Verdict: Delicious!!! Should be one of the best roasted duck in Singapore. Now that you know how to get there, please go and try. Don't try, you regret... :) Hua Fong Kee has two stalls in Toa Payoh Lor 1. They are at Blk 56 and Blk 128 Coffee Shops.