With its distinctive flavour and fatty richness, duck is a poultry ingredient that is considered a luxurious treat. Particularly prominent in both French and Asian cuisines, duck can be prepared in many different ways, all of them almost universally delicious. Here are a few spots in Calgary where you can get your duck fix. [Image credit: iStock.com/giovanni1232]
This traditional Asian barbecue place isn’t much to look at, but the succulent whole ducks hanging in the window are all you need to get your appetite going. Primarily a take-out operation, grab a container of perfectly barbecued duck served over rice and you’ve got yourself a meal.
Duck appears a couple of times on Klein/Harris’s modern menu: try it smoked with apples and caramelized onions or go for a duck breast with added shredded leg meat and veggies. Or stop in for happy hour for a special on a bucket of duck wings – think chicken wings, but meatier and more indulgent.
This big, bustling Chinese restaurant has a large and seemingly unwieldy menu, with a few duck options on offer. Choose from a barbecued duck special, minced duck in lettuce wraps, cabbage and duck served over vermicelli noodles, and other ducky delights.
Rouge’s menu tends to shift with the seasons, but you can always bet that there will be an expertly prepared duck dish on deck. Expect a duck breast prepared with classic French techniques and served with farm fresh vegetables and bounty from Rouge’s backyard garden.
Many Chinese restaurants in Calgary offer Peking duck, but Regency Palace’s is one of the best. Order a whole Peking duck or half of a barbecued duck, or choose from the long list of other duck specialties like the deep fried boneless duck stuffed with taro root, braised duck with fish maw, or duck meat with jellyfish.
A charming French bistro, Cassis offers a couple of traditional takes on duck. The restaurant’s charcuterie plate features tasty duck rillettes alongside other house-made meats and pates and the dinner menu includes a duck confit dish with a mustard jus, potatoes, and green beans.
An authentic Hong Kong style café, Vic’s most sought-after dish is its barbecued duck on rice. Simple and served over plain rice, it isn’t fancy, but the duck is cooked perfectly with ultra-crispy skin.
You don’t often see duck on Japanese menus, but Ki isn’t your typical Japanese restaurant. Ki’s hot duck dish is a seared piece of Brome Lake duck, served with greens and a creative sesame cauliflower puree, fusing together Asian and European flavours.
Best known as a dim sum restaurant, Central Grand also offers its Peking duck as a one, two, or three course meal. If you don’t want to commit to a Peking duck meal but want a family-style duck dish to share, opt for the duck filet with pineapple and ginger or the pan-fried duck in a sweet brown sauce.