BBQ Duck Cafe (Auckland CBD, New Zealand)

There are many Chinese restaurants in Auckland, so many you feel like you live in Hong Kong or China. I think most of those Chinese restaurants we had tried but only reviewed some and only those worthy ones. Another one of those worthy Chinese eateries is the BBQ Duck Cafe located right smack in the centre of Auckland CBD. I had passed by this place many times as we always grab that nice chicken from Kai’s Eatery but never had a chance to eat at this place until now. I am not sure if this is the same place that was torn down in Queen St due to building demolition and if that’s the case this was not my first time here.

What makes this different from other Chinese restaurants is their Peking duck, I think that is why they named their place like such. Not only because its good but you can order Peking duck pancakes anytime which is not possible in most Chinese restaurants here in Auckland where you pre order them. So, if you are suddenly craving for it then this is your best place, what’s even better it is affordable.

Unlike other some Chinese restaurants here in Auckland, automatically they serve you tea in pots as well a free soup while ordering. Here they wait till you order before giving you some soup. Tea is not default so I guess you must ask them if you want some. Soup was straight forward, not as meaty as the ones in Golden Century restaurant but it was good.

Obviously, this review will involve Peking Duck (NZ$28.00 / half) and since there are only three of us we grabbed the half duck. The duck was good as expected, crispy skin, smoky fruity taste and meat was tender, it was served with the usual cucumber, carrot and spring onions with Hoisin Sauce and 10 pieces of pancakes. If there is one let down here it was the pancakes since it was more of a wrapper than pancake, but that’s the price of availability. This means it was thinner but still Ok, I just wished there were more than 10, perhaps 16 would be perfect because the amount of duck served was a lot.

We also grabbed some Deep-Fried Squid (NZ$5.00), another interesting dish as its quite different to how others do it. This one is heavily breaded and ultra-crunchy with yellow colour. Nothing wrong with this, I specially loved that crunch the extra batter gives.

Then we have Roast Pork & Tofu in Hot Pot (NZ$20.00), same thing as above where it was cooked differently to how I knew it. Regardless it was quite tasty, and the extra vegetables gave it some nice crunch. What’s good is that it does not taste like the usual Chinese dish where it is heavily flavoured by sesame oil, there was none in this dish.

And finally, since we are Filipinos, rice should be involved in any dining scenario hence we grabbed some Yang Chow Fried Rice (NZ$13.50), another tasty treat filled with lots of shrimps and tiny pieces of barbecue pork, this alone is a meal on this own and it was good for two.

Overall food here was quite different from other Chinese restaurants in Auckland, like I said it does not taste like sesame oil. I love it, it was a good change, so if you are sick and tired of the usual Chinese stir fried taste, give this place a shot, it will give you a different perspective in Chinese dishes. Service was good, place was clean and for an Auckland CBD establishment this is quite affordable.

BBQ DUCK CAFE （350店）东方美食
Address: 350 Queen St, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
Phone: +649 309 8588